Logistics

OTIF (On Time In Full)

OTIF (On Time In Full) is a retail compliance metric that measures whether a supplier delivered the complete order, on the agreed date, with nothing short or late. Retailers like Walmart set an OTIF threshold and fine suppliers who fall below it. It rewards reliable, accurate fulfillment.

How OTIF is measured

OTIF has two parts. On Time means the shipment arrived inside the delivery window, often measured against a must-arrive-by date. In Full means every ordered unit was delivered with no shorts or substitutions. A line that is one day late or one case short fails OTIF for that order, even if everything else was perfect.

Why OTIF drives order accuracy

OTIF penalties push the accuracy problem back upstream to order entry. A mis-keyed quantity or a missed PO line shows up as an OTIF miss weeks later, long after the typo happened. Clean, structured orders and accurate ASNs are the foundation of a healthy OTIF score.

Related Terms

Advance Ship Notice (ASN)

An Advance Ship Notice (ASN) is an electronic notification a supplier sends before a shipment arrives, detailing its contents, packing structure, and carrier. In EDI it is the 856 transaction. It tells the buyer exactly what is coming, how it is packed, and when, so receiving can be scanned and verified at the dock.

Retail Chargeback

A retail chargeback is a financial deduction a retailer takes from a supplier's payment for failing to meet a compliance rule, such as a late shipment, a missing or wrong ASN, a bad label, or an inaccurate invoice. Chargebacks erode margin and are usually preventable with accurate, on-time EDI.

Bill of Lading (BOL)

A bill of lading (BOL) is a legal document a carrier issues to a shipper that lists what is being transported, who ships it, who receives it, and the agreed terms. It serves three roles at once: a receipt for the goods, a contract of carriage, and a document of title.

Learn More

EDI 856 Ship Notice Guide Walmart EDI Compliance EDI Document Types Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

OTIF stands for On Time In Full. It measures whether a supplier delivered the entire order on the agreed date with nothing late or short.

Large retailers commonly target 95 percent or higher, though the exact threshold and measurement window vary by program. Falling below the threshold triggers fines.

Walmart popularized OTIF as a supplier scorecard, and other large retailers run similar on-time and in-full programs to hold suppliers accountable for fulfillment reliability.

Sources: GS1 US retail logistics

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