If you’re a Walmart seller, you may have received an action-required performance alert email from Walmart. These emails are sent to notify sellers of potential issues with their account or listings that require immediate attention.
While receiving these emails can be alarming, they are an essential part of Walmart’s efforts to maintain a high standard of quality and customer satisfaction.
In this article, we will explore some possible causes of action-required Walmart performance alert emails and provide solutions to help you resolve these issues and avoid future alerts.
What are Walmart Performance Emails?
Performance Alert emails are emails that Walmart sends to sellers to notify them about any issues with their account performance. These emails are intended to help sellers maintain and improve their Performance Metrics on the Walmart marketplace by alerting them to any potential issues that need to be addressed.
Performance Alert emails are usually about the flagged orders. These emails will require the sellers to get back to the Walmart team within the next 24 hours. These Walmart emails keep the seller posted about any mishaps with their orders to improve their to meet Walmart Standards.
The following issues might trigger a Walmart performance alert email:
- Order Mismatch
- Invalid tracking ID
- Auto-cancellation
- Updated API
- Unshipped
- Amazon as the shipping carrier (or another retailer packaging)
We will be going through these issues one after the other, but first, let’s take a look at what a typical Walmart performance alert email looks like.
Walmart Performance Alert Emails Examples
If you get Walmart performance alert emails, it should say something like this:
Dear [name],
It has come to our attention that [number] orders of yours are marked as “Shipped” with tracking numbers that are flagged and the common reasons would be either of the following:
Address Mismatch: If the carrier delivery address does not match the Customer’s shipping address
Tracking ID Duplication: If the tracking number is associated with more than a unique sales order number within the past 30 days
IF A PLAN OF ACTION HAS NOT ALREADY BEEN SUBMITTED, THE FOLLOWING STEPS ARE REQUIRED:
- Sellers must review their flagged orders and resolve the issue within 24 hours of this notice.
- Please respond within 24 hours with the explanation and the plan of action to help improve your Order Defect Rate and to avoid any action against your account.
- The Walmart Partner Performance team asks you to share the root cause of the issue so that the team can put future controls in place.
- Please note that your action is required within the provided time frame. Non-compliance and failure to do so may impact your performance metrics.
To ensure that this does not recur, please verify your tracking information is accurate and that valid tracking details are fed for all the shipments. Review instructions, here.
Valid tracking is a critical component of Walmart’s Seller Performance Standards. For additional information regarding Walmart’s Seller Performance Standards and Order Defect Rate, please visit our Seller Help .
Thank you,
[Walmart representative name]
Walmart Partner Performance
Here are a few quick tips to help you avoid this remain in the future:
- Enter the carrier that picks up the package from Walmart, not the one that delivers the package to the customer. For example, if USPS picks up the parcel from your facility, but FedEx delivers it to the customer, you should select USPS as the Walmart systems’ carrier method, not FedX.
- Be aware that some suppliers sometimes add the wrong tracking number. This happens most frequently with third-party Amazon suppliers or eBay suppliers who are dropshipping, but even the best suppliers can make mistakes. Simply copying/pasting the tracking that you have been given into Walmart could get you in trouble. Therefore you should always verify the tracking details are correct first.
- Don’t use duplicate tracking numbers.
All this being said, let’s dive deeper into specific issues that might trigger a Walmart performance alert email.
Tracking Data Reuse
Sellers should provide valid tracking information for their orders at the time of shipping confirmation to the customers to stay informed on the status of their orders.
Walmart emails will state that either there has been an address mismatch or tracking ID duplication in the order. The next email from Walmart will have information in the form of a spreadsheet that how many orders got flagged, triggering which alarms.
Invalid Tracking
Tracking information is considered valid if the tracking number:
- Belongs to one of the supported carriers and the shipping method. (There are unfortunately MANY unsupported carriers which include nearly all freight shipping companies.)
- Is properly formatted.
- Does NOT contain special characters.
- Can be tracked through the website of the carrier indicated by the Seller during shipping confirmation.
- Has at least one carrier scan on record.
Sellers can edit the carrier method and/or tracking number for up to 4 hours to mark an order as shipped and submit the tracking number. The seller will have to verify that the combination of the carrier name and tracking number in the shipping confirmation is accurate.
The email from Walmart will have the amount of the orders that got flagged due to invalid tracking number, like this:
When Walmart generates tracking URLs for customers, it uses the carrier names and tracking numbers that the seller provided a shipping confirmation.
The mismatch between the tracking number and carrier name (e.g., a UPS tracking number with FedEx in the carrier name field) will break the URL generation process and negatively impact its experience. Tracking numbers with a mismatched carrier name are considered invalid.
Here’s what to do:
- Confirm that the tracking number field contains a single tracking ID in a proper format.
