Valid Tracking Rate Notification - Just For Info!
I have posted these links on the other threads but there still seem to be lots of questions so I have attached the VTR Requirements and FAQs links here - from the Amazon Help Pages
Requirements - Amazon
FAQs - Amazon
and for anyone who didn’t get the email
We continuously strive to find ways to improve customer experience. For items that you ship directly to customers, providing details to enable the tracking of the shipment improves the customer experience and contributes to overall customer satisfaction. This information reduces the likelihood of negative feedback and also helps protect your account health metrics. A tracking ID also can help reduce order defect rate and is taken into consideration in addressing A-Z claims.
Therefore, we wish to inform you about the new upcoming requirements to Ship Confirm and Valid Tracking Rate that will become effective from April 19, 2021. Starting from that date, we will require you to:
• Provide the following information during Ship Confirm:
-
The name of the shipping service provider and the specific delivery service used for all merchant fulfilled orders; and
-
The tracking ID for merchant fulfilled orders that are shipped with a tracked ship method or the unique parcel ID (located above the 2D barcode on the label) in case you use the Royal Mail 24®/48® ship methods.
• Reach 95% Valid Tracking Rate (VTR)
- On your domestic orders through Amazon.co.uk over a rolling 30-day period i.e. if you ship from an address in the UK to a delivery address in the UK. We will measure the VTR for non-prime merchant fulfilled orders at a category level. VTR will be measured on all domestic orders shipped through integrated shipping service providers where Amazon receives scan information.
To help you navigate these changes, we have listed FAQs in Seller Central here < https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/gp/help/201817070 > to help answer any questions you may have.
FAQ
- What is VTR?
VTR corresponds to the number of packages you ship with a valid tracking number divided by the total number of packages that you have shipped and confirmed with carriers that are integrated with Amazon. You can find the list of integrated shipping service providers here:
<https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/gp/help/202068180>.
Please refer to this Help page for further information here < https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/gp/help/201817070 >.
For details on how to provide VTR, you can download a step by step guide here.
<https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/gc/sell-online/customer-experience-feature-guide?>
Starting March 31, 2021, you can monitor your category level VTR in this dashboard here
<https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/performance/detail/shipping?ref=sp_st_nav_spshp&& >.
- Are partially tracked services, including Royal Mail 24®/48® measured within VTR?
If you use Royal Mail 24®/48® to ship your packages then you must provide the unique parcel ID, located above the 2D barcode on the label. This will allow us to provide customers with a delivery scan event and will be included within VTR. If you are using a Royal Mail 24® or 48® product that does not have a barcode, please ensure you contact your Royal Mail account manager, or contact Royal Mail here: <https://business.help.royalmail.com/app/contact>, to set up these services. You will not be able to ship confirm a shipment using a Royal Mail 24®/48® ship method unless you provide the parcel ID.
- Can I confirm merchant fulfilled orders without inputting tracking ID?
You can ship confirm orders without a tracking ID for untracked ship methods or in case you use shipping service providers that are not integrated yet with Amazon systems. Tracking IDs are required for all orders shipped with a tracked ship method for shipping service providers integrated with Amazon. Additionally, you must provide us with the parcel IDs from Royal Mail 24®/48® ship methods.
- Will my selling on Amazon account be suspended if the VTR drops below 95% in one category?
If you do not provide 95% VTR as required by the policy, all non-Prime Merchant Fulfilled Network offers in the impacted category may be suspended. This will not affect the MFN non-Prime offers in other categories nor your FBA or Prime offers. If any of your listings get suspended, you can submit a Plan of Action and apply for reinstatement. If your appeal is approved, your non-Prime merchant-fulfilled listings in the affected category will be restored.
Selling on Amazon team
449 replies
Seller_HbtEgJLFVZHWb
Wow, thanks for that.
I see “Self Delivery” as an option among many others in the section" 6) What is a delivery service?"
(https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/gp/help/202068180).
But that would be not acceptable then, since that has no tracking?
