3PL service levels you can actually measure: shipping speed and receiving accuracy
Define and measure the service levels clients ask about: orders shipped within 24 and 48 hours, median time to ship, on-time and in-full receiving, and count accuracy.
Stokrio Team · · 6 min read
Service-level promises are easy to write and hard to prove. "Same-day dispatch" means nothing unless both sides agree what the clock measures and you can produce the number. This guide defines the metrics 3PLs are most often asked for.
Key takeaways
- Define start and stop for every metric in the contract.
- Report both the share meeting the target and the median, so one slow order does not hide.
- Measure receiving separately from shipping.
- Review by client and by warehouse.
Shipping speed
Define the clock: from order placed (or order received by the warehouse) to shipped. Then report:
- Share shipped within 24 hours and within 48 hours.
- Median hours to ship.
- Open orders: placed but not yet shipped, because a backlog is invisible in a "shipped" figure.
Stokrio's Order fulfilment report gives exactly these, by client or warehouse: orders placed against shipped, what is still open, the share within 24 and 48 hours and the median hours.
Receiving
Receiving accuracy has three parts:
- On time: did the purchase order arrive when expected, or when did you receive it?
- In full: short and over receipts against what was ordered, and the fill rate.
- Lead time: time from order to receipt.
The Receiving performance report covers completed purchase orders in a period with on-time against the expected date, short and over receipts, fill rate and lead time, by client, supplier or warehouse.
Count accuracy
Count and adjustment differences tell you how often stock was corrected and by how much, by client, warehouse, product or reason. A rising number is an early warning for a process or integration problem long before a client complains.
Integration health
Many service failures are data failures. If a client's system stopped sending movements three days ago, every number is stale. The Integration health report shows per client when your system last sent data, the last stock count and order, and partner API errors in the last seven days.
A monthly pack
| Metric | Source report |
|---|---|
| Shipped within 24h / 48h, median | Order fulfilment |
| On time, in full, fill rate | Receiving performance |
| Corrections by reason | Count and adjustment differences |
| Data freshness | Integration health |
Browse all 36 reports.