Update to FBM requirements for Amazon.co.uk
We’re updating our Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) requirements for Amazon.co.uk to help increase your conversion with more accurate delivery promises, ensure timely deliveries for business customers and facilitate smooth customs clearance.
Deliver reliably to Amazon Business customers during their operating hours
To ensure secure delivery and fewer delivery reattempts, we expect that you maintain a business hour delivery rate of 90% or higher starting on 30 September 2026. This metric measures the percentage of FBM shipments delivered to Amazon Business customers within their hours of operation. From 30 October, if your performance remains below the requirement set out in the policy, non-compliant listings may be deactivated for business customers. To review your business hour delivery rate, go to the Account Health Dashboard. For more information, go to the Business Hour Delivery Rate FAQ
Improve your delivery promise with more accurate handling time
In our UK store, 90% of FBM orders already dispatch within a one-day handling time. Reflecting this, starting on 15 July 2026, the account-level default handling time will only display 0-day and 1-day options. If your account-level handling time is set to 2-days, it will automatically change to 1-day (you can still set a longer handling time per SKU). Starting on 1 September 2026, if an SKU’s handling time is one or more days longer than your actual performance for more than 30 days, we’ll enable Automated Handling Time for those SKUs to make it easy for you to offer faster delivery promises that reflect your actual performance. To learn how to monitor your SKU-level handling time, go to Modify Handling Time.
Ensure seamless delivery for cross-border shipments
To ensure customs clearance, you must comply with new EU Customs Reform regulations for shipments originating from outside the EU delivered to an EU address, starting on 1 July. For shipments under €150 imported under Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS), select an approved courier authorised to provide correct customs documentation, supply your courier with Amazon’s IOSS number and ASIN details for each product. For more information, go to Changes to programme policies.
Note: If your business hour delivery rate is below the requirement, we’ll notify you with recommendations on how to improve. We recommend that you use reliable couriers and set accurate handling and transit times. You can also enable Automated Handling Time, Shipping Settings Automation and Amazon Buy Shipping – orders fulfilled using all three tools will not count towards the business hour delivery rate requirement.
To view these changes, go to Changes to programme policies or view policy highlighting changes to the Order Performance programme policy (available in English only).
Update to FBM requirements for Amazon.co.uk
We’re updating our Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) requirements for Amazon.co.uk to help increase your conversion with more accurate delivery promises, ensure timely deliveries for business customers and facilitate smooth customs clearance.
Deliver reliably to Amazon Business customers during their operating hours
To ensure secure delivery and fewer delivery reattempts, we expect that you maintain a business hour delivery rate of 90% or higher starting on 30 September 2026. This metric measures the percentage of FBM shipments delivered to Amazon Business customers within their hours of operation. From 30 October, if your performance remains below the requirement set out in the policy, non-compliant listings may be deactivated for business customers. To review your business hour delivery rate, go to the Account Health Dashboard. For more information, go to the Business Hour Delivery Rate FAQ
Improve your delivery promise with more accurate handling time
In our UK store, 90% of FBM orders already dispatch within a one-day handling time. Reflecting this, starting on 15 July 2026, the account-level default handling time will only display 0-day and 1-day options. If your account-level handling time is set to 2-days, it will automatically change to 1-day (you can still set a longer handling time per SKU). Starting on 1 September 2026, if an SKU’s handling time is one or more days longer than your actual performance for more than 30 days, we’ll enable Automated Handling Time for those SKUs to make it easy for you to offer faster delivery promises that reflect your actual performance. To learn how to monitor your SKU-level handling time, go to Modify Handling Time.
Ensure seamless delivery for cross-border shipments
To ensure customs clearance, you must comply with new EU Customs Reform regulations for shipments originating from outside the EU delivered to an EU address, starting on 1 July. For shipments under €150 imported under Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS), select an approved courier authorised to provide correct customs documentation, supply your courier with Amazon’s IOSS number and ASIN details for each product. For more information, go to Changes to programme policies.