Seller_vF6jbeUX0Fp0k
been speaking to royal mail special pricing team about this, ive managed to get £2.16 plus 4% fuel (+VAT) for a 48 hour fully tracked large letter which i dont think is too bad but i will have to increase my prices and stop selling some lines.
They said there is no chance of hitting 95% with the CRL service the posties just dont spot the envelopes sometimes or a simply too busy to do it.
they did say that they are waiting for clarification from the amazon team within royal mail after they have it from amazon and this would be available in the next 7 days
I feel that sending items untracked is a pit of despair that will bit us on the back side down the road.
Im honestly at a loss with what the best cause of action is, whats everyone elses plan?
i cant see this going live on the 19th and immediately issuing warning for people not meeting requirements for the 30 days previous, even amazon wouldn’t be that mean. i think it will start counting from the 19th on a rolling 30 days but i may be wrong.
Seller_Qrqi3Gr1D0qyY
Seriously… we are using Click & Drop with CRL code and have never exceeded 85%. How on earth they think it’s possible to gets 95%??
Seller_JYBfQQyHe3uzL
Thanks for posting but it’s byzantine in some of its details and seems to be tackling no problem this booksellers to deal with. Losses and latest are rare with RM and to jump though these hips has already dissuaded a bookseller i know who says he’ll lose money and, for myself, I lost on a couple of cheapie once untracked 2nd class £3.20 & Amazon’s cut was absorbed.
A coincidence that this bright idea introduced so soon after Bezos’s “departure”? I think we should be told, as Private Eye would day - perhaps someone should tell them!
Seller_K8edOfPu9HEmN
We’ve come to the conclusion that we will have to move over from CRL24/48 to the tracked 24/48.
As this is a more expensive form of service we have decided to drop free P&P and add on an amount of about £2.50 to £3.50 across the board to cover any difference.
I doubt we will be the only ones
If this rise in prices is improving customer experience then so be it.
Seller_uBuqlxbTdzcn2
I’ve just looked into these further and downloaded the reports. I have 61 sent by RM48 which are not showing as tracked. 334 which are.
Of the 334 that were scanned, some fully tracked, 314 were delivered on time. Some of the 20 late items were fully tracked items, for instance a parcel sent on 16th February (so should have arrived 18th February), the deliver by date was 22nd February and it was delivered on 23rd February. This (and the others) have obviously gone against the ontime delivery rate, but that is really out of my control, as is the postie not scanning standard RM24/48. Between 17th and 23rd February there is no scan whatsoever.
So…even if we were to change to fully tracked on each order (although not cost effective) the problem could still arise for items arriving late. I was not approached by the customer that their item hadn’t arrived or was late.
Seller_n33KwLeg9XOvi
To add in to this;
There appears to be a 10 day time lag on the VTR report - so if you view the report today, you only get the results for the 30 days to 14. March 2021;
Time Window: 30 days
Promised Delivery Date : 13-Feb-2021 - 14-Mar-2021
Seller_Qrqi3Gr1D0qyY
Amazon why you just don’t say that you don’t want FBM sellers anymore?? You just messing around and making selling on this platform more and more difficult! We are al struggling to met your ridiculous expectations… Even your support is not reliable and unable to answer simplest questions and rules you have just introduced are so much unclear… insane…
Seller_uFB5BvvhC8HAT
Might also help if the ongoing saga of not tracking DHL parcels in the Uk was resolved.Despite saying DHL is an approved recognised supplier for premium shipped orders, no orders shipped via DHL which can be tracked at https://track.dhlparcel.co.uk/ will not be shown. Parcels are being delivered on time and with valid tracking but amazons tracking will not pick any of these up. Only choices are using the expensive buy shipping service or as others have said use FBA. Add to that the new prime cut of deadlines of 4pm last orders and you must despatch at weekends as well, its not going to be an easy task for many.
Seller_ATuN59NWPkObT
Read All the comments, still not got a clue whether I can continue sending First Class Large without tracking, as I’ve always done.
Confused to say the least, wish everything was more clear.
