Valid Tracking Rate (VTR)

Valid Tracking Rate is a performance metric that measures how often you use valid tracking numbers on orders. This metric reflects Amazon customers' expectations that they should be able to find out where their orders are and when they will receive them.

What are the benefits of providing tracking information?

Providing valid tracking numbers for all your shipments has the following benefits:

• Fewer buyer contacts: Approximately 40% of buyer contacts relate to shipment status. The “Where's my stuff” contact rate is 35 times greater for untracked shipments than it is for tracked shipments. Providing tracking numbers can help reduce the amount of time you spend answering shipping-related questions.
• Decreased order defects: The Order Defect Rate for untracked shipments is 1.7 times greater than the rate for tracked shipments.
• Protection from A-to-z Guarantee claims: Without tracking, you will automatically lose any "Order not received" A-to-z Guarantee claims. Tracking helps you represent yourself against these claims and may prevent loss.
• Improved seller feedback ratings: Buyers tell us that being able to track their packages is one of the main reasons to leave positive feedback.
• Reduced lost shipment costs: Tracking can significantly reduce the costs associated with a lost shipment. If a package is lost in transit, you can use tracking to find out where it was lost and then determine responsibility.
• Improved conversion: When you use tracking on 98% of your shipments and your on-time delivery rate is 97%, you become eligible to reduce handling and transit promise times. This is proven to increase conversion and revenue.

How will I know if I am meeting the 95% Valid Tracking Rate (VTR) target?

You can see if you're meeting the VTR target through Seller Central.

1. On the Performance menu, click Account Health followed by Performance Metrics.
2. In the Performance Checklist, you'll see one of the following marks next to Valid Tracking Rate:
   • A green check indicates that your current tracking performance is good.
   • A yellow exclamation mark indicates you are at risk of dropping below the required performance threshold.
   • A red "X" means that you missed the target and are at risk of losing your selling privileges for the affected category.

If your performance falls from green to yellow, you'll receive an email notification.

For orders placed through Amazon we will measure the VTR for non-FBA fulfilled packages on a category level over a rolling 30-day period. VTR will be measured for all Out of country shipments shipped through integrated carriers. Please allow 72 hours for the report and metric to reflect any updates.

How does Amazon calculate my VTR?

To calculate this metric, we take the number of packages you ship with a valid tracking number and divide it by the total number of packages you have shipped and confirmed over a 30-day period. VTR is expressed as a percentage.

For example, if you confirmed shipment for 200 non-exempted packages and 190 of those packages had a valid tracking number, your Valid Tracking Rate would be 95% (190 ÷ 200 = .95 or 95%).

We use the promised delivery date to determine which orders are included in the performance metric. Your Valid Tracking Rate has a two-week latency period, which allows the data enough time to be statistically relevant.

How does Amazon know a package has valid tracking information?

We use the tracking information you submitted when confirming a shipment and verify it with the shipping carrier. Tracking numbers are considered valid only if they have at least one physical carrier scan recorded.

What is the VTR Policy for shipments from China?

To provide a great customer experience on Amazon, items that are shipping directly from China to customers will require the following:

• For all packages with a value below AED 20, including shipping charges, use a tracked ship method that provides at least one carrier scan to guarantee a VTR.
• For all packages with a value of equal to or above AED 20, including shipping charges, use a fully tracked ship method that provides at least 2 carrier scans (including a delivery scan or delivery attempt) to guarantee a VTR.

It is mandatory to put in the correct carrier name and valid tracking number for the target order. Providing details to enable the tracking of the shipment improves the customer experience and contributes to overall customer satisfaction.

What happens if I do not meet the required target for tracked packages?

If you do not maintain the required 95% target for tracked packages, your selling privileges for the category (or categories) involved may be suspended or removed. If any of your listings get suspended, you can submit a Plan of Action and apply for reinstatement to op-pso-vtr-appeals@amazon.ae. If your Plan of Action is approved, your seller-fulfilled listings in the affected product category will be restored.

Which carriers provide tracking information to Amazon?

Carriers appearing in the drop-down for order confirmation (apart from “Other”), provide tracking information to Amazon. Sellers are encouraged to use carriers from the following lists to ship their packages as these carriers provide real-time tracking status to Amazon. This helps reduce buyer contacts and improve seller feedback ratings.