Note: If your business hour delivery rate is below the requirement, we’ll notify you with recommendations on how to improve. We recommend that you use reliable couriers and set accurate handling and transit times. You can also enable Automated Handling Time, Shipping Settings Automation and Amazon Buy Shipping – orders fulfilled using all three tools will not count towards the business hour delivery rate requirement.
To view these changes, go to Changes to programme policies or view policy highlighting changes to the Order Performance programme policy (available in English only).
31 replies
Seller_ZjZ4slOF0jHpk
So, in essence, sellers can no longer be trusted to manage their handling times to account for times when things out of their control happen, emergencies, etc., and we use the extra handling time to keep ourselves safe from over promising delivery dates? Will we be able to go and disable automated handling times, if you've switched it on, and we want to switch it back off? Will the fact that some of us are Handmade sellers and make things to order be taken into account, even if we can sometimes ship things faster than our set handling times but need the reassurance of setting 2+ days 'just in case'?
Seller_HetZ8jdM3gAgI
With regards to the BHDR metric, will sellers be allowed to appeal supposed defects?
We already monitor ours and have seen countless occasions where a self employed person who runs a business from home (Handyman, plumbers, electricians and so on) have stuff delivered to their home (Business address) outside of business hours (On a saturday for example) the business may be closed but it was successfully delivered.
The BHDR metric records that as outside of business hours, but it is actually better for the customer as they are home and not out on a job.
Or will Amazon be tightening the business customer rules and telling business customers that the business address must be commercial and not a residential address?
Seller_zRj5T2YHaZlfn
Not all of us can ship every day for various reasons. That is why our listings are set to have a 2 working days handling time. If we could pack and ship every day we would. We don't need Amazon's 'help' forcing us to do it.
Seller_ZQyopdiwkUHOZ
Every one associated with the decision making for points 1 and 2 should be fired immediately. ESPECIALLY point 2.
Seller_8pu1BcITpOjUp
how do you opt out of this change? my times are set to allow flexibility to make personalised items and we have a Royalmail collection time of 2pm.......
Seller_AlYpsVHv0gj21
I dont suppose that George Orwell was imaging something like Amazon when he wrote 1984 but Amazon certainly seem to be taking Big Brother as their role model.
We might just as well hand all our businesses over to Amazon lock stock and barrell -- thry seem to want to control everything.
How can they possibly tell us how to deliver to business customers when some of us dont want business customers in the first place
Seller_nT7psArrIHc2I
Isn't this just making us all "Prime sellers" without any extra visibility?
Also how can we have any influence on what time an order is delivered to a customer? That isn't anything we have any control over. Are we really going to get punished for that?
Seller_4AiP4mlfvzcri
just rediculous. If sellers want to ship in 1-day allow them to choose to do so
If sellers have chosen to dispatch 2-3 working days, leave them be.
Not all of us are able to ship in 1 day, nor do we want to over promise and under deliver - as Amazon does.
In my last 5 orders from Amazon, not one, has been delivered when Amazon says it will
Speaks volumes.
Get your own logistics sorted before meddling in marketplace sellers activities
Seller_PhxRA5ekyNqxQ
@Dougal_Amazon If 90% of FBM orders already despatch within one day, then how about leaving things exactly how they are? Just possibly, for the remaining 10% of orders, there is a reason why certain items can not be fulfilled within a day.
In our case, we have multiple warehouses throughout the UK and so it could be that an item that is in one part of the country takes a day or two to transfer to the fulfilment centre. Especially with wines, we're dealing with items that require specific storage and specialist transportation. Therefore each individual SKU has its own handling time, depending on its current location and our ability to fulfil it in a timely manner. Our products would not fit into the custom category, and so if you automatically start rolling out your Automated Handling Time system again, as you did once already, and overriding our highly accurate handling time calculations with generic estimates, then you will end up making delivery promises that we won't be able to keep.
Kindly, I would ask that you review the mandatory nature of this requirement. Maybe not everything is a problem that needs fixing.
Seller_nex6aLZ9HPynF
Maybe one way around this is to use the custom holiday settings and put account on hols every other day.
You will still receive sales, but it will show extra lead time on expected delivery dates
