Appointment compliance % is the key performance indicator (KPI) of how many load or unload appointments were kept versus scheduled: appointments kept ÷ appointments scheduled, for the period and universe you choose (DC, customer, lane). Without defining what counts as “kept”—present at dock vs unload complete—the percentage is theater.
In Mexico–US retail and DC work, the appointment is the dock clock: it feeds OTD, OTIF, and detention cost. This page locks event, formula, typical causes, and the decision when the KPI drops.
- kept ÷ scheduled
- 1 ratio
- arrival · dock close
- 2 events
- feeds, does not replace
- OTD/OTIF
- hard utilization miss
- No-show
What appointment compliance % is
It is the window-compliance KPI for yard or dock: of the appointments you scheduled (or were assigned), how many executed under the agreed rule. It applies to shipper, third-party logistics (3PL), and carrier—the owner of the number should be who controls the appointment or the tender.
It does not measure order completeness (fill rate) or damage. It measures whether the appointment clock was respected. That is why it lives beside OTD/OTIF without replacing them.
Define the event: present vs unload
Before you publish the %, write the compliance event. Mixing arrival with dock close is the fastest way to fight the DC and the carrier at once.
Present at dock
What counts as kept: Unit in geofence / check-in inside the window (± tolerance)
What it leaves out: Unload time, lumper, partial reject
When to use it: Measure arrival punctuality and no-show
Unload/load complete
What counts as kept: Dock closes work inside free time or the agreed extended window
What it leaves out: On-time arrivals that leave without unloading
When to use it: Measure real slot utilization and detention
Hybrid (not recommended without a split)
What counts as kept: “Arrived and unloaded” without separate reporting
What it leaves out: Clear cause diagnosis
When to use it: Avoid: blurs carrier vs DC
Formula and universe
Operable formula: appointment compliance % = appointments kept ÷ appointments scheduled × 100. Keep the universe stable: same DC, same appointment type (load vs unload), same month.
Scheduled
Include: Appointments confirmed in the DC / portal system
Exclude or type separately: Drafts, holds without a slot, double bookings without an owner
Kept
Include: Those that pass the written event (arrival or close)
Exclude or type separately: Rescheduled to another date (count per policy)
No-show
Include: Failure to present in the window
Exclude or type separately: Do not mix with “late but unloaded” without typing
Canceled by DC
Include: Type it: do not punish the carrier if the dock closed the slot
Exclude or type separately: Booking them as carrier no-shows
Relation to OTD, OTIF, and no-show
Three different layers. Mixing them inflates the service board.
OTD (on time)
Question: Did it arrive on time per the delivery promise?
Relation to appointments: A missed appointment often breaks OTD into retail DCs
OTIF (on time and in full)
Question: On time AND in full (AND)?
Relation to appointments: Appointment OK + shortage = OTD yes, OTIF no
Appointment compliance %
Question: Was the dock window respected?
Relation to appointments: Slot KPI; input to OTD/OTIF, not a substitute
Question: Did the unit miss the appointment?
Relation to appointments: Hard subset of appointments not kept
Causes of missed appointments at Mexico DCs
Classify the cause before you renegotiate rate. The same dropped % needs different levers if the carrier, the DC, or the file failed.
Unrealistic ETA / traffic / tolls
Signal: Systematic 30–90 min late arrivals
Lever: Lane buffers; do not punish a single trip
No-show or wrong unit
Signal: Empty slot; tractor differs from tender
Lever: T-24/T-4 confirmation; typed contractual penalty
Incomplete documents at gate
Signal: Unit in yard without dock release
Lever: Pre-appointment checklist: CFDI/Carta Porte, appointments, seals
Saturated dock / slow lumper
Signal: On-time arrival + long queue
Lever: Measure close vs arrival; renegotiate free time
Appointment canceled by retailer
Signal: Portal closes the slot same day
Lever: Type DC cancel; do not book as no-show
Reject / partial unload
Signal: POD with exception
Lever: Separate appointment KPI vs OTIF/fill
What to do when the KPI fails
A threshold without an owner is decoration. Use this matrix on Monday with the control tower, traffic, and the customer DC owner.
