What Is OTIF (On-Time In-Full)?
Also known as: on time in full, OTIF delivery, on-time-in-full rate
Definition
OTIF (On-Time In-Full) is the percentage of order lines or orders delivered on the agreed date and in the complete ordered quantity. A line that is late or short counts as a miss, so OTIF is stricter than on-time delivery alone.
OTIF (On-Time In-Full) Explained
OTIF combines two tests into one pass or fail per order line: did the shipment arrive within the agreed delivery window, and did it contain the full ordered quantity. Both conditions must be true. A line shipped one day late, or shipped 98 of 100 pieces, is a failure.
The calculation is simple, but the definitions are not. You must decide the date basis (customer request date, promise date, or the original promise), the tolerance window (for example zero days early, zero days late, or a retailer-mandated window), the quantity tolerance (exact, or plus or minus a percentage), and the grain (order line, order header, or shipment). Two companies reporting 95 percent OTIF can be measuring very different things.
In ERPs the data comes from the sales order line and the shipment record. In Infor SyteLine it sits on the customer order line (coitem) against the packing slip and ship transactions; in NetSuite it comes from sales order lines and item fulfillments; in Infor LN it comes from sales order lines and outbound shipment lines. The promise date field you choose matters most.
OTIF is a lagging customer-facing metric. It rolls up the effect of planning accuracy, supplier performance, production schedule adherence and warehouse execution, so a drop tells you something broke but not what. It is usually read together with fill rate, schedule adherence and lead time metrics.
Why It Matters
- Large retailers and OEM customers often fine suppliers for OTIF misses, so the number has direct financial consequences.
- It exposes problems that average-lateness reports hide, such as partial shipments that look on time.
- A consistent definition lets sales, planning and operations argue about causes instead of about the metric.
- It feeds supplier scorecards in reverse: it is the same measure your own customers apply to you.
In Practice
A plant ships 400 order lines in a month. 340 arrive on the promise date at full quantity, 30 arrive on time but short, 25 arrive late but complete, and 5 are late and short. OTIF is 340 / 400 = 85 percent. On-time delivery alone would read (340 + 30) / 400 = 92.5 percent, which hides the shortage problem. Fixing the 30 short lines (usually a scrap or yield issue) lifts OTIF more than chasing the late ones.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is OTIF different from on-time delivery?
On-time delivery checks only the date. OTIF also requires the full ordered quantity, so short shipments count as failures. OTIF is always equal to or lower than on-time delivery.
What is a good OTIF target?
It depends on the customer contract and industry. Many retail and OEM agreements specify a target in the 90 to 98 percent range. Use the number in your customer agreement, not a generic benchmark.
Which date should OTIF be measured against?
Use the date the customer holds you to, usually the confirmed promise date or the customer request date. Measuring against a re-promised date flatters the number and is a common reporting trap.
Related Terms
Fill Rate
Fill rate is the percentage of customer demand, measured in units, lines or orders, that is met immediately from available stock without backorder or delay. It measures how much of what customers asked for was actually shipped when requested.
ATP (Available to Promise)
ATP (available to promise) is the portion of inventory and scheduled production not yet committed to existing customer orders, calculated by date so order entry can quote a delivery a customer can rely on.
Lead Time
Lead time is the elapsed time between initiating an order and having the material available for use. In ERP it is the offset MRP applies when back-scheduling a planned order from its due date to its release date.
Schedule Adherence
Schedule adherence is the percentage of planned production, by item, quantity and time window, that is actually completed as scheduled. It shows how reliably the shop floor executes the plan produced by MRP and finite scheduling.
First Pass Yield
First pass yield is the percentage of units that complete a process correctly the first time, without rework, repair, or retest. Units that eventually pass after rework are excluded, so the metric captures hidden factory loss.
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