Curated articles written by supply chain experts to help suppliers win at retail.

Don't let Walmart Post-Audits catch you off guard in 2025. Join Allie and Bekah to learn best practices for preventing and disputing Post Audits.

Prepping for Walmart Audits

Post Audits are preventable and disputable! Join Allie and Bekah to learn how to best prepare for Walmart Post Audits.

Articles

3PL Performance Benchmarks: How To Verify Your 3PL’s Numbers

Peak season puts 3PL relationships under a lot of pressure, and it is important that suppliers have a clear answer to whether their provider is performing adequately.  

Published 3PL performance benchmarks give a starting point, but a benchmark helps only when you can check your own account against it. The 

 found that 97% of shippers and 98% of 3PLs call their relationships successful. The same study found that 70% of shippers are satisfied with their 3PL’s technology, while 94% of 3PLs believe their shippers are satisfied. A gap of 24% shows that a provider’s view of its service and its customers’ view can differ drastically. 

Why Can 3PL Performance Benchmarks Mislead You? 

Benchmarks can mislead because a perfect order needs multiple things to go right. According to 

, a perfect order is one that arrives complete, on time, undamaged, and with the right paperwork. The median perfect order index is 90, so about one in 10 orders has some kind of failure. Organizations that reach 99% in each of the four areas still score only 96% overall. 

The same math applies to the figures on a 3PL dashboard. When misses land on different orders, a 99% on-time rate and a 97% order accuracy rate multiply to about 96%, and that is before damage or paperwork errors are accounted for. Every figure can be accurate while the share of flawless orders is lower than any single figure suggests. A dashboard may also average results across the 3PL’s whole customer base, which means that each supplier’s account can look different. 

Which KPIs Belong on Your 3PL KPI Scorecard? 

Five KPIs cover most of what a supplier needs to know:  

The table shows how each is calculated, the benchmark that providers commonly cite, and whether you can check it from your own records. 

Benchmarks other than the APQC median come from guides that 3PL providers publish, so they are vendor-reported and not independently audited. 

Two of the five KPIs can be checked entirely from your own data, two can be checked in part, and one depends mostly on the 3PL’s report. That split shows where independent records matter most. 

How To Measure 3PL Performance Against Your Own Data 

The clearest picture comes from pairing the 3PL’s account-specific reports with records the supplier keeps. 

A summary across all of a provider’s customers shows how the provider does in general. One supplier’s results can look different. Suppliers can ask for reports filtered to their own account and time period. They can also ask how each metric is defined. An on-time rate that starts the clock at order placement gives a different result than one that starts at the end-of-day cutoff. The formula, the data source, the reporting schedule, and who can see the underlying data all belong in that conversation. 

The steps below compare a 3PL’s report with records the supplier already holds: 

These checks need the supplier’s own record of orders, shipments, and invoices, not just the 3PL’s copy. Suppliers typically build that record with EDI systems that exchange documents with retailers automatically. In a 

 of nearly 200 3PLs, 75% said automation means fewer errors and 73% said it improves order accuracy. Those figures are providers’ own views and are six years old. They indicate a direction and do not prove a result. 

Two SPS customers show what owning the data flow looks like on each side of the relationship. 

, a supplier of beverage accessories, added a 3PL for its Walmart business and automated order flow to the provider and to more than 70 retailers. The company reports hands-free fulfillment of more than $5 million in Walmart orders a year, along with fewer chargebacks. 

, a family-owned 3PL, took the provider’s side. It worked with SPS Commerce and Deposco to handle EDI errors, customer onboarding, and system testing, and it gained visibility into its customers’ data. 

How Often Should You Run a 3PL Performance Review? 

Quarterly is the minimum, and monthly reviews fit suppliers with higher order volume. Each review should use the same KPIs and the same definitions, because a trend says more than a single month. A hypothetical order accuracy rate that slips from 99.5% to 99.0% to 98.5% across three months may look acceptable each time and still signal a developing problem. 