No-shows rise
First action: Audit T-24 tender and confirmation; list carriers
Do not do this: Blindly cut rate without typing cause
They arrive late but unload
First action: Review ETA buffers and windows; split arrival vs close
Do not do this: Report “kept” mixing both events
They arrive on time and still pay detention
First action: Measure hours over free time; see detention playbook
Do not do this: Blame only the carrier if the dock never opens
OTIF drops while appointments look “OK”
First action: Look at fill rate / shortages / damage—not the slot
Do not do this: Use appointment % as an OTIF proxy
One DC wrecks the network
First action: Board by destination; renegotiate appointment SLA
Do not do this: National average that hides the toxic node
Windows, SLAs, and Mexico–US retail
At retail/CPG DCs the appointment usually lives in a retailer portal: short tolerance, chargebacks for no-show or out-of-window, and free time that triggers detention. Industrial B2B windows can be looser, but without a typed event the board still lies.
Service context (hedge): the 2026 National Logistics Indicators Study provides fill-rate and order references in its sample (~93% average customer delivery fill rate). Use it as market context, not a blind appointment target. Your threshold is the DC or contract SLA.
How to instrument appointments
The KPI needs three layers: confirmed slot, typed event, and arrival/close evidence.
Instrumentation
From slot to %
Confirm appointment
Portal or TMS
Lock event
Arrival or close
Record GPS
Geofence / check-in
Type exception
No-show · DC · docs
Close POD
If unload applies
Appointment governance checklist
Start with one DC and one month. If you cannot check the basics, do not add twenty dashboard filters.
Elige un paso para ver el detalle
Detalle del paso · 01
Write the event
Step 1
OCL and dock exceptions
OCL Cargo is an autonomous TMS with agents: it updates ETA and status, ties GPS and proof of delivery (POD) evidence to the trip ID, and escalates to your team on no-show, closed dock, or window miss. It coexists with your TMS and the retailer portal; no day-one big-bang required.
Appointment compliance becomes actionable when the exception is typed—not when the board only paints a weekly red.
Related reading
Key takeaways5 points
- Appointment compliance % = appointments kept ÷ appointments scheduled—with the event (arrival or dock close) written down.
- Present at dock ≠ unload complete: pick one event or you inflate the KPI.
- It feeds OTD/OTIF; no-show is the hard miss that destroys DC utilization.
- When it fails: classify cause (carrier, DC, documents, ETA) before punishing rate.
- Instrument with typed appointment + GPS + status; agents update, your team on exceptions.
Is your appointment % hiding no-shows typed as “delay”?
Frequently asked questions
It is the key performance indicator (KPI) of appointments kept ÷ appointments scheduled in the period. “Kept” must be written down: on-time arrival at the dock, or load/unload closed inside the window.
No. Present at dock measures whether the unit arrived in the window. Unload (or load) complete measures whether dock work closed. A truck on time that waits three hours for a lumper can “make arrival” and still fail close-out. Pick one event and do not switch mid-quarter.
When the unit does not present for the scheduled appointment (or arrives outside tolerance without rescheduling). See appointment no-show. No-shows destroy dock utilization and often trigger chargebacks or expensive reschedules.
Do not copy a catalog 99%. Set the threshold in the DC or customer service-level agreement (SLA). The 2026 National Logistics Indicators Study gives service context (e.g. ~93% fill rate in its sample), not a universal appointment standard. Calibrate to your network.
Agents concentrate ETA (estimated time of arrival), typed status, and GPS/POD evidence under the same trip ID. Your team handle exceptions (delay, no-show, closed dock). Coexists with your TMS; no day-one migration required.