Improve Delivery Performance With On-time Shipment Analytics

Plans: Premium & Enterprise Advanced Platforms: All Platforms

Overview

Customers always expect brands to tell estimated order delivery date, ensuring they receive the order delivery according to their plans. Additionally, they don't have to seek support unnecessarily. AfterShip Tracking, besides letting its users set estimated delivery dates, shows on-time shipment reports. Get a clear picture of how well your shipments are performing against their EDD through the On-time shipments analytics dashboard. You can track the share of shipments delivered on time, early, or late, eventually helping you to understand what’s driving those results.

It’s designed to help you:

Identify which carriers, lanes, or time periods show performance drops
Improve SLA compliance and delivery reliability
Helps to improve delivery reliability and optimize the logistics network.
Enhance customer satisfaction by meeting delivery promises

What you’ll learn

In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to:

Steps to check on-time shipment report
Dynamic dashboard filtering to view specific reports
Key performance metrics
Track changes in On-time shipments over time
Monitor delivery performance
View shipment distribution by delivery timing
Analyze on-time shipments by lane and carrier service
Drill-down analysis
Dashboard and report actions
Key takeaways
FAQs

Steps to check on-time shipment report

The actual on-time delivery data such as on-time rate, on-time shipments, early shipments and late shipments are calculated after first delivery attempt, but trending shipments, EDD coverage, Shipment with EDD metrics are calculated before first attempt.

Navigate to Analytics > click On-time shipment.
You'll see data based on the default settings, so set the filters according to your preference to see the desired results.

Let’s break down the nuances of AfterShip's On-time shipment analytics.

Dynamic dashboard filtering to view specific reports

The on-time shipment dashboard offers multiple advanced filtering options to help you focus on the data from a different angle:

1. Filter by date

You can filter data by order date, pickup date, delivery date, or shipment created date to focus on a specific timeframe. Use this filter to analyze weekly or monthly performance and measure how on-time performance evolves over time. You can also set custom dates.

2. Filter by EDD type

Each EDD type represents the original EDD value captured from a particular source. Switching between them allows you to analyze on-time rates from different viewpoints.

EDD Type	Description	When it’s captured	Best used for	Notes & considerations
Original EDD	The first EDD value is recorded when a shipment is created in AfterShip. It could originate from the carrier, AI prediction, or your custom rules, whichever provided the initial expected date.	When the shipment is first synced to AfterShip.	Overall performance consistency. If multiple EDD types exist, the Original EDD is the first one captured and displayed to shoppers on branded tracking pages or in notifications.	Recommended for consistent analysis, as it reflects the earliest delivery expectation set for the shipment.
Carrier EDD	The EDD provided by the shipping carrier is usually based on the carrier’s own service-level standards or network models.	When the carrier first sends an EDD. (If the carrier later updates it, the original value is still used for this dashboard.)	Measuring carrier performance and SLA compliance.	Ideal for assessing how well carriers meet their own stated commitments. Coverage may be low if some carriers don’t provide EDDs.
AI-Predictive EDD	The EDD is generated by AfterShip’s AI model, trained on historical transit data, shipment lanes, carrier behaviour, and external factors.	Automatically generated once shipments are picked up by the carrier.	Filling EDD gaps and benchmarking AI prediction accuracy.	Helpful when carrier EDDs are unavailable or unreliable. Provides consistent coverage and supports better customer communication. (Requires enabling the AI EDD feature.)
Custom EDD	The EDD is defined by your own business logic and rules configuration, such as fixed transit days, service-level mapping, or region-based rules.	When a shipment is created according to your EDD rules.	Aligning with internal logistics targets. Helps measure whether shipments meet your company’s own SLA or delivery promise.	Reflects internal expectations rather than carrier or AI data. Helps standardize performance measurement across carriers or regions. (Requires prior setup of Custom EDD rules in your settings).
Promised Delivery Date	The delivery date is communicated to the shopper at checkout or in post-purchase messaging.	When the order is placed, the system shows the delivery promise to the shopper.	Customer-facing performance and experience measurement.	Most relevant for retail or D2C brands, evaluating how often they deliver by the date promised to shoppers.

The Promised Delivery Date can be passed via API or automatically captured from the checkout page if the Pre-purchase EDD feature is enabled.