An extra review during peak season shows how a 3PL performs under its heaviest load. Whatever the schedule, each review is the moment to place the 3PL’s report beside your own records and ask about any difference. 

What is a good order accuracy rate for a 3PL? 

Providers commonly cite 99% or higher, and some cite 99.5% or more. Those figures are vendor-reported, so they work best as a reference point. A rate that stays below 99% across several months is worth raising with the 3PL. 

Can I verify my 3PL’s numbers without a logistics analyst? 

For two of the five KPIs, yes. On-time shipping and cost per order can be calculated from your own order, shipment, and invoice records. The others need more data or a report from the 3PL, such as a cycle count. 

Is a perfect order rate better than tracking each KPI separately? 

A perfect order rate shows what customers actually received, because a failure in any one dimension counts against the whole order. It also draws on data from several sources, so tracking the individual KPIs alongside it helps show where failures start. 

What should I do if my 3PL misses its targets? 

Suppliers typically ask for a written explanation of the cause and a plan to fix it, then watch whether the miss repeats. A single miss can come from a carrier disruption or a volume spike, while repeated misses point to a process problem. 

Want an Independent Record of Your Own 3PL Data? 

SPS Commerce Fulfillment connects suppliers with retailers and 3PLs through EDI, which gives a supplier its own record of orders, shipments, and invoices to compare with a 3PL’s reports. 

Can you build your own AI order processing as a small retail supplier?

AI order processing lets a small business read an incoming order from an email, a PDF or a spreadsheet and enter it in its ERP with little or no typing. It is easier to get than ever, and some companies now build it themselves.  

But AI that speeds up automated order entry does not connect you to your retailers, keep up with their changing rules or answer for mistakes.  

The build-your-own trend is real. In McKinsey's 2026 State of AI survey, 

 said their organization had decided against buying at least one software product or feature because it could be built in-house with AI coding tools. However, just because more organizations show less eagerness to buy new solutions thanks to AI does not mean the replacement works 100% of the time. 

This article looks at what small businesses in Europe are actually building, what can go wrong, and where one shared connection to your retailers, suppliers and logistics providers does the job better. 

Why are small businesses using AI to replace manual order entry?

Because manual order entry is slow, and the tools to automate it are now within reach of teams without developers. "Vibe coding" means describing what you want in plain language and letting an AI write the software. 

Here are examples of what that already looks like in practice: 

Across Europe, small teams are using AI to take routine admin off their desks, from building their own tools to reading email orders, and software firms now sell ready-made agents for the same job. Building a tool is one thing, though, and keeping it running is another, so here is what can go wrong. 

Build vs buy: what can go wrong with a do-it-yourself AI build?

The main risks of building your own AI order tool are: 

Here is what research and small teams report on each: 

 Veracode tested more than 100 AI models on 80 coding tasks and found that 

. That is a 2025 US study, and models keep changing, but the pattern shows up in the wild. Researchers found that 

 built with a leading AI app builder let anyone access personal information, and a later incident exposed user records, some linked to people at Danish organizations. 

 who use AI to build tools, 61 percent test their own code, and fewer than a third have a professional developer check it. 

 Authors from the business school IMD write in 

 that turning a promising prototype into a reliable tool brings costs and complexity teams did not expect. They advise involving technical experts early and limiting a tool's connections to other systems. 

 Retailers update their specifications regularly. On the regulatory side, Belgium has required structured electronic B2B invoices since January 2026, 

, and Norway is moving toward a similar mandate. A tool built last year needs someone to keep it current. 

 asks two blunt questions. Who fixes a failure before a peak shipping day? And if the person who built the workflow leaves tomorrow, how long before someone else can fix a production failure? 

None of this means you should not build. But building and running a system are different jobs. 

AI order entry vs EDI automation: what is the difference?

What is EDI, and why does it matter to small businesses?

So far we have looked at AI tools that read orders. But reading an order is only one step in selling to a retailer, and that is why EDI belongs in this conversation. 

, is the digital exchange of business documents, such as purchase orders, ship notices and invoices, between companies' systems in a standard format. Retailers often ask suppliers whether they are EDI-compliant, so for a small supplier the question is not only how to read orders but how to answer them. That is where the build vs buy EDI question becomes real. 

