What a Weekly Walmart OTIF Review Should Surface

A weekly Walmart on-time, in-full (OTIF) review should identify where performance changed and separate timing issues from quantity issues. For each exception, the team needs supporting evidence and an owner for the next action.

Start by recording the scope, Walmart reporting period, vendor numbers, freight arrangement, and data refresh time. Then examine the purchase orders and shipment evidence behind the score before estimating a penalty or assigning a cause.

TrueShelf suggests this review process; Walmart does not require it. Confirm current definitions, goals, and policies in the authorized Walmart resources available to your team.

Start with a controlled comparison

Before discussing performance, check that both periods cover the same scope. Record:

• Walmart week or month;
• vendor numbers included;
• business units or departments included;
• prepaid, collect, or both freight arrangements;
• the source and time of the latest refresh; and
• any missing feeds, late documents, or known data exceptions.

A newly included vendor number, a partial week, or a later refresh can change the score even when operations have not changed. Record those differences before interpreting the result.

Use the same fiscal periods throughout the review. If calendar alignment is unclear, the Walmart calendar can help the team name the week and month consistently.

Separate on-time from in-full exceptions

Review timing and quantity separately, even when the report combines them in one OTIF score.

For an on-time exception, ask whether the documented event occurred inside the applicable window and whether the evidence is complete. For an in-full exception, ask whether the ordered, shipped, acknowledged, and received quantities reconcile at the same purchase-order line and unit of measure.

Keep the paths separate until the evidence shows they share a cause. A purchase order can have both types of exception, but a late arrival and a quantity shortage do not automatically require the same owner or corrective action.

Find what is driving the movement

A change in the average score tells you to investigate the underlying exceptions.

Rank the underlying exceptions by their contribution to the period-over-period change. Review the largest concentrations by:

• purchase order;
• item or case;
• distribution center or destination;
• vendor number;
• freight arrangement;
• carrier, where relevant and authorized; and
• recurring exception category in the current Walmart materials.

Find the records that account for most of the change. If the exceptions are spread across the business, investigate other ways to group them. A broad pattern alone does not prove that they share one cause.

Preserve the evidence chain

Walmart’s public supply-chain guidance defines an Advanced Ship Notice (ASN) as the EDI 856 message used to communicate shipment contents before delivery. It also tells suppliers to monitor acknowledgements and advice messages and keep item identifiers synchronized.

To check the shipment and its acknowledgements, gather the documents relevant to the question and authorized policy:

• the purchase order and relevant change history;
• ASN content and transmission time;
• EDI acknowledgement or application-advice status;
• shipment, appointment, pickup, or delivery documentation;
• ordered, shipped, and received case quantities;
• item and unit-of-measure mapping; and
• a link to the current Walmart definition or policy used.

The evidence should travel with the conclusion. “Carrier issue” or “short shipped” is not yet an explanation if another reviewer cannot trace it to the source records.

Apply accountability context carefully

Freight arrangement changes which party controls some events. Current operational documentation distinguishes prepaid freight, where the supplier manages transportation, from collect scenarios, where accountability may be divided differently.

Do not assign ownership from the exception label alone. Record:

1. the freight arrangement;
2. the event that failed the current rule;
3. the party that controlled that event;
4. the evidence available; and
5. what remains uncertain.

These details support the review, but a dispute requires its own policy checks. Verify dispute requirements and deadlines in current authorized Walmart materials before deciding how to proceed.

Assign the next action

For each material exception, assign a specific next step before the meeting ends. Record:

Distinguish what happened from what the team thinks caused it. Keep an explanation tentative until the evidence supports it.

A practical weekly sequence

Run the meeting in this order:

1. Confirm scope, period, filters, and refresh state.
2. Compare the current result with a controlled prior period.
3. Separate on-time and in-full movement.
4. Rank the purchase orders and items driving the change.
5. Check freight arrangement and event accountability.
6. Attach the source evidence and current policy reference.
7. Assign one next action, owner, due date, and uncertainty note.

The logistics, replenishment, and account teams should leave with assigned actions and the evidence needed to carry them out.

TrueShelf is being designed to keep retailer-performance signals, detailed evidence, definitions, refresh state, and exceptions visible around recurring analysis. Explore the platform.

Frequently asked questions

What does Walmart OTIF mean?

OTIF stands for on-time, in-full. Walmart identifies it as an important supplier compliance program. Suppliers should use current authorized Walmart materials for the exact calculations, goals, windows, and policies that apply to them.

Should a weekly OTIF review start with the total score?

Use the total as a signal, then move quickly to the on-time and in-full components and the purchase orders driving the change. A top-line score alone does not establish cause or accountability.

What period should a supplier use?

Use a clearly named Walmart week or month and apply the same scope and refresh logic to the comparison period. Avoid comparing a partial or differently filtered period with a complete one.

Is every OTIF exception the supplier’s responsibility?

Do not assume so from the label alone. Review the freight arrangement, failed event, controlling party, and available evidence under the current Walmart policy.