At a glance
On-Time Dispatch Rate is the share of Walmart Marketplace orders you ship by the expected ship date. It is one of the metrics Walmart watches most closely, because it feeds directly into your Seller Scorecard and Pro Seller eligibility. Slipping below the SLA quietly cuts your search visibility long before any suspension notice arrives.
| What it counts | The percentage of Walmart Marketplace orders dispatched on or before the expected ship date in the window. |
| Sample type | Backend API data from Walmart Marketplace, refreshed on the standard data refresh. |
| Why it matters | Walmart treats on-time dispatch as a core SLA; a falling rate reduces algorithmic visibility and, if sustained, puts Pro Seller status and account standing at risk. |
| Reading the value | Higher is better; a value trending down toward the SLA floor is an early warning that fulfilment is slipping. |
| Currency | percent |
| Time window | 30D vsP |
| Alert trigger | <99% (Walmart SLA) |
| Sentiment key | wal_sla_compliance |
| Roles | owner, operations |
Calculation
The value is derived by comparing the number of Walmart Marketplace orders dispatched on or before their expected ship date against the total number of orders due to ship in the selected window, then expressing the result as a percentage. Orders are aligned to the merchant reporting time zone before the comparison. See the At a glance summary for the window and unit, and the worked example below for how the figure reads in practice.Worked example
A representative reading of On-Time Dispatch Rate for a typical merchant on Walmart Marketplace. On 12 Mar 26 a seller shipping around 1,200 orders in the trailing 30 days sees the rate slip from 99.4% to 98.1%, with roughly 23 orders dispatched a day late. That is still above a hard suspension line but already below the SLA the card watches, so Walmart begins trimming search placement on the affected items. The action is to check which carrier or warehouse cut-off caused the late batch and tighten the pick-and-pack schedule before the rate erodes further. For deeper investigation, use Vortex Mind to trace upstream causes; for natural-language exploration, ask Ask Viq.Sibling cards merchants should reference together
| Card | Why merchants reach for it |
|---|---|
wal_late_dispatch_rate | The inverse view; shows exactly how much volume is missing the ship-by date. |
wal_pending_dispatch | Surfaces orders still waiting to ship that could tip the rate down. |
wal_alert_dispatch_sla_miss | Flags late dispatches that directly threaten Pro Seller status. |
wal_cancellation_rate | Cancellations and late dispatch often share the same fulfilment root cause. |
wal_marketplace_health_score | Rolls dispatch performance into the overall account health picture. |
Reconciling against Walmart Seller Center
Where to look in Walmart Seller Center: Open the Performance / Scorecard area, where Walmart reports on-time shipment alongside the other SLA metrics, and cross-check against Order Management for the underlying dispatch timestamps. Why the Vortex IQ value may legitimately differ:| Reason | Direction | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Period boundary. Vortex IQ uses 30D rolling by default; Seller Center may use calendar periods. | Variable | Match the period range. |
| Time zone. Seller Center uses the account time zone; Vortex IQ aligns to the merchant reporting time zone. | Marginal | Confirm time zone match. |
| Filter scope. Profile-level filters (fulfilment type, test orders) may narrow the Vortex IQ view. | Variable | Match filter settings. |