Morsa publishes this guide. Morsa is software with an AI agent that works in your ERP, email and Teams; it spots a supplier slip and shows which customer orders it puts at risk, and a planner approves what happens next. Walmart’s rules sit behind a supplier login (Retail Link), so these figures come from SPS Commerce and 8th & Walton, who quote them. The worked examples are ours.
Quick answer
Formula: orders on time and in full ÷ total orders × 100. Count the orders that pass both tests.
Walmart’s goals (since 1 February 2024): prepaid 90% of cases on time, collect 98% of cases ready at pickup, both 95% in full [1][4].
Prepaid or collect: prepaid means you pay the freight and deliver to Walmart’s distribution center. Collect means Walmart’s carrier picks up at your dock [2].
The fine: if a month’s rate falls below a goal, Walmart charges 3% of the cost of goods on every case that missed that goal, not only the cases below the line. At or above the goal, that measure costs nothing [3][7].
Early counts as a miss: a prepaid case is on time only inside its window, which is the must-arrive-by date (MABD) itself or up to 1 to 3 days before it, depending on the DC and the freight [1][2].
How to calculate OTIF, with a worked example
OTIF = orders on time and in full ÷ total orders × 100
A distributor ships 500 orders in October:
Test | Orders passing | Rate |
|---|---|---|
On time (inside the window) | 465 | 93.0% |
In full (every line, full quantity) | 470 | 94.0% |
Both on time and in full | 448 | 89.6% |
OTIF is 448 ÷ 500 = 89.6%. Multiplying 93.0% by 94.0% gives 87.4%, which is wrong, because the late orders and the short orders overlap. Count the orders that pass both [6].
On-time delivery (OTD), the on time delivery KPI most plants report, checks only the date. Fill rate checks only the quantity, in units or lines shipped ÷ ordered. OTIF needs both on the same order, so it is never higher than either.
Walmart counts cases, not orders [2]. A 1,000-case PO with 60 cases short is 94% in full for that PO, not one failed order. With any other customer, agree in writing whether you are scored by order, line or case, and how wide the window is.
Walmart’s OTIF rules
The window. Each PO carries a must-arrive-by date. How early you may arrive depends on how the trailer is unloaded and where it goes [2]:
Delivery type | DCs and goods | On time if it arrives |
|---|---|---|
Live unload | Food and consumables DCs, e-commerce | On the MABD only |
Live unload | General merchandise, regional DCs, pharmacy, optical | MABD or 1 day before |
Drop trailer, truckload | Regional DCs, fulfillment centers, pharmacy, optical | MABD or up to 2 days before |
Drop trailer, LTL | Same DCs | MABD or up to 3 days before |
Perishable drop trailers must arrive on the MABD itself; drop trailers to the GDC, HVDC and ACC networks get the MABD or 1 day before [2]. A truck that arrives without a booked delivery appointment is dated by when Walmart processes its paperwork, which can be days later [1].
What else decides whether a case counts:
The month is scored as a whole. A late truck early in the month is offset by good ones later, as long as the month’s percentage reaches the goal [3].
The bases differ. On time is scored on cases delivered; in full on cases ordered [1][2].
Collect is scored at your dock. You are measured on having freight ready by the pickup appointment; the trip to the DC is Walmart’s responsibility [1].
Collect POs need a routing request (booking the pickup with Walmart) by 4:00 PM Central the day after you receive the PO, weekends included [1].
System-generated POs are measured against the original MABD and quantity, so a later change does not help. Manually created POs use the adjusted MABD and quantity [2].
Cancelled system-generated POs still count, with the miss assigned by the cancel reason code [2].
Target runs a similar program: 95% of PO quantities in full, and 3% of the cost of goods charged on goods outside the delivery window or not received [5].
What an OTIF fine costs: worked example
A prepaid supplier ships to Walmart in March. Cost of goods is $15 a case.
In full
Base: 20,000 ordered
Cases that passed: 18,800 delivered
Rate: 94.0%
Goal: 95%
Cases that missed: 1,200 short
On time
Base: 18,800 delivered
Cases that passed: 16,800 inside the window
Rate: 89.4%
Goal: 90%
Cases that missed: 2,000 early or late
Fine = cases that missed × cost of goods × 3%
On time: 2,000 × $15 × 3% = $900
In full: 1,200 × $15 × 3% = $540
March total: $1,440
Both rates sit just under their goals, yet every missed case is charged. Had in-full come in at 95.5%, the in-full charge would be zero, with 900 cases still short. Three months like March is $4,320; a year is $17,280. 8th & Walton reports that charges are billed quarterly and that a month under $1,000 is waived [3]; we found no second source for the waiver.
