An overdue Purchase Order is a warning signal.
A supplier-confirmed delivery date has passed, but some or all of the ordered quantity is still shown as open.
That might mean the supplier is late.
But it might also mean the material has already arrived and the goods receipt is missing. A small residual quantity may no longer be needed. A revised supplier commitment may not have been entered into the ERP system. Or an order that should have been cancelled may still be open.
For the operative buyer, the objective is therefore not simply to report how many Purchase Orders are overdue.
The objective is to answer three questions:
What is overdue?
Why is it overdue?
Is the exception under control?
This article explains how to measure overdue Purchase Order control using the Overdue PO Control Rate, supported by past-due order-book measures, ageing, reason codes and supplier-performance information.
LHTS Procurement Framework
Primary role: Operative Procurement
Supporting interfaces: Supplier / Planning / Logistics / Production
Procurement process: Open Order Management / Procure-to-Pay
Learning level: Basic
Related course: Operative Procurement Processes 1-3
This article is part of the LHTS Operative Buyer KPI system.
The common principle behind the system is:
Each KPI should measure a process the operative buyer is expected to control or coordinate, identify operational problems early and lead to a defined action.
For overdue Purchase Orders, the central question is:
When a supplier-confirmed delivery date has passed and the order remains open, is the situation correctly identified and under control?
Quick answer: What does the Overdue PO KPI measure?
Two measures should be kept separate.
Overdue PO Control Rate
This is the recommended internal operative-buyer KPI.
It measures whether past-due Purchase Order schedules are correctly actioned within the required control time.
Overdue PO Control Rate (%) = Past-due eligible PO schedules correctly actioned within control SLA ÷ Total past-due eligible PO schedules due for control × 100
Past-Due Open PO Rate
This is a supporting measure of order-book condition.
Past-Due Open PO Rate (%) = Past-due eligible open PO schedules ÷ Total eligible open PO schedules × 100
The distinction is important.
A supplier can deliver late while the operative buyer still manages the exception professionally.
Likewise, an ERP system can show a Purchase Order as overdue even though the supplier actually delivered on time.
The operative buyer KPI should therefore measure control, while supplier delivery performance is measured separately.
What is an overdue Purchase Order?
A Purchase Order schedule is normally overdue when:
- an open quantity or commitment remains;
- the current valid supplier-confirmed delivery date has passed;
- the transaction has not been correctly closed, received or cancelled.
The important word is:
confirmed.
The overdue calculation should normally use the current valid supplier commitment rather than simply the date originally requested by the buying organization.
This creates an important distinction:
Requested date: when the buying organization wants the delivery.
Confirmed date: when the supplier has committed to deliver.
The operative buyer needs visibility of both.
But overdue-order control should normally ask whether the valid supplier commitment has passed.
Why overdue Purchase Orders matter
An unreliable open order book creates problems far beyond procurement reporting.
It can affect:
- production planning;
- inventory planning;
- shortage management;
- expediting;
- supplier communication;
- cash-flow expectations;
- customer commitments;
- material availability;
- management reporting.
Imagine an MRP system showing 1,000 units arriving tomorrow.
Planning assumes the material will be available.
But the Purchase Order is actually already two weeks late and nobody has contacted the supplier.
The system may show supply.
Operationally, there may be no reliable supply commitment at all.
That is why overdue Purchase Orders need active control.
Overdue does not automatically mean supplier late
An overdue-order report is a list of exceptions requiring investigation.
It is not automatically a list of supplier failures.
Several different situations can create an overdue PO.
True supplier lateness
The supplier has not delivered the open quantity by the confirmed date.
This is a genuine supplier-performance issue.
Missing goods receipt
The supplier delivered, but the receipt has not been recorded correctly.
The supplier may have performed exactly as agreed.
The system is wrong.
Partial delivery with an unnecessary residual quantity
Suppose the PO was:
400 units
and the supplier delivered:
398 units
Two units remain open.
The operative buyer should determine whether those two units are still needed.
If not, the residual quantity should be closed according to the purchasing process.
Cancelled requirement still open
The organization no longer requires the material, but the PO was never properly closed or cancelled.
Revised supplier commitment not recorded
The supplier and buyer agreed a valid new delivery date, but the ERP system still contains the previous date.
Incorrect transactional data
Incorrect quantities, delivery schedules, units of measure or system transactions can also create false overdue items.
The principle is:
Investigate the exception before deciding what it means.
Where overdue-order control fits in the purchasing process
A simplified order-control sequence looks like this:
PO transmitted
↓
Supplier acknowledgement
↓
Order confirmed
↓
Changes actively managed
↓
Current supplier commitment maintained
↓
Confirmed delivery date arrives
↓
Delivery received and PO closed
or
↓
Confirmed date passes with open quantity
↓
Overdue PO exception
At this point, the operative buyer needs to understand what happened and take appropriate action.
KPI definition: Overdue PO Control Rate
Purpose
Ensure all eligible past-due Purchase Order schedules are identified and correctly resolved, updated, followed up or escalated within the required control time.
