On-Time Delivery (OTD) is what it all boils down to at the end of the day. OTD remains one of the clearest indicators of operational control in transport. It is not complicated. It measures whether you delivered when you said you would. But it continues to influence contract retention, customer confidence and internal stability.

When OTD is consistent, the wider operation tends to run more smoothly. Planning becomes predictable. Customer service deals with fewer delay queries. Accounts handles fewer disputes. Customers don’t care how your internal systems work. They care whether deliveries arrive when agreed. When it slips, pressure builds quickly.

The difficulty is rarely the formula. It is the data.

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OTD Is Simple. Measuring It Properly Is Not.

On paper, the formula is straightforward: deliveries completed on time divided by total deliveries.

In practice, the reliability of that percentage depends entirely on how delivery events are recorded.

If arrival times are written down later.
If PODs are returned days after completion.
If delays are communicated informally and never logged.

Then OTD becomes an approximation.

For a KPI that often influences contract retention, approximation is not good enough.

To measure it properly, delivery events need to be recorded at the point of activity and fed directly into the core system.

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Capturing OTD Properly

Stratum’s InCabPro driver app logs arrival and completion times as they happen, creating accurate system timestamps rather than handwritten approximations. Electronic Proof of Delivery is captured through sign-on-glass or image upload and stored instantly against the job in the TMS.

For operators using GPS tracking and geofencing, arrival and departure events can also be automated when vehicles enter or exit predefined customer locations. This reduces manual input further and creates a consistent, auditable record of site activity.

Digital communication tools, including two-way messaging and WhatsApp integration through MessageHub, ensure that updates between drivers, planners and customers are structured and linked to the job. This reduces ambiguity around delays and improves traceability.

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Why It Matters

OTD is often viewed as a customer-facing percentage. Internally, it is more useful than that.

Consistent, timestamped data allows operators to:

• Identify recurring bottlenecks at specific sites
• Evaluate the realism of allocated time windows
• Assess planning accuracy
• Distinguish between operational issues and customer constraints

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When delivery confirmation, GPS activity and communication logs sit inside one system, OTD becomes more than a percentage. It becomes a diagnostic indicator of operational health.

Reliable OTD data helps identify recurring route issues, unrealistic time windows and planning inefficiencies. It distinguishes one-off disruptions from structural problems. It also provides a defensible record where delivery times are questioned.

Stratum’s TMS, InCabPro driver apps, WhatsApp integration and geofencing capabilities are designed to reduce friction around delivery reporting and make OTD measurable without adding administrative burden.

In a market where service performance influences contract renewal and pricing leverage, that clarity is not optional.

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If you can measure OTD accurately, you can manage it properly.
If you can manage it properly, you are in a stronger position when the next contract review arrives.

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