Fill rate
The share of demand shipped from stock at the first attempt, measured by unit, by order line and by complete order.
Unit fill rate = Units shipped on first shipment ÷ Units ordered
Line fill rate = Order lines shipped complete ÷ Order lines ordered
Order fill rate = Orders shipped complete ÷ Orders received
Fill rate answers a simple customer question: when I asked for it, did you have it? The three versions get stricter as you go. A single missing carton barely moves the unit figure, fails one line, and fails the whole order.
That is why the three numbers always fall in the same sequence, unit above line above order, and why the gap between them matters. A wide gap means shortages are spread thinly across many orders, which annoys far more customers than the unit figure suggests.
Calculator
The fields start with a worked example. Replace them with your own figures; the results update as you type.
- Unit fill rate
- 95.2 %
- Line fill rate
- 93.0 %
- Order fill rate
- 87.0 %
How to read it
Report the version your customer feels. A distributor shipping mixed pallets to shops should watch line fill; anyone delivering project kits or complete installations lives and dies by order fill.
Common mistakes
- Count against the original order, not the quantity after someone edited it down to match stock.
- Substitutions should be reported separately. They rescue the delivery but hide the shortage.
- Backorders shipped later do not improve fill rate; that is what on-time in-full measures.
Last reviewed 2 August 2026.