How the fine reaches you, and how to dispute it
See it coming. The OTIF Scorecard in Retail Link shows your monthly rates and projected fines [3][7]. Check it weekly.
The bill. Walmart invoices OTIF fines through HighRadius, its supplier billing portal, generally about five weeks after the quarter ends [7].
The dispute. File it in HighRadius, which Walmart now treats as the one channel for OTIF disputes. Include the HOST PO numbers, item numbers and charge type amounts [7], plus your proof that the cases were on time or in full: the delivery appointment, bill of lading and proof of delivery.
Why OTIF misses happen: root causes
Cause | Shows up as | First fix |
|---|---|---|
Late raw material, component or packaging | Short or late shipment | Get a confirmed ship date on every PO behind a customer order (how) |
Production short or behind | Short shipment | Re-plan the day the gap appears |
Walmart’s lead time for you is set too short | Late against the MABD | Ask your replenishment contact to correct your process, ship and transit times [2] |
Routing request filed late (collect) | Late transport notice [1] | Book the pickup the day the PO arrives |
Missed carrier appointment | Early or late | Book early; confirm the day before |
Walmart changed or cancelled the PO and you shipped the old version | Short or late against the original | Check every PO change before you ship [2] |
Substitution | In-full miss | Never substitute without approval [3] |
Pick, pack or advance ship notice (ASN) error | In-full miss | Scan to pick and to load |
Catching the supplier slip before it becomes an OTIF miss
Most misses are decided when a supplier slips, weeks before the truck. Morsa is software with an AI agent that works in your ERP, email and Teams. It watches every open customer order, its MABD and the POs behind it.
A carton supplier emails that its delivery slips four days. Morsa shows what that hits: Walmart PO 88123, 1,200 cases, MABD 18 November.
It lays out the options: expedite, borrow cartons from a later order, or, on a manually created PO, ask Walmart to move the MABD [2].
The planner picks one. Morsa updates the ERP and sends the expedite from the buyer’s mailbox; any note to Walmart is a draft your team sends.
To see it on your own open orders, book a 30-minute walkthrough.
At J4S, a 120-person glass plant, on-time completion of commitments rose from about 30% to about 75% across about 900 commitments in four weeks (J4S customer story) [8].
What to do this week
Pull last month’s OTIF Scorecard from Retail Link.
Split the missed cases into early, late and short, and prepaid against collect.
Match the three biggest piles to the causes above and fix the one that costs the most cases first.
Check the projected fines, and dispute any where your delivery records disagree with Walmart’s.
If suppliers caused the shorts, score them the same way with the supplier scorecard.
OTIF is one chargeback among many; vendor chargebacks by retailer covers ASN, label and routing fines and how to dispute them. On a plant’s daily board, on-time delivery sits next to schedule attainment and open shortages; see manufacturing KPI dashboard.
Sources
SPS Commerce, Walmart’s OTIF Performance Metrics (updated 5 February 2024): https://www.spscommerce.com/community/articles/walmart-otif-metrics (read 8 November 2026)
SPS Commerce, Walmart OTIF Fundamentals (cites Walmart’s Stores OTIF FAQ in Retail Link; delivery window tables dated 2024): https://www.spscommerce.com/community/articles/walmart-otif-fundamentals (read 8 November 2026)
8th & Walton, Walmart OTIF: A Supplier’s Guide to On-Time In-Full (16 May 2024): https://www.8thandwalton.com/blog/walmart-otif/ (read 8 November 2026)
Logistics Viewpoints, Walmart Lowers their Shipping Requirements, but their Suppliers Still Struggle (5 February 2024): https://logisticsviewpoints.com/2024/02/05/walmart-lowers-their-shipping-requirements-but-their-suppliers-still-struggle (read 8 November 2026)
SupplyPike, Understanding Target’s Compliance Program: https://help.supplypike.com/en/articles/8300994-understanding-target-s-compliance-program (read 8 November 2026)
nShift, OTIF (On-Time In-Full): meaning, formula and how to improve: https://nshift.com/blog/otif-on-time-in-full (read 8 November 2026)
SPS Commerce, The Unofficial Guide to Disputing Walmart OTIF Fines (updated 28 August 2023): https://www.spscommerce.com/community/articles/walmart-otif-dispute-process (read 8 November 2026)
Morsa, J4S customer story: https://morsa.ai/customers/j4s (read 8 November 2026)
