Valid Tracking Rate FAQ

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.

• Fewer buyer contacts :
• 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.

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 this happens, you will have the opportunity to provide Amazon with a plan of action outlining how you plan to prevent this from occurring in the future. You can submit a plan of action by writing to op-pso-vtr-appeals@amazon.com.

Carriers that are integrated with Amazon are shown in the drop-down menu in the Confirm shipment page. Some correct carrier names are (case sensitivity applies):

• Canada Post
• China Post
• DHL
• DHL Global Mail*
• FedEx
• FedEx Smartpost
• Lasership
• Newgistics
• OnTrac
• UPS
• UPSMI
• USPS

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.

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:

• 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.
• You used an unsupported carrier that is not listed in the ‘drop down’ list in Confirm Shipment page and is not considered to meet the VTR exemption criteria. As a result, we cannot verify the tracking status and therefore the shipment does not count toward your Valid Tracking Rate metric.
• You confirmed or updated tracking information after the order was delivered, or after the ship by date, meaning it was not useful to the buyer and thus does not count toward your Valid Tracking Rate metric.
• 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 ID for the Amazon-supported carrier is correct, try submitting the tracking ID again. If this does not solve your issue, contact Amazon Selling Partner Support for additional investigation.

When our system cannot process the tracking information you entered for an order, “No valid tracking” will display in column F for that order in the defect report. 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.

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

If cancelled 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 cancelled 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.

You can edit order tracking information by going to Orders, and then Manage orders. Enter the Order ID into the Advanced Search. Once you find the correct order, click on Edit shipment and provide the revised tracking number.

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