Fulfillment Lag Time

Updated 4 months ago ​by Merch Transformation Change Management

Your Fulfillment Lag Time is the maximum number of days it takes you to process an order for shipment. Lag Times can help you manage when orders are expected to ship to the customer. 

How Lag Time Works

If the lag time is set to zero days, and the order is placed before your distributor order cutoff time, that order will be assigned an expected ship date of that day. Orders placed after your cutoff time will be expected to ship the next business day. 

If the lag time is set to three days, and the order is placed before your distributor order cutoff time, that order will be assigned an expected ship date three days from when the order was placed. Orders placed after your cutoff time will be expected to ship on the fourth business day from when the order was placed. 

Items Eligible for Lag Time

Lag times are only allowed if your items fall into one of the exceptions below. 

  • Items that ship via Freight/LTL carriers
  • Items requiring Personalization/Customization
  • Items that are Built To Order
  • Certain services (Installation, E-Delivery, Etc.)

Types of Lag Time

Lag time can be requested on an individual item or, if you have a lot of items that meet the above requirements, you can request a distributor-level lag time. 

  • Item Level Lag Time – the maximum number of days it takes for you to process a specific item prior to shipping it. Only applies to the specified item, all other items will default to the distributor level lag time.
  • Distributor Level Lag Time – the maximum number of days it takes for your warehouse to process any item/order. This is the default lag time applied to all items/orders for that specific warehouse. This does not apply to items with item-level lag times.
Item-level lag times will override distributor-level lag time. For example, if you receive an order for an item that has a 5-day item lag time, and your distributor lag time is 0 days, the order will be assigned a 5-day lag time. This is mainly used if your catalog consists of a combination of small parcel items (which don’t require a lag time) and freight/customized items (which require a lag time).

Set or Edit Lag Times

Lag Times can only be set and updated by our internal Walmart teams. You will need to submit a request for additional processing time by creating a case for Partner Support. 

Request Lag Times

To request any of the lag time options listed below, please create a case for Partner Support and select Orders or Shipping > Operational Settings > Lead Time and provide a list of items you wish to request a lag time for and/or provide reasons and support documentation for why your facility requires one of the lag time options. 

  • Item Level Lag Time – If your item(s) falls into one of the exceptions listed above (custom, freight, service, etc.). 
  • Distributor Level Lag Time - Walmart grants distributor level lag times only if the majority (50% or more) of your items/catalog fall into one of the lag time exceptions listed above. 

Alternatives to Lag Times

Instead of using lag times to manage your order processing time, we recommend that you set your Order Cutoff Time to an earlier time, request a lower capacity, or a combination of both to give you the time needed to process orders.

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