By default, the dashboard uses Original EDD. Choose the EDD type that aligns with your goals, whether you’re checking carrier performance, AI accuracy, or customer promise reliability.

Example Scenarios-

Scenarios	Recommended EDD type	Why
You want to measure how accurately each carrier meets its own delivery commitments.	Carrier EDD	Evaluates SLA fulfilment based on carrier-supplied delivery dates. (Note: not all carriers provide EDDs or base them on their SLA commitments.)
Your carriers don’t always provide EDDs or provide inconsistent ones, but you still want complete visibility.	AI-Predictive EDD	AI-generated EDDs fill missing or inaccurate data, maintaining full coverage and consistency.
If you want to assess how often shipments meet the dates promised to shoppers.	Promised Delivery Date	Reflects the customer’s expectation, essential for evaluating customer experience and NPS.
You measure delivery performance against your own service goals (e.g., “deliver within 5 business days from pickup”).	Custom EDD	Aligns on-time analysis with your internal SLA and operational standards.
You need a consistent baseline to analyze performance trends over time and want to measure against the first EDD presented to shoppers during the post-purchase journey, regardless of its source.	Original EDD	Captured once at shipment creation, ensuring a stable benchmark for long-term trend analysis and representing the earliest delivery expectation shown to customers.

3. Filter by on-time status

You can also filter shipments based on their on-time performance to focus on specific delivery outcomes. The available on-time status options include: Early, Trending early, on-time, Trending on-time, Late, Trending late, Overdue, and (No Value). Use this filter to quickly analyze which shipments are performing well and which may need attention.

4. Filter by carrier & carrier services

Narrow your analysis by selecting specific carriers or carrier services from the available list.

The Carrier filter lets you focus on shipments handled by one or multiple carriers, such as DHL.
The Carrier service filter allows you to go one level deeper by selecting individual carrier services.

This helps you compare performance across different carrier networks and service types to identify which ones consistently meet delivery expectations.

5. Additional filters

Click Filter > + Add filter to access more filtering options.

These filters let you refine your analysis by geography, shipment tags, store, source, custom fields, etc., helping you uncover better performance issues. Moreover, you can apply multiple filters to create highly focused views and uncover actionable insights.

Key performance metrics

Right after the filters, you will find a bar with key metrics to offer you valuable insights into delivery performances. Here's how it looks:

Metrics	Description
On-time or early rate	% of shipments delivered on or before their EDD (based on selected EDD type).
Shipment with EDD	Total tracked shipments that have an Estimated Delivery Date available.
EDD coverage	% of tracked shipments that include an EDD.
	Formula: (Shipments with EDD ÷ Total tracked shipments) × 100%
Early shipments	Number of shipments delivered before their EDD.
On-time shipments	Number of shipments delivered exactly on their EDD.
Late shipments	Number of shipments delivered after their EDD.
Trending early shipments	Number of shipments currently trending early, meaning their latest EDD is earlier than the original EDD selected.
Trending on-time shipments	The number of shipments is currently trending on time, meaning their latest EDD is equal to the original EDD selected.
Trending late shipments	The number of shipments is currently trending late, meaning their latest EDD is later than the original EDD selected.

To know more, refer to the article: Shipment Analytics Metrics.

Track changes in On-time shipments over time

The On-time or Early Rate Over Time chart tracks how your delivery performance evolves across the selected time range. It shows daily or weekly fluctuations in the percentage of shipments delivered on or before their EDD. This helps to identify sudden drops or improvements in on-time performance.

You can:

Detect spikes in late deliveries performance during specific weeks, holidays, or seasonal peaks.
Compare carriers or services trends to identify consistent underperformers.
Monitor the effect of operational changes like warehouse relocations, carrier transitions, etc., on delivery reliability.

Hover over data points to see shipment count and on-time rate for that date range.

Monitor delivery performance

The Shipments by on-time status chart shows how many shipments were delivered early, on time, or late over time. This helps you pinpoint when performance dips occur and whether they’re caused by an increase in late shipments or a drop in early deliveries.

This chart helps to:

Track daily changes in the mix of early, on-time, and late shipments.
Identify recurring patterns, such as slower deliveries on weekends or Mondays.
Investigate spikes in late or early shipments to uncover operational causes.

The Shipments by expected on-time status over time chart shows the predicted delivery performance for shipments that haven’t had their first delivery attempt yet. By comparing the original EDD with the latest updated EDD, it indicates whether shipments are trending early, trending on-time, or trending late, helping you spot potential delays in advance.

