Hitting Your Delivery Windows: Vendor Lead Time & Delivery

For any Amazon Vendor, navigating the path from Purchase Order to Fulfilment Centre can be a logistical juggling act. One of the most crucial elements in this journey is your Vendor Lead Time (VLT), the total time from when a Purchase Order (PO) is raised to when the goods are physically received at an Amazon Fulfilment Centre (FC).

Understanding this timeline and knowing what’s within your control, can make all the difference when it comes to maintaining strong compliance scores and avoiding costly chargebacks.

Vendor Lead Time vs. Vendor Time to Deliver

A key component of VLT is Vendor Time to Deliver (VTTD), the portion of the lead time that you, as the vendor, can directly influence. This spans from PO creation to the Carrier Requested Delivery Date (CRDD), the date the carrier has booked to deliver your shipment to Amazon.

CRDD is typically confirmed after you’ve submitted your Advanced Shipment Notification (ASN). However, if Amazon cannot accommodate the originally requested CRDD, they may propose a new delivery date, potentially pushing it outside your agreed delivery window.

When this happens, it’s critical that the carrier modifies the existing CRDD rather than creating a new booking. Why? Because this subtle difference can protect your on-time compliance metrics and help you avoid being penalised for delays outside your control.

The Flow of an Amazon Vendor Delivery

Why It Matters: The Impact of Late Deliveries

Late or missed deliveries don’t just frustrate customers, they can lead to chargebacks and hurt your vendor scorecard. Here’s how Amazon classifies PO On-Time Accuracy issues:

• Not On Time – Units arrived outside of the agreed delivery window
• Not Filled – Units failed to arrive before the auto-cancel date (usually the end of the delivery window + 30 days)
• Down Confirmed – Units were confirmed but later cancelled by the vendor more than 5 days after the delivery window began

Over time, consistent issues in these areas can result in reduced purchase orders, lower visibility in Amazon’s internal systems, and missed growth opportunities.

The Upside of Getting It Right

Beyond avoiding chargebacks, improving your Vendor Lead Time can unlock several strategic benefits:

• Better sourcing opportunities – Amazon prefers working with vendors who deliver reliably
• Increased product availability – Leading to higher conversion rates and better customer experiences
• Boosted demand generation – As a reliable supplier, you’ll be prioritised in Amazon’s automated purchasing cycles

Practical Ways to Improve Your VTTD

If you're looking to tighten up your delivery performance, focus on the three key stages of the VTTD cycle:

1. PO Confirmation

• Confirm POs quickly based on accurate stock levels
• Keep your product catalogue current, especially for new SKUs or updated case pack quantities
• Use EDI integration to automate and speed up confirmation processes

2. PO Preparation (ASN Stage)

• Ship what you have and split POs if you’re waiting on additional stock
• Efficiently pick, pack, and prepare goods
• Route shipments early (especially for collect programme/WePay vendors)
• Send the ASN before the shipment leaves your facility
• Adopt ASN version 2 for improved data transmission to Amazon

3. PO Transit Time

• Book delivery slots promptly through the CARP portal
• Train carriers to modify existing CRDDs rather than request new ones
• Consider Amazon’s preferred carriers to improve reliability
• Use PICS (Pan EU Inbound Consolidation Service) to reduce fulfilment complexity

💡 Pro tip: If you’re expanding into emerging Amazon marketplaces like Ireland or Brazil, push for longer delivery windows (e.g., 14 days). Amazon is often more flexible during early-stage market development.

The Pinch: Why VLT Is Becoming More Challenging

Each year, vendors face mounting pressure during Annual Vendor Negotiations to reduce delivery windows. While tighter SLAs are meant to improve efficiency, they also place greater strain on operations teams.

That’s why process automation, particularly EDI integration, has become such a critical part of maintaining compliance. Automating confirmations, ASN submissions, and CRDD handling can free up your team to focus on what matters most: getting orders out the door.

Want help reducing chargebacks and improving on-time accuracy? Let's chat.