- Consider using large reputable carriers to fulfill 100% of your Walmart orders.
- Don’t use stamps or pre-paid envelopes to ship orders via USPS or any other carrier.
- Update incorrect tracking details within 4 hours of updating the order status.
Auto-Cancellations
The emails from Walmart may have a spreadsheet documenting how many orders were flagged due to what reason.
Suppose a valid tracking is not provided after the Estimated Ship Date (ESD + 8 calendar days). In that case, Walmart will cancel the order and refund the customer. (Before COVID-19, it was four calendar days, and Walmart may change it again.)
To avoid unnecessary cancellations, follow these suggestions:
- Update orders to Shipped and provide valid tracking information.
- Verify that your lead (lag) time is set correctly for eligible items.
- Be sure to re-check your orders in Walmart Seller Central before shipping them to ensure that the status is not Canceled.
- Update your inventory frequently to ensure that your current counts are accurate.
Unshipped
This happens when orders are past the “Ship By” date and do not have a shipping confirmation.
To avoid your late order, do the following:
- Update orders to Shipped status as soon as they are handed off to the carrier.
- Cancel orders that cannot get fulfilled before the ship date.
- Upgrade to a faster carrier method to deliver the orders on time.
Amazon as the shipping carrier
You may receive an email from Walmart stating that your orders have been sent using Amazon as the shipping carrier and have a warning:
Dear [company name]
It has come to our attention that 60 of your orders have been sent using Amazon as the shipping carrier. Please see below for more information:
Please know that you cannot use competitors’ delivery services, such as Amazon Logistics (Amazon Tracking URLs) or any other services, to deliver Walmart orders. Non-compliance may result in warnings, selling restrictions or even suspension (temporary or indefinite).
For more information, please refer to the following KB: https://sellerhelp.walmart.
com/s/guide?article=000006822 However, Walmart has launched Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) which is a new program that allows sellers to store their inventory at Walmart fulfillment centers. When a customer places an order on Walmart.com, WFS picks, packs and ships the item(s) to the customer on a seller’s behalf. WFS also handles all customer support and returns for these orders.
For detailed information on WFS, please refer to the following KB: https://sellerhelp.walmart.
com/s/guide?article=000009214 Thank you,
[Walmart representative]
Walmart Partner Performance
Walmart’s system will reject a tracking number starting with TBA, which will result in no tracking information, and the order gets canceled automatically.
Likewise, changing the TBA tracking number but still submitting a tracking link that contains an Amazon tracking link (or any link with “amazon.com”) will almost inevitably lead to a suspension as well.
Walmart's Updated API Email
If you are connecting to Walmart using their API directly and NOT through a Walmart partner (listed on their developer portal), you need to be sure you or your software provider stays up to date with Walmart’s API changes. If you don’t, you may receive a message like this:
Dear [name],
It has come to our attention that you had a number of orders canceled using the “Cancelled by MP Partner” cancellation code. Please note that we updated our API a year ago and this is no longer one of the cancellation codes that can be used. The only cancel codes that should now be available are:
- CUSTOMER_REQUESTED_SELLER_TO_
CANCEL - SELLER_CANCEL_OUT_OF_STOCK
- SELLER_CANCEL_CUSTOMER_
DUPLICATE_ORDER - SELLER_CANCEL_CUSTOMER_CHANGE_
ORDER - SELLER_CANCEL_CUSTOMER_
INCORRECT_ADDRESS - SELLER_CANCEL_FRAUD_STOP_
SHIPMENT - SELLER_CANCEL_PRICING_ERROR
Please refer to our detailed API Documentation in the Developer Portal to ensure that you are using our latest cancellation API. Please confirm within 48 hours that you’ve migrated to the new API and are using the new cancellation codes to avoid any action against your account.In addition, please let us know within your response if you’re integrated with a Channel Partner or Direct API for a better understanding.
Please refer to the knowledge base articles for more information on V3 Order APIs and ourSeller Performance Standards .
.Thank you,
[Walmart representative]
Walmart Partner Performance
In this particular case, Walmart wants the seller to update its Cancellation codes to better understand why the orders are getting canceled. Other similar emails go out whenever any antiquated code is used.
Conclusion
This is where we draw the curtain on this topic. In the end, receiving action-required Walmart performance alert emails can be concerning for any seller. However, understanding the possible causes and solutions can help prevent future issues and improve overall performance on the platform.
It is important for sellers to regularly monitor their account metrics and take proactive steps to maintain compliance with Walmart policies and standards.
By addressing any issues promptly and implementing best practices, sellers can avoid receiving performance alerts and maintain a successful presence on Walmart Marketplace.
Since you read this article, you might want to check out our piece on Walmart IP claim suspension. The article tells all you need to know about avoiding this situation and fixing it if you have the issue.