It shows data for 4 different shipment statuses: 'On-time,' 'Trending on-time,' 'Trending late,' and 'Overdue'.

Comparing both charts side by side helps you understand the gap between expected vs. actual performance, giving you a more complete picture of delivery reliability.

View shipment distribution by delivery timing

The Shipments by on-time status chart displays how many days early or late your shipments are delivered compared to their Estimated Delivery Date (EDD). It helps you understand not just how often shipments are delayed, but by how many days.

Key insights you can gain:

Identify if most late shipments are delayed by just 1–2 days or experience longer delays (e.g., 5+ days).
Spot unusually early deliveries, which could indicate inefficiencies in estimated lead times and suggest adjustments.

Analyze on-time shipments by lane and carrier service

The Performance by lane and Performance by carrier tables give a clear breakdown of your on-time delivery metrics by lane (route) and carrier.

By Lane: View and understand performance across different origin-destination pairs (e.g., USA→USA, USA→CAN) to identify regions where deliveries are delayed. This helps you uncover bottlenecks and improve cross-border or regional operations.
By Carrier and service: Compare on-time rates, EDD coverage, and shipment volumes across your carriers and service levels. Use this insight to recognize high-performing and underperforming carriers and services. This will help you decide whether they require escalation or SLA review.

Both tables allow sorting and drill-down, so you can quickly focus on the areas that need attention.

Combine these insights with EDD type filters (Carrier vs. AI vs. Promised) to evaluate performance from different operational, predictive, and customer-facing perspectives.

Drill-down analysis

Click any data point on the dashboard to open a detailed table of all shipments linked with that metric. This drill-down view feature lets you dig deeper into individual shipment performance and identify the exact causes behind delivery trends or issues.

Dashboard and report actions

The dashboard includes several tools to help you share insights and analyze performance data efficiently.

Export PDF

Capture a snapshot of your dashboard by selecting Export PDF in the upper-right corner. This lets you easily save and share the current dashboard view with your team.

Export CSV

From any detailed report page, you can export report data as a CSV file for deeper offline analysis or custom reporting.

Email Reports or Dashboards

Schedule automated email reports or dashboard summaries to keep your team regularly updated with the latest performance metrics.

Email reports and dashboards are available only on Enterprise Standard and Advanced plans.

Key takeaways

The On-time shipments dashboard shows how many shipments were early, on time, late, or are trending toward delay or early delivery.
Data is shown after the first delivery attempt and can be filtered by date range, EDD type, carrier, lane, or on-time status.
Compare Carrier, AI, Promised, or Custom EDDs to check performance accuracy from different views.
Use charts to track delivery trends, compare actual vs. expected on-time performance, and spot issues across regions or carriers.
On-time performance tables highlight the best and worst lanes and carrier services.
Click any data point to view shipment-level details for deeper insights.
Enterprise plan users can also schedule email reports for more in-depth analysis and keep their team informed.

FAQs

1. What’s the difference between “on-time status” and “expected on-time status”?

On-time status shows actual delivery results after the first attempt.
Expected on-time status predicts how shipments are likely to perform before delivery based on updated EDDs.

2. Why is my EDD coverage percentage low?

Your EDD coverage depends on how many tracked shipments have an estimated delivery date. Some carriers don’t provide EDDs, which can reduce overall coverage. If EDD coverage is low, enable AI Predictive EDD or Custom EDD to fill the gaps.

Higher EDD coverage leads to more accurate performance reviews.

3. What does each EDD type filter mean?

Each EDD Type in the filter represents the first Estimated Delivery Date (EDD) value captured from its respective source. Here’s what each option refers to:

Original EDD: The first EDD value captured when the shipment is created.
Carrier EDD: The first EDD provided by the carrier.
AI Predictive EDD: The first EDD generated by AfterShip’s AI prediction model.
Custom EDD: The first EDD generated based on your custom EDD rules configured in AfterShip.
Promised Delivery Date: The delivery date promised to the customer at checkout. This can be passed via API or automatically captured from your checkout page if you have the Pre-purchase EDD feature enabled.

The dashboard uses the first captured value (instead of updated ones) to ensure consistent and unbiased on-time performance analysis.

Need any help? Contact our chat support team now.

Updated on: 11/11/2025