What is OTIF (on time, in full)? Formula and examples

The definition

OTIF stands for on time, in full. A delivery counts as OTIF only if it meets both conditions: it arrives within the agreed date window, and it contains the full quantity ordered. A line that arrives on time but short fails. A line that arrives complete but late fails too.

The same measure is used in two directions. Your customers measure your OTIF, and you measure your suppliers' OTIF on your purchase orders. This page focuses on the second, which is where most shortages start.

How to calculate it

• Pick the unit: order lines are the most common choice. Whole orders are stricter, because one short line fails the whole order.
• Pick the reference date: the date the supplier confirmed, not the date you first requested. Measuring against a date the supplier never accepted mixes your planning with their performance.
• Define the window: for example, from two days early to zero days late. Write it down and keep it the same every month.
• Define in full: the full ordered quantity, or within a tolerance such as 98 percent for items sold by weight or length.
• Divide the lines that met both conditions by all lines that were due in the period.

OTIF vs on-time delivery vs fill rate

• [Supplier on-time delivery](/resources/glossary/supplier-on-time-delivery) checks only the date. OTIF adds the quantity, so OTIF is always equal to or lower than on-time delivery.
• [Fill rate](/resources/glossary/fill-rate) measures how much of demand you served from stock at the first attempt. It describes your own availability, not your supplier's delivery.

Illustrative example, not a customer result

In October, a supplier had 50 purchase order lines due. 44 arrived on the confirmed date or within the window. Of those 44, 5 were short. OTIF = (44 - 5) / 50 = 39 / 50 = 78 percent, while on-time delivery alone reads 88 percent.

Common traps

• Changing the date after the fact: if a late confirmation replaces the original date, late lines turn into on-time lines. Keep the first confirmed date for measurement.
• Counting only what was received: lines that never arrived must stay in the denominator, or the score improves when suppliers deliver less.
• Averaging across suppliers: one large supplier can hide many small ones that fail. Look at OTIF per supplier and per critical item.
• Treating all misses the same: a late line for a part with months of stock costs nothing; a late line for a part with 3 days of days of cover can stop a line. Use OTIF to manage suppliers, and cover to decide what to chase today.

Is there a good OTIF target?

There is no universal number. Targets depend on the industry, the item and what is written in the supply agreement. Set the target per supplier or per category, measure it the same way every month, and review it with the supplier using the line-level detail.

How WERISCO helps

WERISCO reads your open and received purchase orders with stock and usage, from your ERP or your exports. It shows parts that will run short, ranked by days of cover, and flags late or undated supplier orders by severity, with each part's days of cover shown as evidence. It does not score suppliers for you or contact them; your team decides. Nothing is written back to your ERP.