Amazon FBM: The OTDR requirement will take effect on September 1
Key Points at a Glance:
- The minimum OTDR ratio of 90% has been in effect since July 15, 2026, and enforcement will begin on September 1, 2026.
- Also starting September 1, Amazon will automatically activate Automated Handling Time (AHT) if the listed processing time for an SKU exceeds 30 days and is at least one day longer than the actual performance.
- Starting September 30, 2026, the 90% Business Hour Delivery Rate for Amazon Business customers will take effect, followed by B2B enforcement on October 30, 2026.
- The standard processing time at the account level is limited to 0 or 1 day; accounts that previously had a 2-day processing time have been automatically changed to 1 day.
- According to Amazon, sellers who combine AHT, shipping settings automation, and Amazon Buy Shipping will not receive negative ratings for either metric.
The OTDR Requirement and the Impending Enforcement Starting September 1
The on-time delivery rate measures the percentage of FBM orders that arrive at the customer’s location by the promised delivery date.
The formula is simple: units delivered on time divided by units eligible for evaluation, multiplied by 100.
To do this, Amazon analyzes a rolling 14-day window of tracked orders from the past 21 days, excluding the most recent seven days (Fillhub ➚, July 2026).
This lag is the tricky part: Any corrective action you take today won’t show up in the dashboard for at least a week. If you don’t take action until September 1, you won’t see the results until mid-September.
The escalation is phased:
- 80 to 90 percent: Warning; do not deactivate yet.
- 60 to 80 percent: A 30-day period to make corrections, after which the affected listings may be deactivated.
- Below 60 percent: Deactivation is imminent; if there is no improvement within the next 30 days, a complete FBM suspension is possible.
Important for context:
OTDR measures the time of delivery, not the time of shipment.
Part of the quota depends on carrier transit times, over which you have no direct control.
That is exactly why Amazon has created an exception—orders will not have a negative impact if automatic processing time, automated shipping settings, and Amazon Buy Shipping are used together and the order is handed over to the carrier before the ship-by date.
The AHT Automatic System – Amazon Handles the Processing Time
Starting September 1, Amazon will automatically enable Automated Handling Time for SKUs where the listed handling time is at least one day longer than the actual performance—provided this discrepancy has persisted for more than 30 days (Word Filter ➚, July 2026). Amazon will then set the time itself.
This has two consequences. The delivery date listed in the offer moves up, which helps with conversion. At the same time, the ship-by date shifts—and with it, the margin for error decreases for every day that your shipping process runs into a snag.
Therefore, please check your SKU processing times now and enter what you consider to be a realistic estimate. At the account level, the only options available are 0 or 1 day; longer processing times can only be set at the SKU level.
New Stricter Requirements for B2B – The Business Hour Delivery Rate Starting in Late September
For sales to Amazon Business customers, a second requirement will take effect on September 30, 2026: At least 90 percent of shipments must be delivered during the business customer’s business hours. Enforcement of this requirement will begin on October 30, 2026.
The difference from OTDR is more than just a formality. A shipment that arrives on a Saturday or late in the evening at a closed business address is considered on time in the B2C sense—but not for this metric. Retailers with a significant B2B share should review their shipping methods and delivery options before the metric goes live.
Conclusion: What Retailers Need to Do Now
The deadlines are coming up quickly over the next nine weeks. These items need to be taken care of this week:
- Check the OTDR value in Seller Central —and look at the trend over the past few weeks, not just the current value.
- Update the holiday calendar and company holidays in the shipping settings. Failure to enter closing dates is one of the most common causes of missed ship-by dates.
- Fix SKU processing times before Amazon does it on its own on September 1.
- Use Amazon Buy Shipping (or Veeqo) to create shipping labels—this is the only way the exception rule applies, and tracking information will be reported correctly.
- Compare shipping templates and transit times to your carriers’ actual delivery times, not to their advertising claims.
- Assess the B2B share and review the delivery time slots for business customers while there is still time—until October 30.
