Order fill rate

How to calculate order fill rate

Divide the number of orders shipped complete on the first shipment by the total number of orders shipped, then multiply by 100.

For example, in one week a warehouse ships 500 orders. 470 go out with every unit, and 30 are missing at least one item. The order fill rate is 470 ÷ 500 = 94%. The customer's experience is binary: either the order was complete or it wasn't.

Order, line and unit fill rate

Fill rate comes in three common versions, and they tell different stories. Always state which one you report.

• Order fill rate: orders shipped complete ÷ total orders. The strictest measure.
• Line fill rate: order lines shipped complete ÷ total lines.
• Unit fill rate: units shipped ÷ units ordered. The most forgiving measure.

What lowers fill rate

Using the same 500 orders, suppose they contain 2,000 lines, and 1,960 were complete. Line fill rate is 98%, while order fill rate is 94%. One missing line spoils a whole order, so multi-line orders are more exposed.

The common causes are low stock, backorders the business didn't plan for, stock the system shows but pickers can't find, and stock that exists but is in quarantine or on hold. Poor inventory accuracy is a frequent hidden cause: the order was accepted because the record said the stock was there. Fixing counts and setting safety stock per SKU, with help from the safety stock calculator, usually does more than any other change.

How NextStock measures fill rate

NextStock includes fill rate in its KPI reports, alongside on-time ship, order cycle time, dock-to-stock, count accuracy and operator throughput, and reports can be delivered on a schedule. Backorders and short picks are recorded, so you can trace which SKUs cause incomplete orders. See reports and alerts and the warehouse KPIs guide.