Do you replace my current Operations Manager?

Not necessarily. If you already have a dedicated Ops leader, we plug in as your execution and systems team, so they can focus on higher-level decisions. If you're running leaner, we become your dedicated Ops team, covering day-to-day execution and systems beginning to end.

Who is SteadyState Commerce a good fit for?

We work best with private-label brands selling on Amazon and other channels (Walmart, Shopify, TikTok Shop, and more) that want better control over inventory and ordering. Results are strongest when your team is open to tightening up the day-to-day workflow so we can build a smooth, repeatable system that keeps you in stock.

Do you handle 3PL negotiations?

Yes. We manage communication with your 3PL, monitor service quality, and can help negotiate pricing based on overall volume. We ensure performance stays consistent.

How fast can we get up and running?

Getting started usually takes about 30 days. In the first two weeks, we get access to your Amazon account, build a clean SKU list, confirm inventory across Amazon and your warehouses/3PLs, and connect with your suppliers to verify what's in stock, in production, or ready to ship. Then we build dashboards from real sales data to show exactly when to reorder and ship, review everything with you to confirm it matches reality, and turn it into a replenishment plan. From there, we launch the dashboards and set a weekly operating rhythm.

Do you calculate my true cost of goods?

Yes. We build your full landed cost per SKU, supplier price, freight, duties, and HTS codes, broken down per unit and per container, so you know your real number and can hold suppliers to it.

Do you manage my IPI score?

Yes. After inventory lands, we watch the inputs behind your IPI, excess and stranded inventory, sell-through, and in-stock rate, and act on them so your score and your Amazon storage limits stay healthy.

New Ocean Surcharges Are Hitting Freight Costs Ahead of Q4

By SteadyState Commerce. Published 2026-08-13.

Maersk put out its 41st Middle East operational update on August 12. That number alone tells you something: forty-one updates since a shipping crisis started disrupting the Strait of Hormuz back in late February. This one adds a $1,000 per container "Strait of Hormuz fee" on top of already-elevated freight rates, plus emergency freight pricing running $1,800 for a 20-foot dry container and $3,000 for a 40-footer. Booking suspensions now cover most Gulf ports outside Khor Fakkan and Jebel Ali, and empty containers can't be returned in the upper Gulf region at all right now (Source: Maersk, https://www.maersk.com/news/articles/2026/08/12/middle-east-operational-update-41).

Most of the sellers we work with don't route cargo anywhere near the Gulf. That doesn't mean this is someone else's problem. CMA CGM filed an emergency fuel surcharge back on July 22 that applies broadly across long-haul headhaul trades, not just Gulf lanes: $150 per TEU dry, $165 per TEU reefer (Source: Container News, https://container-news.com/cma-cgm-introduces-emergency-fuel-surcharge-amid-renewed-hormuz-tensions/). When bunker costs jump this fast, carriers spread the recovery across their whole network to keep vessels moving where they can still sail. That's how a Hormuz problem turns into a line item on a China to Long Beach quote.

Why this keeps happening

The Strait hasn't settled into a predictable pattern. Lloyd's List counted 84 transits in the week of July 27 to August 2, up sharply from 45 the week before, but their own analysts were quick to say that swing shouldn't be read as a return to normal (Source: Lloyd's List Intelligence, https://www.lloydslistintelligence.com/resources/blog/strait-of-hormuz-brief-5-august-2026). Trade out of Hormuz-dependent economies is still down double digits by value, and combined export volumes across the region's main commodities have fallen 54% (Source: UN News, https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/08/1168074). None of that has finished working through the system. We'd expect more surcharge announcements before this settles down, not fewer.

If you actually have cargo in the region

A smaller group of our clients source components or private-label goods out of Turkey, the UAE, or nearby, and for them this is more than a rate story. Maersk is rerouting cargo through Salalah and Sohar where it can, but sellers with freight already booked into the affected ports are choosing between temporary storage, sending the container back to origin, or changing the destination altogether, each with a different cost depending on how fast you decide. Storage on anything sitting in the queue runs $25 per TEU per day after the initial transit window. If that's you, don't wait on your forwarder to call. Get on the phone this week and get your options in writing.

What it means for your numbers

Two cost pressures are stacking right now, and most landed cost models weren't built for both at once. Amazon's own 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge has been sitting on fulfillment fees since April with no stated end date, and peak season fulfillment fees return October 15 (Source: Supply Chain Dive, https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/amazon-announces-2026-holiday-fulfillment-fees-advises-early-shipping/824962/). Add an emergency ocean fuel surcharge from your carrier on top of that, and a landed cost spreadsheet built in June is already stale in August. We tell sellers to rebuild landed cost on anything shipping in the next 60 days rather than just spot-checking it.

Carriers are required to file these surcharges publicly with the Federal Maritime Commission rather than just announce them verbally, so you have a right to see the actual number before you book, not an estimate from a sales rep. A few things worth doing this week:

Ask your forwarder for the carrier's current published surcharge filing on your specific lane, not a rough number.
Get quotes from at least two carriers before booking Q4 freight. The spread between lines on emergency surcharges has been wider than usual.
Build a surcharge buffer into your Q4 pricing before you lock in deal-event pricing on Amazon. Margin that worked in July can go negative once October peak fees and an active fuel surcharge both hit the same unit.
Don't assume you're exempt because your product doesn't route near the Gulf. Check whether your carrier's surcharge is lane-specific or applied network-wide before you rule it out.

The practical move here isn't to panic about the Middle East, it's to stop working off an old number. Pull the actual surcharge filing for your trade lane this week, run it against your Q4 unit economics, and decide now whether to ship earlier, ship later, or adjust pricing while you still have time to move. Sellers who front-loaded October inventory ahead of the peak fee window are handling this a lot better than the ones who'll be scrambling in November. If you want a second set of eyes on your landed cost model before Q4 locks in, that's the kind of thing we help with at SteadyState Commerce.