How is AI order entry different from EDI automation?

AI order entry fixes what happens after an order arrives. EDI automation, delivered through a network, changes how orders arrive and how you answer: purchase orders, acknowledgments, ship notices and invoices move between systems in the format each retailer requires. 

A Dutch example shows the split. The beverage maker Riedel says 

. Only some smaller customers, mainly in foodservice, still order by email, and those orders reach Riedel through a partner's web portal. Email orders are what is left when a trading partner can't connect. AI makes that leftover easier to handle, but connecting the partner is what removes it. 

What happens when a retailer changes its requirements?

When a retailer changes a rule, a network carries the work of keeping up. The change is detected, updated, and applied once, for everyone trading with that retailer. A system you build yourself has to find out on its own, and the requirements are not simple. In the 

, a survey of SPS customers found that 44 percent struggle with complex trading partner requirements, as geopolitical, regulatory and partner-specific demands force costly system rewiring. 

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre, which expects build-or-buy choices to shift over the next five to ten years, also says the services most likely to last are 

. Its examples include services that are critical to a business, that meet regulatory requirements, or that hold data across many customers. 

AI works best inside the network. For example, at SPS, AI shows up as 

 - a family of agents that works inside the network. It watches orders, shipments and invoices, answers questions based on how trading partners actually behave across more than 300,000 trading relationships, and queues what needs attention for a person to review and approve. 

EDI for SMEs: what should you build with AI and what should you buy?

Build the tools that are unique to how you work. Buy, or connect to, anything that talks to your retailers. 

 intake forms, quote generators and internal dashboards, the kind of tools SIMO describes. Keep the scope small, test with real data, switch on logging, and name an owner. Bring in a technical expert early, as the HBR authors advise. 

 purchase orders, acknowledgments, ship notices, invoices and each retailer's compliance rules. Mistakes here cost chargebacks and retailer trust, so the 

 suggests knowing the penalty for a failed ship notice or a missed delivery standard before you decide. 

A useful test from the same checklist: is EDI a strategic differentiator for your business, or a compliance requirement you need to meet reliably without extra overhead? If it is the second, buying usually wins. The checklist also says DIY has its place, as long as you know which document types, protocols and exceptions you must handle. 

If manual order entry is eating your week, start with the part AI does well: reading and entering email orders. Then connect your biggest retail partners, so fewer orders arrive by email in the first place. 

AI order processing means using AI to read incoming orders from emails, PDFs or spreadsheets, extract the details and create the order in your ERP. Unclear orders are usually flagged for a person to check. 

Not on its own. AI reads orders that arrive as documents. EDI exchanges structured orders, ship notices and invoices directly between systems, in the format each retailer requires. Vendors of AI order intake describe their tools working alongside EDI, not instead of it. 

Is "vibe coding" safe for order management?

It depends on scope and review. A small internal tool with human checks can work. Anything that touches customer data or retailer systems needs testing, logging and a review by someone who understands the code. 

When you have few trading partners, stable requirements, a named owner, a fallback plan and room to absorb a failure at peak season. The SPS checklist lists these questions in full.

Why AI in EU Supply Chain Is Raising the Bar on Supplier Data Quality

AI in EU Retail Has Moved from Pilot to Production

For several years, AI in European retail meant proof-of-concept projects, forecasting pilots, and test deployments in one warehouse or one product category. 

, Germany's leading independent retail research body, drew on 38 interviews with AI and IT managers at leading retailers across Germany, Austria and Switzerland and found that almost all major retailers now have defined AI responsibilities internally, with 71% running specialist AI teams. The shift from isolated pilots to operational deployment is underway across European grocery, general merchandise and fashion retail.

The clearest area of adoption is replenishment and demand forecasting. Carrefour has used 

 in its warehouse operations since 2022, with software processing data from stores, warehouses and ecommerce channels to automate buying decisions. The same pattern is appearing across European grocery and general merchandise: AI generating purchase orders, adjusting order quantities in response to demand signals, and flagging exceptions without waiting for a weekly buying review.

