Amazon FBM Business Hour Delivery Rate UK: 90% From 30 September 2026
Amazon expects a Business Hour Delivery Rate of 90% or higher from 30 September 2026 for qualifying FBM shipments to Amazon Business customers on Amazon.co.uk. From 30 October, listings that remain below the policy requirement may be deactivated for Business customers.
Who: Amazon.co.uk sellers fulfilling orders themselves (FBM) when shipping to Amazon Business customers. What: at least 90% of qualifying shipments delivered within the customer’s hours of operation. When: expectation starts 30 September 2026; Amazon says enforcement may follow from 30 October.
What the metric measures
Amazon defines Business Hour Delivery Rate as the percentage of FBM shipments delivered to Amazon Business customers within their hours of operation. It is not a general FBA metric and it does not apply to Connor’s own FBA operation simply because MethodFBA covers Amazon selling.
The distinction matters. A parcel can arrive on the promised calendar day but still miss the customer’s stated operating hours. Amazon’s change makes that timing visible as a separate requirement for qualifying Business orders.
The dates sellers need
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 30 September 2026 | Amazon expects a Business Hour Delivery Rate of 90% or higher. |
| 30 October 2026 | If performance remains below the policy requirement, Amazon says non-compliant listings may be deactivated for Business customers. |
Which orders do not count?
Amazon’s announcement excludes orders fulfilled using all three of the following:
- Automated Handling Time
- Shipping Settings Automation
- Amazon Buy Shipping
Using one or two is not the exclusion Amazon described. Check the full setup rather than assuming that a Buy Shipping label alone removes the order from the metric.
Two related FBM changes in the same announcement
- From 15 July 2026, default handling time is restricted to zero or one day.
- From 1 September 2026, Automated Handling Time can be enabled automatically for SKUs whose configured handling time exceeds actual performance for 30 or more days.
Amazon’s text does not list seller-category exemptions. If FBM is part of your Q4 plan, treat the announcement as an account-level operating change and check the orders it actually covers.
A practical audit before 30 September
- Identify Amazon Business FBM orders, rather than mixing them with FBA or consumer orders.
- Check the Business customer’s hours of operation and the delivery promise shown for each service.
- Review handling-time settings at SKU level.
- Confirm whether Shipping Settings Automation, Automated Handling Time and Buy Shipping are all active for the relevant order flow.
- Record exceptions and late-delivery patterns before changing templates or carriers.
This article gives the diagnostic. The full monitoring worksheet and operating cadence belong in the MethodFBA course, where they can be used as a repeatable system rather than copied as a one-off checklist.
Primary source
Amazon, “Update to FBM requirements for Amazon.co.uk”, published 29 June 2026: read the Amazon announcement. Reviewed 20 September 2026.