We currently support tracking information for these carriers:

• Aramex
• Bombino Express
• BRT
• Cititrans
• CNE
• DHL
• DHL eCommerce
• DHL Freight
• DPD
• Ecom Shipping solutions PVT ltd
• Equick
• FedEx
• First Flight China
• GLS
• ICC worldwide
• ImIle
• JCEX
• MRW
• Qexpress
• Seur
• SFC
• ShipGlobal US
• Shungfeng express
• SMSA
• Speedex
• TNT
• VNLIN
• Yanwen
• Yodel
• Yun Express

My package has tracking but is showing up in my Valid Tracking Report as lacking valid tracking information. What should I do?

A package that does not include verified tracking information will have an "X" in the "No Valid Tracking" column of your Valid Tracking ID report. If you have uploaded a tracking number but it is marked as unconfirmed, this might be because of the following:

• The tracking number you provided is incorrect.
• Your tracking number is correct, but it is not associated with the carrier you specified. For example, if you use DHL to ship a package but enter "FedEx" as the carrier name, the tracking information will be marked as unconfirmed.
• The tracking number and carrier name are correct, but you used an unsupported carrier, which we cannot verify and so will not count toward your Valid Tracking Rate metric.
• The tracking number was uploaded after the order was delivered, meaning it was not useful to the buyer and thus does not count toward your Valid Tracking Rate metric.

Please check to make sure you entered the carrier and tracking number for your package correctly. You can change, re-enter, and update the tracking information under Manage Your Orders until the order is delivered. Your metrics will reflect this change within 72 hours.

If you have a package marked with an "X" in the "No Valid Tracking" column, and you have verified that the tracking number for the Amazon-supported carrier is correct, try submitting the tracking number again. If this does not solve your issue, contact Selling Partner Support for additional investigation.

Why are canceled orders showing up in my report?

If canceled orders are showing up in your report, it is because you confirmed shipment before you delivered the package to the carrier. An order is not considered canceled when you have confirmed shipment because the buyer's credit card is charged. To cancel this kind of order, you have to provide a refund to the buyer. To prevent this sort of mix-up, we recommend that you confirm shipment only after the carrier has received the package.

Why is my Valid Tracking Rate report showing metrics for a category in which I do not sell?

The Valid Tracking Rate metric is recorded for the category of an item at the time an order is placed. If your item was previously listed in a category at the time an order was placed, then you will have a Valid Tracking Rate metric in that category even if the item is now listed under a different category.

What does "InvalidId" mean in column F of my Valid Tracking Rate report?

When our system cannot process the tracking information you entered for an order, "InvalidId" will display in column F for that order. For example, if your order ID was 001-12345-67890 and we were not able to process the tracking information you entered for that order, column F will display 001-12345-67890-InvalidId.

This can happen if you left the tracking information blank or you entered special characters, such as punctuation, that our system cannot recognize in the tracking information. To correct any potential errors in the tracking information you provided, edit the tracking number.

This can happen if:

• You left the tracking information blank.
• You entered special characters, such as punctuation, that our system cannot recognize in the tracking information.

To correct any potential errors in the tracking information you provided, continue to How do I edit a tracking number?.

How do I edit a tracking number?

Before the delivery date, you can edit order tracking information.

1. Go to Orders, and then Manage Orders.
2. Check Order ID is selected for Search, enter the Order ID, and click Search.
3. Once you find the correct order, click Edit Shipment and provide the revised tracking information.
4. Re-confirm the shipment.

Allow 72 hours for the report and metric to reflect the changes.

Best practices to successfully upload tracking information

Tracking number:

Verify that you’ve entered the tracking ID correctly. Make sure that it is not left blank and that there are no special characters such as punctuation.

Carrier name:

When confirming the shipment from “Manage your order”, select a carrier from the dropdown menu in the Manage Orders page. Make sure to use a carrier that is integrated with Amazon.

The tracking information will be marked invalid if:

• The carrier name is entered incorrectly, from a misspelling or extra added words
• The carrier selected is not the carrier associated with the tracking number. For example, selecting “FedEx” when using DHL
• The selected carrier is “Other”

Shipment confirmation and update:

Make sure to confirm/update the tracking information before the package is delivered.

If the tracking information is confirmed/updated after the package is delivered, that means the buyer was not able to track the order. As this is not useful to the buyer the order will not count toward your Valid Tracking Rate metric.