On Time Delivery Rate
FBM here. Can someone at Amazon please explain to me the logic behind the On Time Delivery Rate, and threats of deactivation from it?
We are forced to ship using the companies you specify - valid tracking rate at 100%
We ship immediately - late shipment rate at 0%
We don't have cancellation issues - pre fulfillment cancel rate at 0%
But due to factors outside our control (like weather delays, or USPS being slow), we have an 80% OTR.
What does Amazon expect us to do about this? Deliver each package ourselves with our own vehicle? Oh, wait, we can't do that even if the delivery happens to be next door. My station wagon is not an "integrated carrier".
Apologizes for the sassiness of my post. But Amazon is so ridiculous. Been selling here for over 15 years and it gets worse every year.
9 replies
Emet_Amazon
Hello @Seller_xwrlvWEgt08EH,
Thank you for posting your concerns with your on time delivery rate.
We are forced to ship using the companies you specify - valid tracking rate at 100%
We ship immediately - late shipment rate at 0%
We don't have cancellation issues - pre fulfillment cancel rate at 0%
But due to factors outside our control (like weather delays, or USPS being slow), we have an 80% OTR.
As you mentioned all other performance calculations such as the LSR and VTR are perfect, however the OTDR is sitting at 80% and below target. Understanding that the concern lies with events outside your control. As I understand these issues can also impact the account as a whole, I wanted to inquire if you were using any of the features to enable the OTDR protections for these situations?
If you are unfamiliar with them I would suggest reviewing our OTDR: FAQ help page with guidance on using SSA or shipping setting automation, along with automated handling time. When both of these features are used in conjunction with our buy shipping options, you can obtain what is considered OTDR protections from the situations you mentioned having concerns with. There is a note on the FAQ I wanted to provide here as further clarification:
- Note: OTDR Protection is only available for units shipped through Standard Shipping, units shipped through other shipping options such as Free Economy, Standard Prime, or Premium Shipping, are not eligible for OTDR protection.
I also wanted to offer to review your impacted orders if you did follow these requirements and should have had this protection. If we identify they should have been protected, they can be corrected by the appropriate teams, but as mentioned I would need the impacted order ID's.
The forums community and I are here to support you. Please let us know how we can help you from this point forward.
Emet.
Seller_L8ivIDNqgkpGJ
Harsher weather, ranging from heavier snow to freezing temperatures to floods to hurricanes, has become more common. Amazon's algorithms or whatever don't take this into account. A seller could process and ship the order on time, but will still be held accountable for lateness beyond their control. It simply makes no sense and doesn't factor in the current reality of harsh weather impacting real-life shipping speeds. I guess I should expect nothing less, but it's still frustrating.
Seller_7UOokrwPhrG7D
Amazon doesn’t care about your ability to meet the OTDR - they just want more sellers into Buy Shipping and FBA, because it gives more money.
Seller_DdmPiA1p1S2Wu
It's just a way for Amazon to force you to give them full control by either switching to FBA or allowing them to set your handling and shipping times, royally screwing it all up in my experience. They are obviously control freaks who do a really bad job at it.
Seller_vRMQhmahZIgAI
We're trying to understand the whole OTDR process as well, and we've been sellers since 2017.
These are details from a report I ran today, and I can't figure out any of it (except to say that we need to move away completely from USPS.
Per the OTDR Report: Shipments: 473, 423 delivered on-time (OTDR=89.43)
Shipments marked late: 50
Of those 50, 14 have the EXACT same date in the columns marked "Promised delivery date without a promise extension" and "Actual delivery date", which means they are not late and should not be on the list.
So if those shipments corrected it should be: 473, 437 delivered on-time (OTDR=92.39)
I checked all 50 orders; 100% were shipped using Amazon Buy Shipping using USPS (45) and UPS (5) and 100% display both the Claims Protected badge and the OTDR Protected badge.
All 50 orders are marked "Delivered after the promised delivery date without a promise extension" when 14 CLEARLY were not delivered after the promised delivery date.
Four (4) of the orders marked "Delivered after the promised delivery date with a promise extension" show "Promised delivery date with a promise extension" and "Actual delivery date" as the EXACT SAME DATE. So why are they marked "Delivered after the promised delivery date with a promise extension"? If those four are removed from being late, it should be 473 orders, 441 delivered on-time (OTDR=93.23)
Of the 50 orders, 26 are marked "Delivered after the promised delivery date with a promise extension". If they all carry the badge "OTDR Protected", why are we being charged for being late?
Questions:
1. How can I get Account Health to acknowledge the 14 orders that were delivered ON-TIME, and recognize that 100% of the orders carry the OTDR Protected badge?
2. Four (4) of the orders marked "Delivered after the promised delivery date with a promise extension" show "Promised delivery date with a promise extension" and "Actual delivery date" as the EXACT SAME DATE. So why are they marked "Delivered after the promised delivery date with a promise extension" especially when they carry the OTDR Protected badge?
3. What is the benefit of exclusively using Amazon Buy Shipping to get both the Claims Protected badge and the OTDR Protected badge when none of the shipments are OTDR protected? Or is this trying to get a better OTDR just an exercise in futility?
@Emet_Amazon, can you provide any insights?
