Amazon tightens Fulfilled by Merchant requirements

Amazon is tightening its oversight of merchants that ship orders themselves (Fulfilled by Merchant, or FBM). In Germany, the company expects FBM sellers to maintain an On-Time Delivery Rate of 90 percent or higher and says it will enforce that threshold strictly. Similar policy changes are being introduced in other countries.

“To provide an excellent customer experience”, Amazon expects German sellers to maintain an On-Time Delivery Rate (OTDR) of 90 percent or higher, according to an update on FBM requirements in the German Seller Central. Amazon also warns of the consequences for failing to meet the standard: “Starting September 1, 2026, affected listings may be deactivated if the policy requirements are not met, and you may lose the ability to offer new FBM products.”

Timely B2B deliveries

The same threshold and similar sanctions will later apply to Amazon Business orders in Germany. From September 30, at least 90 percent of business deliveries must arrive timely during customers’ business hours.

Amazon is introducing a business delivery metric

From October 30, listings for Business customers may be deactivated if sellers fail to meet the required standard. Amazon has announced the same changes to sellers on Amazon.co.uk.

Handling times

For consumer deliveries, the 90 percent OTDR requirement already exists in the United Kingdom, but Amazon will begin enforcing it more rigorously from September. The company is also introducing stricter handling time requirements, an issue that already sparked debate among sellers last year.

Amazon wants to prevent merchants from consistently advertising longer handling times than they actually need. From July 15, accounts with a default handling time of two days will automatically be changed to one day.

Automated Handling Time as an enforcement tool

From September 1, handling times that are set too conservatively will automatically be adjusted after 30 days if they remain at least one day longer than the seller’s actual performance. As Amazon explains: “We will enable Automated Handling Time for those SKUs to make it easy for you to offer faster delivery promises that reflect your actual performance.”

Higher conversion

According to Amazon, the FBM changes will help sellers in its two largest European markets, Germany and the United Kingdom, to increase conversion with more accurate delivery promises and ensure timely deliveries for business customers.

Amazon has also updated FBM requirements in other major European markets, including France, Spain and Italy. In those five countries, the company introduced FBM Ship+ late last year, making shipping “faster and more affordable than ever” by offering merchants cashback to help cover the cost of faster shipping.