Overview

Amazon’s automated handling‑time tool adjusts the time you promise to ship each SKU based on how quickly you actually fulfill orders. Rolled out in early 2024, the feature reads your past shipment confirmations and updates handling times without manual input. Sellers who rely on merchant fulfillment should care because the system can tighten delivery promises, improve conversion, and lower the chance of late‑shipment penalties.

Key Points

• Performance‑driven calculation — Once activated, Amazon computes a handling window for every product by analyzing the average gap between order receipt and shipment confirmation for that SKU.
• More realistic delivery estimates — Buyers see estimated arrival dates that mirror your true fulfillment speed, often resulting in shorter, more attractive windows than a one‑size‑fits‑all setting.
• Conversion boost — Products with tighter, accurate promises tend to convert better because shoppers trust the delivery date displayed on the detail page.
• Late‑shipment risk reduction — For fast‑moving items, the system prevents you from promising an unrealistically short window that could trigger late‑shipment metrics.
• 90‑day safety net — If you switch off automation within three months, Amazon automatically restores the handling times you had before enabling the feature.

How Automated Handling Time Works

1. Data collection — Amazon pulls the timestamp of each order you confirm as shipped over the past 30 days for every SKU in your catalog.
   • Example: A seller of silicone phone cases shipped 150 units in the last month, with an average of 1.2 hours between order receipt and shipment confirmation.
2. Average calculation — The platform calculates the mean handling duration for each SKU, rounding to the nearest whole day.
   • Example: The phone‑case average of 1.2 hours translates to a handling time of 0 days, meaning the system will display “Ships today.”