Amazon VTR - Royal Mail labels say "No Valid Tracking Number" on VTR Report

Overview

This article explains why Royal Mail 24 and 48 labels can appear as invalid tracking on Amazon's Valid Tracking Rate (VTR) report and what you can do about it.

Cause

Amazon requires a VTR of 95% or greater. Royal Mail Tracked services and carriers like DPD satisfy this with true tracking numbers. However, Royal Mail 24 and 48 are untracked services — they issue a Delivery Confirmation Number (DCN) rather than a true tracking number. Amazon only validates a DCN when the postal worker scans the parcel on delivery. If that scan does not happen, the DCN is not validated and counts as a VTR strike.

Solution

Step 1 — Enable DCN sending in StoreFeeder

Make sure the setting to send the DCN is enabled on your Amazon integration page in StoreFeeder.

Step 2 — Consider Amazon Buy Shipping for Royal Mail untracked services

Amazon states that if you produce Royal Mail untracked labels through Amazon Buy Shipping and the postal worker still does not scan on delivery, this does not count as a VTR strike. Adding the Royal Mail service to your Amazon Buy Shipping setup and updating your shipping rules so qualifying Amazon orders use those labels (rather than StoreFeeder's Royal Mail integration) can protect your VTR.

Note: There is no guarantee this will ensure a valid tracking number. For up-to-date guidance, contact Amazon directly.

If you need help setting up Amazon Buy Shipping or adding Royal Mail to an existing setup, contact the StoreFeeder support team.