At Fruugo, we require all retailers to dispatch their orders within 24 hours after they are placed. However, there are times when you may be unable to meet this requirement due to restocking or logistical issues. This is when lead time comes into effect.
Using lead time correctly allows you to manage customer expectations, reduce pre- and post-order enquiries, and maintain high levels of customer satisfaction. When applied properly, it protects both your store performance and the customer experience.
In this post we will help you understand the importance of lead time and how to manage it effectively.
What is Lead Time?
Lead Time refers to the number of days between an order being placed and the item being dispatched from your warehouse. Lead time applies only when a product is marked as INSTOCK in the StockStatus field.
If you require more than 24 hours to dispatch an order, you must include a lead time value in your product data. This ensures that customers receive an accurate estimated delivery time at checkout.
For example, if your warehouse needs 2 days to prepare the order and the courier needs another day to collect the item, you should set 3 in the LeadTime field so that the customer is aware of the expected delivery time.
How to Add the Lead Time?
The LeadTime field is a numeric value (in days) indicating the number of days between order placement and dispatch.
Important Rules:
- Must contain numbers only (no letters or special characters)
- Minimum value: 2 days (due to the default 24-hour dispatch policy)
- Maximum value: 21 days
- Must only be used when:
- StockStatus = INSTOCK
- StockQuantity ≥ 1
Incorrect formatting will result in data errors.
Good to Know
What Can You Do When Your Products are Out of Stock?
If a product is temporarily unavailable but you have a confirmed restock date, you should use the RestockDate field instead of LeadTime field.
This field specifies how long it will take for the product to be restocked and be until the product is available for dispatch.
The RestockDate field should only be used when the StockStatus value is OUTOFSTOCK, to indicate the date on which the product will be back in stock and available to order.
A product must not contain both LeadTime and RestockDate
The date must be provided in one of the following formats:
DD:MM:YY; DD:MM:YYYY; YY:MM:DD; YYYY:MM:DD; DD-MM-YY; DD-MM-YYYY; YY-MM-DD; YYYY-MM-DD.
Field Specification
Using the correct format ensures your data uploads successfully and prevents processing delays. The required field names are as follows:
- CSV Field Header Name: LeadTime
- XML Tag Name: <LeadTime>
- API Field Example:
“supplyInfo”: {
“stockStatus”: “INSTOCK”,
“stockQuantity”: 300,
“leadTime”: 4
}