What changes for suppliers is not the relationship. It is the speed of consequence. A human buyer reviewing an EDI discrepancy might call the account manager. An automated system flags the discrepancy immediately, holds the order, or routes it to an exceptions queue that then becomes a delayed payment or a chargeback.

What Automated Ordering Requires from Suppliers

AI-driven replenishment systems depend on clean inputs. The EHI study found that 67% of EU retail AI managers rated their organisation's data integration as poor or relatively poor. That deficit sits on the retailer side. But the data flowing into those systems comes from suppliers: order acknowledgements, advance despatch notifications, invoices, and product data.

When a retailer's automated ordering system sends a purchase order and the acknowledgement comes back with a quantity mismatch, the system does not interpret intent. It logs a discrepancy. When an advance despatch notification arrives with a field format that does not match the retailer's specification, the system does not apply judgment. It rejects the document.

Three inputs matter most in automated environments.

The first is advance despatch notifications sent before goods arrive. Retailers use DESADV data to pre-position inventory in distribution centres before the physical delivery appears, so a late or absent notification creates an automatic receiving discrepancy the system can't resolve.

The second is invoice data matched precisely to the purchase order and DESADV. Automated accounts payable systems cross-reference quantities and prices across both documents, and any mismatch creates exceptions that accumulate into payment delays and deductions before a human review catches the pattern.

The third is product data tied to GTINs across every SKU. Missing, inconsistent, or out-of-date data means the ordering system can't match products correctly, which delays orders or causes incorrect quantities to be generated.

The Structural Gap: Data Quality on Both Sides

The EHI framing is worth noting: 67% of retailers rate their own data integration as poor. This is a retailer self-assessment. The supplier data feeding those systems is an additional variable that retailers do not control.

 found that scaling AI across retail operations is constrained by data quality and disconnected systems. For suppliers, the implication is direct: their data quality is part of the retailer's AI problem. A supplier whose product data is accurate, whose advance despatch notifications arrive on time, and whose invoices match the order creates the clean inputs that the retailer's forecasting model can work with. A supplier whose data has gaps or errors becomes an exception the system cannot process cleanly.

, 83% of customers report greater AI readiness through the network.

What EU Retailers Are Running and What Each Use Case Needs from Suppliers

The window to address data quality issues is before an automated retailer system starts logging a pattern. By the time a buyer has a conversation about recurring discrepancies, the account's exception history already exists.

Where the Intelligence Sits on the Supplier Side

EU retailers have tools that watch their incoming documents and flag problems automatically. Suppliers need the same capability on their side of the transaction.

For suppliers managing EU retail connections through 

, MAX watches orders, shipments, and invoices across all connected accounts continuously. When a document is headed for an exception, it is flagged before it reaches the retailer's system. That is the difference between resolving a problem while it is still in the queue and resolving it after it has become a chargeback or a delayed payment.

MAX draws on real behaviour across 300,000+ trading relationships to distinguish routine variation from actual risk. A supplier can ask about an error, an order status, or a retailer's specific document requirements and get a plain-language answer grounded in how that account actually operates. The network gets sharper with every transaction it sees across the ecosystem.

As EU retailers run more of their ordering on automated systems, the suppliers who keep those systems running cleanly are the ones they want to grow with. The question for suppliers is whether the data they are sending is good enough to be invisible to the exception queue. That is the goal. Everything that falls short of it gets logged.

Getting ahead of automated ordering starts with the data suppliers send. 

 keeps that data clean, connected, and moving correctly across every EU retail account.

Pet Food Labeling Requirements 101 

Pet food labeling requirements keep dog and cat food suppliers on a short leash. Rules come from three main directions at once: Both federal and state regulators decide what a label must say, and each retailer has its own compliance requirements. A pet food label can satisfy one layer while failing another, and one labeling mistake can bring both a regulatory risk and a retailer penalty at the same time. Making matters more complex, these three layers are subject to change. 

