Vendor Lead Time (VLT)
Vendor Lead Time (VLT) is the number of days from when Amazon raises a purchase order (PO) to when the goods are received at an Amazon fulfillment center (FC), as Amazon measures it for Vendor Central vendors.
Vendor Lead Time (VLT) is the number of days from when Amazon raises a purchase order (PO) to when the goods are received at an Amazon fulfillment center (FC), as Amazon measures it for Vendor Central vendors.
What it is
VLT covers the whole cycle on a PO, and SoldScope breaks it into the steps that add days:
- PO acknowledgment and confirmation.
- Warehouse pick and pack.
- Carrier arrangement.
- Transit to the FC.
- FC appointment and check-in.
KhooCommerce separates VLT from Vendor Time to Deliver (VTTD), which runs from PO creation to the Carrier Requested Delivery Date (CRDD). VTTD leaves out carrier transit and FC receipt, so it measures the part of the cycle you control, while VLT runs all the way to receipt and is the number Amazon’s forecast works from.
If you came from Seller Central, VLT is separate from the lead time used in FBA restock planning, because it measures the POs Amazon raises to you.
Where it lives in Vendor Central
AmaLytix reports the field as “Overall vendor lead time (days)” in the Inventory Report under Amazon Retail Analytics (ARA), and defines it as the days from when you receive the order from Amazon to when the order arrives at Amazon. Amazon’s own documentation for the field sits behind the Vendor Central login, so check the label against what your account shows.
Why it matters to a vendor
Intentwise reports that Amazon calculates its demand forecasts from historical demand, profitability, and vendor lead times, so your VLT drives the quantity and timing of the POs you receive.
Tinuiti reports that Amazon used to time PO issuance on VLT plus 7 days in most cases, and that the current forecast uses VLT alone. Without that extra week, the safety stock decision moves to you, because you choose which P-level forecast to plan against. Amazon prefers vendors use P90, according to Tinuiti, because it makes inventory more readily available. Intentwise notes that vendors who need 6 or more extra weeks to deliver, usually because of long international lead times, plan against the Mean Forecast instead.
Reason Automation describes the planning math that follows: combine the adjusted demand forecast with your target weeks of cover, then work backward using VLT and current inventory to size the reorder. If that VLT is shorter than your real cycle, the reorder comes late and pushes the ASIN toward out of stock, and if it’s longer, Amazon orders too early and builds excess inventory.
SoldScope reports that consistent VLT leads to higher PO volume and more predictable orders, while inconsistent VLT disrupts forecasting and PO planning.
Related terms
- Purchase Order (PO): the order whose delivery window VLT shapes.
- PO (Purchase Order) On-Time Accuracy: the chargeback for missing that window.
- Weeks of Coverage: the InsightLeap metric for how long your inventory lasts, including units already on open POs.
- Glossary index: the rest of the Vendor Central terms and InsightLeap metrics.
