Inventory glossary

What is EXW shipping?

EXW shipping (Ex Works) is a shipping term where the supplier makes goods available at their own location and the buyer takes on all transport, export, and risk from that point onward.

For a small Shopify store, EXW usually means a lower quoted price from the supplier because they are only handing you the goods at their dock or warehouse. Everything after that, loading the truck, export paperwork, ocean or air freight, customs, and final delivery, is your job or your freight forwarder's job. If you are not set up to manage that, EXW can turn into unexpected delays and costs.

Before agreeing to EXW, work out your true landed cost by adding freight, insurance, and customs charges to the supplier's price. If you do not have a freight forwarder or experience with customs, a term like FOB or DDP may be simpler even if the unit price looks higher on paper.

Example

A candle supplier quotes $4.00 per unit EXW their factory for an order of 500 units, total $2,000. The store owner then pays $300 to a freight forwarder for pickup, $450 for ocean freight, and $150 for customs clearance. The real landed cost is $2,900, or $5.80 per unit, well above the $4.00 EXW price.

Common mistakes

  • Treating the EXW price as the full cost and underpricing products as a result.
  • Not arranging pickup from the supplier's location, which can leave goods sitting and incurring storage fees.
  • Assuming the supplier will handle export documents when EXW means they are not required to.

EXW shipping and SteadyShelf

SteadyShelf uses your supplier's lead time to set order-by dates, so if EXW shipping adds extra days for pickup and customs, you should include that in the lead time you enter for that supplier.

SteadyShelf is launching on the Shopify App Store. Join early access to get the install link first.

Related terms

Lead time · FOB shipping · DDP shipping · Freight forwarder · Landed cost

Full inventory glossary

FAQ

Who is responsible for export customs clearance under EXW terms?

The buyer is responsible. Under EXW, the supplier only makes the goods available at their location, so the buyer or their freight forwarder must handle export clearance, transport, and import customs.

Does EXW shipping mean a lower total cost than FOB?

Not necessarily. EXW often has a lower quoted unit price, but the buyer pays for pickup, export handling, and freight separately, which can make the total landed cost similar to or higher than FOB.

Let SteadyShelf do this math for every SKU

Order-by dates per supplier, seasonal forecasts and draft POs for your Shopify store. $29/month after a 30-day free trial.

Get early access