Fill rate
What it measures
Fill rate answers a simple customer question: did you have what I ordered, when I ordered it? If a customer asks for ten lines and you ship nine complete, your service fell short on the tenth, and that is what fill rate captures.
Fill rate and OTIF
OTIF, on time and in full, is the stricter cousin. An order can post a respectable fill rate and still miss OTIF if it arrived late. For a distributor whose promise is reliability, OTIF often matters more than any single line measure.
How to improve it
Two levers work together: forecasting and safety stock so the goods are there, and fast, clean order processing so nothing is lost or delayed on your side of the desk. A brilliant forecast cannot rescue an order that sat unprocessed in an inbox.
Frequently asked questions
What is fill rate?
Fill rate is the proportion of customer demand met directly from available stock, without a shortfall or backorder. It can be measured by line, by order, or by units, and it is a core service-quality metric.
What is a good fill rate?
It depends on the trade and what your customers expect, so measure your own and track the trend. The useful question is whether your fill rate is protecting the relationships that matter, especially at your busiest times.
What is the difference between fill rate and OTIF?
Fill rate measures how much of the demand you met from stock. OTIF (on time, in full) is stricter: it asks whether the complete order arrived both on schedule and without shortfall. An order can have a high fill rate and still miss OTIF if it was late.
How do I improve fill rate?
Better demand forecasting and sensible safety stock on the lines that matter, plus faster, cleaner order processing so nothing is lost or delayed in your own back office. The two work together.
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