It is important for customers to know when they can expect their products. We provide the estimated delivery time to customers on the offer listing and checkout pages. This is the estimated time between when the customer places the order until the order is delivered.
Total delivery time = Handling time + Transit time (+ any holidays and weekends)
Handling time: Handling time, also known as production time or lead time to ship, is the time between the buyer placing the order and you handing over the order to the delivery service. Handling time is part of the delivery time calculation displayed on the offer listing and checkout page. You can change your default handling time and also customize your handling time at SKU or ASIN level.
Transit time: The time between you handing over the order to your carrier until its delivery to the buyer’s address. You can modify the transit times for your SKUs or ASINs by editing your shipping templates.
In Seller Central, you can configure your handling time either by setting an account-level default handling time or by setting ASIN-specific handling times for specific products. ASIN-specific handling time overrides the account level handling time for that ASIN.
You set your default handling time on account level and it applies to all your products. Additionally, you can set ASIN level handling time, which will override the account level handling time for that specific ASIN. Default handling time can be set to Same-day, One or Two business days (this does not affect products that have a ASIN level handling time set).
For same-day handling, orders received before the order cutoff time must be shipped and confirmed the same day they are placed to prevent late shipments. If you receive an order after the cutoff time, it must be shipped and confirmed by the next business day.
For example, a seller that has a Same-day handling time with an order cut off time of 12:00 p.m. and receives an order at 11:00 a.m. on Monday that order will need to be shipped on Monday, the same day the order was received. If an order is received at 4:00 p.m. on Monday that order will need to be shipped by Tuesday, the day after the day the order was received.
To update the default handling time on Seller Central, follow the below steps:
If you expect to take longer than the defined default handling time to ship specific products, you can set longer handling times for these products.
There are three ways you can modify the handling time in bulk:
Note: If you leave the handling time field (or leadtime-to-ship) in the above templates empty, the account level default handling time will apply
Note: Your offer will update on Amazon within 15 minutes. In case of maximum load on Amazon systems, it can take up to 24 hours for offer information and 48 hours for product information.
Customers love faster deliveries and are more likely to buy products that have shorter estimated delivery times. Setting shorter and more accurate handling times provides customers with more accurate estimated delivery dates.
The importance of confirming the shipment of orders by the expected ship-date is especially important when your handling time is set to same-day. To prevent late shipments, hence a possible account deactivation, you have to ensure that all orders received by the order cut-off time are shipped the same day. For more information, see Late shipment rate.
You can set your handling time to same-day either as your account default setting or only for certain products. For more information, go to Same-day handling.
No, they don't. SFP orders and orders that are within the scope of premium shipping services, such as same-day delivery, next-day delivery, and two-day delivery, and received before the order cut-off time must be shipped during the same day.
Amazon generates handling time recommendations for products where there is a gap between your configured handling time, your actual handling time for that product, and your handling time of similar products on Amazon. For products where you have demonstrated capabilities to handle them faster than your current ASIN-specific handling time, we recommend adjustments to set a shorter handling time. For products where your actual handling time is longer than your current handling time, we recommend adjustments to set a longer handling time. The recommendations are refreshed monthly and are based on the prior month’s handling time to ensure that they are reflective of your most recent capabilities to handle products for delivery.
We encourage you to regularly monitor and update your handling times recommendations. Setting more accurate handling times will enable providing customers with more accurate estimated delivery dates.
To view and configure your recommended handling times, follow the steps below:
For more information on modifying handling time, go to Frequently asked questions.
To learn more about setting ASIN-specific handling times, watch this Seller University video.