Governance · 8 min
OTIF definitions that travel across partners
On-time in-full metrics fracture when each team quietly uses a different clock. Procurement may measure against the purchase order promise; warehouse against booked slot; carriers against their own transit plan. Visibility analytics cannot reconcile those silently.
Write the definition like a contract clause
Name the event that counts as “on time”, the grace window, the unit for “in full”, and the system of record. State what happens when the system of record is late. Include a worked example with numbers — abstract wording invites reinterpretation in the next QBR.
Carry the definition into the model
Store definition version IDs next to OTIF outputs. When commercial terms change, historical charts should not silently adopt the new rule. NodeCraft Path learners practise this versioning in Module 2 alongside signal maps.
Clear definitions do not remove partner tension, but they make disagreement specific enough to negotiate.