“When you use all of these tools to fulfil an order or set a 0- or 1-day handling time in combination with SSA and Buy shipping, those orders will not have a negative impact on your OTDR.”
So presumably if you don’t use these tools, your OTDR will be impacted. So they’re forcing us to use 0 or 1 day handling time, automated handling, and automated shipping.
From accounts I’ve read these automations lead to problems. We post orders same or next day using systems that abide by the rules set. Also how will this work I wonder when like us all orders are postage bought via amazon or Click Drop, mostly sent untracked (no delivery scan) as are low value. Yet another hurdle to jump created presumably to force sellers to use their systems or use tracked deliveries.
Any thoughts?
Message reads:
Hello,
On September 2, we sent an email that incorrectly implied that the new on-time delivery rate would only apply to Prime units. The new policy will apply to all Fulfilled by Merchant units (including both Prime and non-Prime). We apologise for any confusion and have corrected the email below.
Fast and accurate delivery is essential for customers and often determines where they choose to shop. The best way to ensure reliable on-time delivery for customers is to set accurate handling and transit times and to choose reliable carriers. To help reduce late deliveries, we’re introducing an on-time delivery rate (OTDR) policy.
Starting on September 16, 2025, you’ll be expected to maintain a minimum 90% OTDR without promise extensions when fulfilling Fulfilled by Merchant orders on Amazon.co.uk. OTDR measures the percentage of your Fulfilled by Merchant units that are delivered on or before the “Deliver by” date.
Depending on your OTDR performance level, you may face actions ranging from temporary deactivation of individual listings to restrictions on your ability to list Fulfilled by Merchant products. We will publish the updated OTDR metric on Account health dashboard starting on September 16, 2025.
Starting on October 16, 2025, we will send out informative warnings with your current OTDR and, if you’re below the minimum requirement, recommendations on how to improve. No enforcement measures will be taken before February 2, 2026.
To improve your OTDR, you can set accurate delivery promises by adjusting your handling time and transit time settings and by choosing reliable carriers.
Alternatively, you can get help managing your delivery dates by using the following tools which can offer accurate promises and reduce late deliveries:
- Modify handling time with automated handling time, which sets handling times at SKU level based on how long it usually takes you to process and handover a specific product to carriers.
- Shipping Settings Automation (SSA) sets transit times based on up-to-date carrier delivery performance from your warehouse locations to different customer destinations.
- Buy Shipping helps you choose a shipping label for a service that can meet the delivery promise to the customer.
When you use all of these tools to fulfil an order or set a 0- or 1-day handling time in combination with SSA and Buy shipping, those orders will not have a negative impact on your OTDR. Note that you’ll still be expected to ship on time and meet the account-level requirement for late dispatch rate.
Effective as of January 19, 2026, we’re making changes to shipping settings to provide customers with accurate and fast delivery promises. The maximum transit times available in standard domestic shipping templates for the UK mainland will change from 5 days to 4 days based on observed actual carrier transit times. Non-mainland and certain remote areas will be excluded from this change.
For a detailed list of excluded areas and item-level exceptions, go to Default transit times for domestic sellers.
To learn more about these changes, performance thresholds and actions, go to Changes to programme policies.
The Amazon Services team