On-time in-full (OTIF) is the percentage of orders that meet both the agreed delivery-time rule and the agreed completeness rule. An order passes only when both conditions are true for that same order.
OTIF = orders on time AND in full / eligible orders × 100
Define the rules before reporting a percentage
Record the requested or agreed delivery window, which event counts as arrival, how partial shipments are treated and the completeness requirement. Use a named version of the promise date: silently moving the deadline after a delay can make poor delivery performance disappear.
For unit-count goods, “in full” may mean every requested unit of every line. Catch-weight contracts or other agreements may define explicit tolerances. A tolerance is a contract or policy choice; a generic 90% or 95% delivered threshold is not a universal OTIF standard.
If substitutions, customer cancellations or buyer-requested date changes are excluded, keep an exclusion reason and show how many orders were removed from the denominator. Retailer compliance programs have their own current definitions and charges; use the actual supplier agreement rather than an industry-wide penalty estimate.
Worked example with overlapping failures
Suppose 36 orders are measured. Of those, 34 are on time, 33 are in full and 32 satisfy both.
| Outcome | Orders |
|---|---|
| On time and in full | 32 |
| On time but short | 2 |
| Late but in full | 1 |
| Late and short | 1 |
| Total | 36 |
There are four failed orders: two short-only, one late-only and one failing both. Therefore OTIF is 32 / 36 = 88.89%.
The on-time rate is 34 / 36 = 94.44%; the complete-order rate is 33 / 36 = 91.67%. Multiplying those two rates does not generally produce OTIF because late and short events may overlap. A unit fill rate is a different denominator again.
At two orders a week, four failures in 36 orders represent four failures over roughly 18 weeks. They do not imply a failure every nine days or a fixed number of emergency buys: the consequence of each failure depends on its size, timing and the stock available.
Choose an action from the failures
Review the actual failed orders. One missing low-use item and a late delivery of a critical ingredient can have very different operational effects despite both failing OTIF.
For each exception, ask:
- Was the original order clear, and did the supplier accept the date?
- Was the shortage a pack-size mismatch, a substitution or unavailable stock?
- Did a revised ETA reach the receiver and buyer in time?
- Was there an unresolved balance or duplicate replacement order?
- What was the impact on customers, production or rush costs?
Supplier alternatives, a changed delivery schedule or a specific buffer may be appropriate. A low OTIF percentage alone does not calculate the right safety-stock quantity, and a high percentage does not guarantee the next delivery.
Preserve the evidence in the order history
A living purchase order keeps original requests, accepted changes and receipts connected. LineNow's PO tracking workflow provides the supplier conversation and dated activity needed to investigate exceptions. Demonstrate the relevant date and quantity fields and the report or export before relying on an automatic OTIF score.
Keep the measurement rule stable over time and report the sample size. Compare a supplier's current performance with its own prior periods and the needs of the items it supplies, rather than with unsupported universal benchmarks.