Key Points:

• The Late Dispatch Rate (LDR) metric is used to assess how efficiently sellers dispatch orders.
• Seller Requirement: Maintain an LDR of less than or equal to 4%.
• You can check LDR performance on your Fulfillment Analytics page in Seller Center.

Late Dispatch Rate (LDR) represents the percentage of dispatched orders that were not updated with valid tracking numbers within the required dispatch SLA.
To meet your dispatch SLA, you must add a valid tracking number to regular orders, within 2 business days (BD) so that the order status changes to To Ship -Awaiting Collection.
Per our Fulfillment Policy, all sellers are required to maintain an LDR of less than or equal to 4%.

How Late Dispatch Rate (LDR) Impacts Your Shop

LDR is one of the core four metrics used to evaluate a shop's fulfillment performance and shop health. The four core performance metrics, based on TikTok Shop's Fulfillment Policy, are:

• Valid Tracking Rate (VTR)
• Late Dispatch Rate (LDR)
• On-Time Delivery Rate (OTDR)
• Seller-Fault Cancellation Rate (SFCR)

Maintaining a low LDR is a critical part of meeting customer expectations for order fulfillment timeliness. By meeting the dispatch SLAs, orders are set up to not only meet platform policy requirements, but also customer experience expectations.

Late Dispatch Rate (LDR) Violations

When a shop's LDR does not meet the SLA requirements in the Fulfillment Policy requirement of less than or equal to 4%, enforcement actions will be taken. Under the Seller Enforcement Policy, these violations can include, but are not limited to, Account Health Rating (AHR) point deductions, decreased visibility, order volume limits, or extended settlement periods.
Additionally, the more LDR violations a shop gets, the more strict the enforcement actions imposed will become.

How Late Dispatch Rate (LDR) Is Calculated

Late Dispatch Rate = Number of non-Fulfilled byTikTok (FBT) orders dispatched later than the dispatch SLA / Total number of orders dispatched by the shop in the evaluation period (including FBT orders).

Example

Total number of orders dispatched by the shop in the evaluation period (including FBT orders) = 200
Out of the above total number non-FBT orders dispatched later than dispatch SLA = 25
They would then use the formula above to calculate:

1. 25 / 200 = 0.125
2. 0.125 x 100 = 12.5

Late Dispatch Rate = 12.5%

Late Dispatch Rate (LDR) Appeals

If you believe your LDR was not calculated correctly or reflects the wrong information, you can request an appeal. A LDR enforcement can be appealed based on the following rules:

• Each LDR enforcement can only be appealed twice.
• Initial appeal must be submitted within 30 days of the enforcement message. If the first appeal is unsuccessful, the second appeal must be submitted within 15 days of initial appeal rejection.

You will then need to prepare the required evidence (outlined below in the Appeal Requirements section) for each of the Order IDs that were flagged as late dispatch.

Appeal Scenarios

For LDR violations, the below are the only scenarios that TikTok Shop will consider an appeal:

1. TikTok Shop enforced an order ID more than once (either in the same calculation period or in consecutive calculation period for the same SKUs).
2. TikTok Shop incorrectly categorized an order as late when it was dispatched in accordance with the dispatch SLA.
3. Local fulfillment warehouse disruptions due to events or circumstances beyond seller and warehouse control.
   1. Labor strikes/disputes, environmental disasters or accidents, power outages or utility failures
4. Seller can not dispatch orders on time due to system issues.

* Late scans from the carrier are not an acceptable appeal reason.

Appeal Requirements

To successfully appeal an LDR violation, you will need to provide the documentation listed below. Before submitting an appeal, audit your orders to identify which order IDs were flagged as being dispatched late.
Duplicated Enforcement

• Screen shots indicating that the same order IDs with the same SKUs were listed more than once in the same or consecutive enforcement period.

Uncontrollable EventIMPORTANT: Date must be on the proof provided with 30 days within the enforcement time.

• Documentation showing proof of delay from the local fulfillment warehouse with date matching the timeline and impacted order IDs.
• Proof showing severe weather impact in the area of operation, labor strikes, environmental disasters, or power outages/utility failures.
  • Order placement time and order IDs are both required

Error by TikTok

• Tracking IDs or screen shots of trackings, that are associated with late orders that show that order was actually dispatched before the dispatch SLA.
  • NOTE: The order IDs given should match the order IDs that contributed to the LDR; e.g carrier's tracking nodes show that the first scan date is before the "late dispatch by" date.
• Official record from enterprise retail platform (ERP) or independent service vendor (ISV) confirming the issue was caused by a system issue.
• Tracking IDs uploaded unsuccessfully before "late dispatch by" date.

How to See Late Dispatch Rate (LDR)

1. Click on Analytics

2. Click on the Post-purchase analytics tab

3. Then click on the Fulfillment tab

Want to see your shop's LDR? Click here to go straight to your Fulfillment Analytics page in Seller Center. To learn more about your Fulfillment Analytics page, you can refer to our Guide to Fulfillment Analytics Page article.

Best Practices for Improving Your Late Dispatch Rate (LDR)

1. Closely monitor your order status in Seller Center and regularly check dispatch SLA and delivery SLA for each order.
   1. To monitor, go to your Manage Orders page (Click Here to go there now). And go to the To Ship tab. Click into each order to see the details page.

2. Your dispatch responsibility does not end at hand-off to your carrier. Make sure you monitor orders so that they receive their acceptance scan from the carrier within 2 business days.
3. Don't forget about your Seller Center tools!
   1. Holiday Mode
   2. Order Handling Capacity Tool
   3. Custom Handling Time feature
   4. Backorder feature
4. Consider joining upgraded TikTok Shipping or Fulfilled by TikTok (FBT), which provide shipping and delivery guarantees.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What's considered a late dispatch?

To meet your dispatch SLA, you must add a valid tracking number to regular orders and ensure the order status marked "Awaiting collection" within 2 BD.
If an order does not have a valid tracking number and the status has not been updated to To Ship - Awaiting Shipment within the defined dispatch SLA, it is considered late.

What's the difference between LDR and On-Time Delivery Rate (OTDR)?

LDR measures how consistently sellers meet their dispatch SLA for orders, while On-Time Delivery Rate (OTDR) assesses whether orders are delivered within the expected timeframe.

• For LDR, sellers can meet dispatch timeliness requirements by providing valid tracking numbers and confirming orders update to To Ship - Awaiting Shipment within the dispatch SLA.
• OTDR ensures sellers manage their order volume effectively and collaborate with their chosen carriers to deliver orders within expected timeframes.

What if I believe my LDR is inaccurate?

When you review the ticket for a LDR violation, you will see the option to appeal.
Before submitting the appeal, TikTok Shop will direct you to download a list of all the tracking numbers submitted within the designated time period. Be sure to download the list and identify the orders that were flagged as having tracking number issues.
You will then need to prepare the required evidence (outlined above in the Appeal Requirements section) for each of the tracking numbers that were incorrectly flagged as invalid.

Does LDR affect a shop's Account Health Rating (AHR) or Shop Performance Score (SPS)?

Your LDR does not directly impact your SPS. However, late-dispatched orders are much less likely to be delivered within the deliver-by SLA. Orders not marked as Delivered within this timeframe are included in the OTDR calculation.
As a result, a high LDR can indirectly affect your SPS through the OTDR metric.

Are TikTok Shipping orders exempt from LDR assessments?

No. TikTok Shipping orders are still included in your LDR assessment because you are still responsible for handling the dispatch of orders.
Only orders through the Fulfilled by TikTok (FBT) program are exempt because TikTok Shop handles the end-to-end logistics for orders.