Modify handling time

Amazon provides the estimated delivery time to buyers on the product detail page and checkout pages. We base this estimate on the time between when the buyer places an order until the delivery reaches the buyer's address.

What is handling time?

Handling time (also known as production time or Lead Time to Ship) is the time between when the buyer places the order until you hand the order over to your carrier. Handling time is part of the delivery time calculation displayed on the offer listing and checkout page.

Total delivery time = handling time + transit time (+ any weekends and public holidays in Australia)

In Seller Central, you can set your handling time in two ways:

1. Set an account level default handling time or
2. Set product (ASIN) level handling times for specific products.

What is default handling time?

Default handling time is the handling time set at an account level and applies to all your products unless you specifically change the product level handling time. You can set the default handling time to either 1 business day or 2 business days (this does not affect products that have a product level handling time set).

How can I update the default handling time?

To update the default handling time on Seller Central, follow the below steps:

1. Go to Settings on Seller Central and click Shipping Settings.
2. Select General shipping settings tab.
3. Scroll down to Handling Time and click Edit.
4. Select 1 Day or 2 Days and click Save.
5. Optionally, to set how many orders you are able to manage for one or two business day handling time and minimize your Late Shipment Rate, adjust your order handling capacity and click Save.
   Note: You can change your default handling time only once in a 24-hour window.

How do I change the handling time for an ASIN?

• You can use the Add a product tool or
• go to Manage Inventory, click Edit, and enter the number of days required to prepare the product for shipment in Handling Time or
• use Inventory Loader Template to enter the number of days required to prepare the product for shipment in the lead-time-to-ship column in the InventoryLoaderTemplate tab.

Can I opt in for same day handling time?

Yes, you can opt in for Same Day handling time. This enables you to set same-day handling time for some or all of your products. Same-day handling time only applies to standard and expedited shipping options.

Why is setting faster and accurate handling time important?

Faster handling times generally lead to faster estimated delivery times. Customers love faster deliveries and are more likely to purchase products that have faster estimated delivery times. Products with faster estimated delivery times are also more likely to be the Featured Offer on product detail pages.

How does handling time impact my account performance?

Expected ship date for your seller fulfilled orders is calculated based on order date + handling time. For example, if your default handling time is 1 business day, expected ship date for orders placed till 12 midnight will be the next business day. It is important to confirm the shipment of orders by the expected ship date to meet the Late Shipment Rate (LSR) requirements for your account. Our policy is that sellers should maintain an LSR that is under 4% in order to sell on Amazon. An LSR that is above 4% may result in account deactivation. For more details, see Late Shipment Rate.

Product level handling time recommendations

Amazon generates handling time recommendations for your seller-fulfilled products based on three metrics: your overall average delivery performance, your actual average delivery performance for that product and the delivery performance of similar products on Amazon. These recommendations are refreshed monthly and are based on the previous month’s handling time to reflect the most recent fulfilment capabilities.

We encourage you to regularly monitor and update your handling time recommendations. Setting accurate handling times will support the estimated delivery dates to customers.

To view and configure your recommended handling times:

1. On Seller Central, go to Inventory, and then click Manage Seller Fulfilled products.
2. Select the Recommendations tab to view all the products that have recommended handling times.
   Note: Recommendations may not appear for all of your seller-fulfilled products. If there are no recommendations, this may indicate that you don’t have any seller-fulfilled ASINs with a standard shipping option on the Manage Inventory page or your configured product-specific handling times were aligned with your average actual handling times.
3. Click Update to accept the recommended handling time.
   Note: You may select multiple products to update the handling time in bulk.
4. Click Ignore to ignore the recommendation.
5. Check again on the first day of the next month to view updated handling time recommendations (if any).