How to keep Walmart Valid Tracking Rate at 99%

Before you start

• A carrier from Walmart's approved parcel carrier list, decided before the label is bought.
• The label in front of you when you type, not a number copied from an email.
• A tracking URL if you have to use Others as the carrier.
• Seller Center access to the Orders page.

Steps

1. Pick an integrated carrier before you buy

   Choose from Walmart's approved parcel carrier list. "Non-integrated carrier" is one of the drivers Walmart holds sellers accountable for on this metric.

   You should see your carrier named on Walmart's approved list, before any money is spent.

2. Read the number off the label, not off memory

   Copy the tracking number from the label in your hand, because Walmart requires correct formatting and no special characters.

3. Check it is not the order number

   A tracking number cannot match the purchase order or sales order number, which is the classic paste error on a busy morning.

4. Match the carrier to the number in Shipping details

   On the Orders page, open the order, select Ship items, then in the Shipping details section select the carrier that issued that number.

   You should see the carrier and the number recorded as a matching pair.

5. Add a tracking URL when you use Others

   If the carrier is not in the menu, select Others and supply the tracking number and URL, because "Invalid tracking URL" is itself an accountable driver.

6. Select Mark as shipped, then get a scan

   Mark the order shipped and hand the parcel over the same day, since a valid number needs "at least one valid carrier scan on record".

   You should see the order shipped with a number that will resolve on Walmart's side.

7. Report a relabel straight away

   Walmart's rule: "If you relabel a package with a new tracking number, you must inform us of the new tracking number."

If it goes wrong

The drivers Walmart names

On Valid Tracking Rate, Walmart lists "No carrier scan", "Invalid tracking ID", "Invalid tracking URL", "Misleading tracking" and "Non-integrated carrier" as seller accountable. Four of the five are entry errors rather than carrier failures.

A regional carrier can still fail the test

Appearing on the approved list is not the same as scanning promptly. A number with no scan on record is counted against you under "No carrier scan", whoever carried it.

The window to fix a number is tiny

"After marking the order status Shipped, you can edit the tracking number for up to 24 hours or until the carrier first touch scan is received in the Walmart system, whichever is earlier." Validate before you submit, not after.

What happens next

Walmart asks for valid tracking on "at least 99% of your shipments", which leaves very little room: one bad order in a hundred is the whole allowance. The metrics around it move together.

On-Time Delivery Rate has to stay at 90% or above, with "Carrier method mismatch" and "Ship location mismatch" named as seller accountable, Late Shipment Rate at 5% or below, and Cancellation Rate at 2% or below. Shipping on a Ship with Walmart label is the only route Walmart documents for keeping lost or late parcels off On-Time Delivery, and it covers up to $100 per qualifying order.