What Are the Pet Food Labeling Requirements Suppliers Have To Meet? 

Pet food suppliers must adhere to three different sets of rules, each enforced by a different party. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires 

 to contain “information describing the product and any details necessary for the safe and effective use of the food,” including: 

 All federal regulations concerning labeling, as well as their exemptions, are outlined in the 

The FDA also notes that animal food is subject to state laws as well, and many states build theirs from the 

 model regulations. AAFCO is a nonprofit made up of state, federal, and international regulators who oversee animal feed and pet food. It doesn’t make laws or enforce anything itself. Rather, it writes model regulations (i.e., template set of rules for labeling and marketing pet food), including ones for pet food labels, and each state decides whether to adopt them. 

 includes requirements like clearly identifying that the product is a dog or cat food and using a brand name that isn’t misleading.  

Because states adopt AAFCO regulations according to their own schedule, the same label can meet one state’s rules but not another’s.  

Retailers can add a third layer of labeling requirements. For example, 

 folds applicable laws into its own vendor requirements and subjects vendors to deductions for noncompliance. Other large pet-food-carrying retailers like Walmart, Target, Chewy, and Pet Supplies Plus all have their own vendor requirements. 

Moreover, if a product’s item data (e.g., ingredient order, nutrient analysis, and intended-use wording) in the retailer’s system differs from what is on the package itself, suppliers may face rejected setups or deductions, even if the label meets all necessary regulations.  

What Changed in the AAFCO Pet Food Label Requirements? 

, calling it the first major update in more than 40 years. Published in 2024, AAFCO made changes to four key areas: 

Model Regulations for Pet Food and Specialty Pet Food

, including daily pet foods (i.e., complete foods), treats, toppers, mixers, supplements, and veterinary diets.” AAFCO recommended six years of enforcement discretion after 2024, but that is only a recommendation. The state of Washington, for example, adopted the rules and 

. A supplier that ships nationally must track each state it sells to.  

How Could the PURR Act Affect Suppliers? 

Pet food suppliers should also have the Pet Food Uniform Regulatory Reform (PURR) Act, 

, on their radar, which would make the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) the sole regulator of dog and cat food. According to the bill summary, “no state or local government [would be able to] establish, implement, or enforce any authority or requirement relating to pet food marketing or labeling."  

The PURR Act also specifies that AAFCO-recognized ingredients are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) and “allows manufacturers to state, without prior approval, that their products (1) sometimes, but not always, have certain ingredients (e.g., flavors); (2) have certain health benefits (e.g., tartar control); or (3) are human grade or natural, if certain conditions are met.” 

 since the House referred it to committee on Jan. 21, 2025. 

Get Retailer-Ready Item Data With SPS Fulfillment 

SPS Fulfillment connects suppliers to retailers such as PetSmart, Chewy.com, and Pet Supplies Plus through EDI. Accurate, retailer-ready item data keeps a compliant label from still costing you a deduction. 

Do the new AAFCO label rules apply today? 

AAFCO’s model regulations are not law until a state adopts them, and each state sets its own enforcement timing. 

No. The PURR Act (H.R. 597) has sat in committee since January 2025. 

Who enforces pet food labeling requirements? 

The FDA enforces federal rules, state regulators enforce state law, and retailers enforce their own standards through vendor agreements and deductions. 

Does SPS handle regulatory label compliance? 

No. Label compliance stays with a supplier’s counsel and quality team. SPS Fulfillment helps keep item data retailer-ready through EDI. 

This article is general information, not legal advice. Labeling rules and state adoption dates change, so double-check current requirements with your legal counsel and quality team.

La question que les acheteurs européens posent avant de référencer un produit

Le lieu de fabrication des produits est devenu une question commerciale dans la distribution européenne. Trois évolutions distinctes vont dans le même sens, et toutes trois progressent simultanément en 2026.

