OTIF
What is OTIF (on time in full)?
OTIF, on time in full, is the share of orders delivered on the promised date and in the complete quantity: a delivery that arrives late, short or (for most retail programs) early does not count, unless the agreement excludes the cause. It is the customer's summary judgment of a supplier or a 3PL, calculated against the customer's own receiving windows rather than the carrier's transit times.
How the calculation actually works
- On time: received within the customer's window on the promised date (early is often late too).
- In full: every line and quantity ordered was delivered, with no short or substituted lines.
- Counted per order, not averaged: if 99% of orders arrive on time and 95% arrive in full, OTIF is the share that did both, between 94% and 95%, never the 97% an average would suggest.
- Exclusions are defined in advance (customer-side delays, force majeure): agreed before the score, never after.
Where the points are lost
Often not in transit: OTIF fails at order entry (backorders, allocation), at the dock (pick short, no stock), or at the appointment (arrived, but the window shut). That is why the metric belongs next to inventory and dock records rather than next to the carrier scorecard: the causes sit upstream of the truck.