Amazon Rolls Out Business Hour Delivery Rate Metric for B2B Sellers
Amazon has introduced the Business Hour Delivery Rate metric in Seller Central, showing the % of B2B orders delivered between 8 am‑6 pm local time over a rolling 30‑day window. The metric is visible only to sellers with a B2B shipment in the last 90 days and is currently informational, with a downloadable Carrier Performance Report and category benchmark (e.g., 78% average).
Overview
Amazon has added a new performance indicator to Seller Central that measures how often B2B shipments reach commercial addresses during standard business hours. The metric, called Business Hour Delivery Rate, appears as a percentage on the dashboard and is currently informational only. Sellers targeting Amazon Business customers should monitor it because delivery timing directly influences repeat orders and future eligibility for B2B programs.
Key Points
- Metric Introduction — The Business Hour Delivery Rate shows the share of B2B orders that arrive between 8 am and 6 pm local time at a business location.
- Carrier Performance Report — A downloadable CSV breaks the delivery‑hour data down by carrier, shipping service, and individual order, letting sellers see who meets the daytime window.
- Advisory Status — At launch the metric does not affect account health scores, Buy Box eligibility, or any existing program qualifications.
- Visibility Threshold — Sellers who have not fulfilled a B2B order in the previous 90 days will not see the metric on their dashboard, preventing clutter for inactive accounts.
- Business Relevance — Deliveries outside staffed hours often lead to missed attempts, unattended packages, or theft, which can push corporate buyers toward competing suppliers.
How Business Hour Delivery Rate Works
- Data Capture — Amazon logs the timestamp when a carrier scans a package at the final delivery point. If the scan occurs between 8 am and 6 pm on a weekday, the shipment counts as a “business‑hour delivery.” Example: A UPS delivery scanned at 10:15 am on Tuesday adds to the positive count.
- Rate Calculation — The system divides the number of business‑hour deliveries by the total qualifying B2B shipments over a rolling 30‑day window, then displays the result as a percentage on the Seller Central Performance tab. Example: 85 out of 100 B2B orders delivered during business hours yields an 85 % rate.
- Report Generation — Sellers can request the Carrier Performance Report, which lists each shipment, its carrier, service level, and whether it met the business‑hour criteria. The file can be filtered by date range or carrier for deeper analysis.
Analysis & Recommendations
Why This Matters
Deliveries outside business hours often result in missed attempts or theft, which can push corporate buyers to competitors. By tracking the Business Hour Delivery Rate, sellers can see their performance against the category average (≈78%) and make carrier or timing adjustments to protect repeat orders and future B2B program eligibility.
Key Takeaways
- Business Hour Delivery Rate measures % of B2B orders delivered between 8 am‑6 pm local time, calculated over a rolling 30‑day window.
- Metric appears only for sellers with at least one B2B shipment in the past 90 days.
- A downloadable Carrier Performance Report breaks data down by carrier, service level, and individual order.
- Amazon provides an industry benchmark (e.g., 78% average for the seller's category) for comparison.
Recommended Actions
- →In Seller Central, navigate to Performance > Business Hour Delivery Rate to view your current percentage.
- →Download the Carrier Performance Report from the same page, filter by carrier to identify those below the business‑hour threshold.
- →Adjust carrier mix or set a ship‑by cutoff (e.g., 2 pm) based on report insights to improve daytime delivery rates.
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