La politique industrielle de l'UE s'oriente résolument vers la fabrication européenne. L'

 de la Commission européenne, proposé en mars 2026, introduit des exigences formelles « Made in EU » pour les marchés publics à partir de 2029. Il fixe également un objectif pour les entreprises : s'approvisionner à hauteur d'au moins 30 % en intrants fabriqués dans l'UE pour les produits mis sur le marché européen. Le texte doit encore être approuvé par le Parlement européen et le Conseil, et son champ d'application direct concerne les marchés publics plutôt que les rayons de la grande distribution. Les grands distributeurs suivent néanmoins de près l'orientation des politiques publiques. Les stratégies d'approvisionnement se construisent sur plusieurs années, et le signal envoyé par Bruxelles est clair.

Les droits de douane entre les États-Unis et l'UE ont accru la pression sur les coûts des supply chains qui dépendent de sources non européennes. Les États-Unis ont imposé des droits de douane de base de 15 % sur les importations agroalimentaires en provenance de l'UE, couvrant l'huile d'olive, le vin, les pâtes et un large éventail de catégories alimentaires, tandis que les droits de 50 % sur l'acier et l'aluminium restent en vigueur. 

, à mesure qu'acheteurs et fournisseurs reconfigurent leurs chaînes d'approvisionnement pour s'éloigner des routes désormais plus coûteuses. Les fournisseurs dont les matières premières ou les composants proviennent de l'extérieur de l'Europe en ressentent directement l'impact dans leurs négociations de prix avec les acheteurs.

Partout en Europe, les distributeurs font de l'approvisionnement local une stratégie commerciale, et pas seulement un message de marque. 

. Musgrave, qui exploite l'enseigne SuperValu en Irlande, s'approvisionne à 80 % auprès de fournisseurs situés sur l'île. Lidl Italia conçoit ses formats de magasins autour de partenariats avec des acteurs locaux de la supply chain. 

, l'évolution des schémas d'approvisionnement étant la réponse la plus courante aux perturbations commerciales.

Ce que cela implique selon le type de fournisseur

Les implications diffèrent selon l'endroit où se situent la production et l'approvisionnement du fournisseur.

Fournisseurs disposant d'une production ou d'un approvisionnement européen

L'origine est désormais un argument commercial à mettre explicitement en avant lors des rendez-vous acheteurs. Il y a deux ans, la plupart des acheteurs ne demandaient pas la provenance. Cela change. Les acheteurs qui gèrent leur exposition aux droits de douane, ou qui ont pris des engagements en matière d'approvisionnement local, veulent une documentation sur la géographie de la supply chain. Les fournisseurs capables de répondre clairement à cette question, au niveau de l'ingrédient ou du composant, sont mieux placés pour préserver leurs marges et remporter des référencements lorsqu'une préférence locale s'applique.

Fournisseurs s'approvisionnant principalement hors d'Europe

La base de coûts a augmenté. Les droits de douane américains sur les produits agroalimentaires européens ont fait grimper le coût de revient rendu des marchandises qui transitent par les supply chains transatlantiques, et ces hausses sont difficiles à absorber entièrement. Les acheteurs qui maîtrisent le contexte tarifaire examineront de près les demandes de hausse de prix. L'argumentaire commercial d'un produit sourcé hors d'Europe doit aborder directement la question de l'origine. Attendre que l'acheteur la soulève en rendez-vous, c'est se mettre en position de faiblesse.

Fournisseurs à l'approvisionnement mixte, européen et non européen

La relocalisation complète d'une supply chain reste rare. Pour la plupart des entreprises, la réponse la plus pragmatique consiste à transférer certains ingrédients ou composants vers des sources européennes, puis à documenter clairement ce changement. Les fournisseurs capables de démontrer une part significative d'intrants d'origine européenne bénéficient à la fois d'une base de coûts plus stable et d'une position renforcée dans les négociations commerciales, sans avoir à reconstruire l'ensemble de leurs opérations.

Ce que demandent les acheteurs et ce à quoi les fournisseurs doivent répondre

L'exigence de 30 % d'intrants d'origine européenne prévue par l'Industrial Accelerator Act ne s'applique pas encore aux achats de la grande distribution. Mais le cadre de mesure qu'il introduit, qui fait du pourcentage d'intrants d'origine européenne un indicateur documentable de la supply chain, influence déjà la manière dont les acheteurs européens abordent leurs échanges avec les fournisseurs.

Un fournisseur qui défend avec conviction l'origine européenne de ses produits lors d'un rendez-vous acheteur doit encore tenir ses engagements. Obtenir la confirmation d'un nouveau référencement est une étape. Disposer de l'infrastructure d'échanges nécessaire pour honorer rapidement cette première commande en est une autre.

Pour les fournisseurs qui développent ou étendent leurs relations avec la distribution européenne, 

 gère les connexions EDI avec les principaux distributeurs européens via son réseau EUR, avec l'échange de documents et les exigences de conformité déjà configurés pour chaque compte distributeur. Le délai entre la confirmation d'un référencement et le traitement correct de la première commande est plus court lorsque l'infrastructure opérationnelle est déjà en place.

OTIF During Peak Season: How To Protect Your Scorecard When Volume Spikes

_________________________________________________________________________________ 

Peak season puts months of supply chain planning to the test. For suppliers, one of the biggest worries is keeping 

 (OTIF) performance steady. Retailers rely on accurate, timely shipments, and their 

 won’t lessen when holiday demand rises.  

An inventory discrepancy or inaccurate shipment record can move straight past one late order and into retailer scorecards, extra administrative work, and expensive deductions. Luckily, there are ways to anticipate where a shipment might fail while there’s still time to fix it. 

Why Does OTIF Performance Decline During Peak Season? 

OTIF measures whether suppliers deliver the quantities retailers expect within the required delivery window. The calculation varies by retailer, but the goal is consistent: the right products, in the right quantities, where and when they’re needed. 

Peak season asks the same processes to handle more volume, tighter schedules, and more frequent changes to inventory and orders. Three pressure points tend to show up first: 

These issues often overlap. An inventory discrepancy can delay picking, which delays loading, which puts a carrier appointment at risk, so several failures may sit behind a single scorecard miss. 

Do Retailers Change OTIF Requirements During Peak Season? 

Retailers typically keep measuring delivery performance against established requirements, though targets, exceptions, and enforcements vary. 

What Are the Walmart OTIF Peak Season Requirements? 

Walmart measures on-time delivery, collect readiness, and in-full fulfillment separately.  

Because the measures are separate, a supplier can do well in one and struggle in another. Complete orders can miss the on-time target because of appointment scheduling, and on-time deliveries can fall short if the distribution center receives fewer cases than ordered.  

Suppliers can investigate trends and individual 

, and should review it with current routing documentation before peak season hits. 

Walmart is a useful example because its measures are well documented, but every retailer is different. Target, for example, has its own supplier performance and shipment accuracy requirements.  

Suppliers can keep a current record of each retailer’s windows, routing procedures, and deduction policies, drawn from the vendor agreement, compliance manual, or supplier portal. 

Where Do OTIF Failures Happen During Peak Season? 

OTIF problems often start well before a shipment reaches the retailer. Four operational areas deserve attention when volume rises: 

Infographic showing four common causes of on-time, in-full (OTIF) failures: inventory inaccuracies, transportation delays, EDI and ASN errors, and retailer routing-guide noncompliance.

Where OTIF Breaks_ Four Key Steps.png

What Are the Early Warning Signs of an OTIF Failure? 

Retailer scorecards show past performance, but they don’t always give enough notice to prevent a miss. A shortage caught before picking leaves more options than one found during loading, and an unconfirmed appointment is easier to fix days ahead than on delivery day. Suppliers can watch for: 

These signs work best when someone owns the review, and during peak, daily checks of high-risk orders can beat weekly reports. It’s wise to keep a shared exception log that records the PO, retailer, issue, owner, next action, and deadline. Doing so will provide warehouse, transportation, and customer service teams with the same data and shipments needing attention. 

Articles

Curated articles written by supply chain experts to help suppliers win at retail.

Prepping for Walmart Audits

Overview

Articles