Primary owner
Operative Buyer
Supporting interfaces
- Supplier
- Planning
- Logistics
- Goods Receiving
- Production
- Tactical Procurement
Scope
Eligible open PO schedules where:
- an open commitment remains;
- a valid confirmed delivery date exists;
- that confirmed date has passed;
- the transaction is expected to close through delivery, cancellation or another defined operational process.
Start point
The PO schedule becomes past due according to the valid supplier-confirmed date.
End point
The overdue exception has been correctly actioned according to the applicable internal control SLA.
Formula
Overdue PO Control Rate (%) = Past-due eligible PO schedules correctly actioned within control SLA ÷ Total past-due eligible PO schedules due for control × 100
Measurement frequency
Operationally daily.
Management reporting may be weekly or monthly.
What does “under control” mean?
A past-due PO does not necessarily need to disappear immediately from the report to be considered controlled.
It needs an appropriate action.
Examples include:
New supplier commitment obtained
The supplier provides a valid recovery date and the order status is updated according to the company’s process.
Supplier escalation initiated
The supplier is late and cannot yet provide an acceptable recovery plan.
The buyer has escalated the situation appropriately.
Missing goods receipt corrected
The goods physically arrived and the internal receipt process is corrected.
Residual quantity closed
The outstanding balance is no longer required and is properly closed.
Unnecessary order cancelled
The demand disappeared and the open commitment is removed according to the applicable commercial process.
Critical shortage formally escalated
The supplier cannot recover in time and Planning, Production or other stakeholders need to make a business decision.
The key principle is:
An overdue exception is under control when the current situation is known, the required action has been taken and ownership of the next step is clear.
Supporting KPI: Past-Due Open PO Rate
The condition of the overall order book should still be monitored.
Formula
Past-Due Open PO Rate (%) = Past-due eligible open PO schedules ÷ Total eligible open PO schedules × 100
For example:
500 eligible open schedules exist.
25 are past their current valid confirmed date.
Past-Due Open PO Rate = 25 ÷ 500 × 100 = 5%
The 5% result does not explain the cause.
It tells procurement:
Part of the order book requires attention.
The next step is investigation.
Why use both control rate and past-due rate?
The two measures answer different questions.
Past-Due Open PO Rate
How much of our open order book is currently past due?
This reflects the operational condition.
Overdue PO Control Rate
Are we managing those past-due exceptions correctly?
This reflects operative procurement control.
Consider two organizations.
Organization A
Past-Due Open PO Rate: 8%
Overdue PO Control Rate: 100%
The organization has significant supplier or operational delivery problems, but procurement is actively managing all known exceptions.
Organization B
Past-Due Open PO Rate: 2%
Overdue PO Control Rate: 60%
The overall backlog is small, but many overdue items are not being controlled properly.
The two situations require different management actions.
Separate buyer control from supplier delivery performance
This is an important principle in the LHTS Operative Buyer KPI system.
Suppose a supplier commits to deliver on Monday.
The supplier fails to deliver.
On Tuesday morning the operative buyer:
- identifies the late schedule;
- contacts the supplier;
- receives the root cause;
- obtains a recovery date;
- informs Planning;
- escalates the risk.
The supplier has failed its delivery commitment.
But the buyer has performed the required operational control.
These should therefore be measured separately.
Operative buyer KPI
Overdue PO Control Rate
Did procurement identify and control the past-due exception?
Supplier KPI
On-Time Delivery / Delivery Date Adherence
Did the supplier deliver according to its confirmed commitment?
For more information on supplier-side measures:
Supplier Performance KPIs – Supporting the Operative Buyer’s KPIs
A buyer can therefore have excellent overdue-order control while working with a supplier that has poor delivery performance.
That is not contradictory.
It shows that procurement is professionally controlling a difficult supplier situation.
Measure at the lowest meaningful operational level
A Purchase Order may contain multiple positions. In some cases even a position can include multiple lines as in the delivery schedule below.
For example:
100 units – 1 May
100 units – 1 June
100 units – 1 July
On 10 June, only the second schedule may be overdue.
Treating the entire PO line as one overdue event may reduce accuracy.
Where the system supports it, measure at delivery-schedule level.
If that is not possible, use the lowest meaningful level available.
The objective is to identify the actual commitment that has become past due.
Define the eligible PO population
Not every open Purchase Order should automatically enter the KPI.
Some purchasing processes behave differently.
Potential exceptions may include:
- blanket orders;
- framework orders;
- certain service POs;
- consignment arrangements;
- transactions without meaningful delivery schedules.
The organization should define an eligible open PO population where:
- a meaningful supplier delivery commitment exists;
- open quantity or commitment can be identified;
- the transaction is expected to close through a controlled operational process.
This improves KPI comparability and prevents artificial exceptions.
Overdue ageing is a core control
A PO that is one day overdue is not operationally equivalent to one that is 60 days overdue.
Ageing should therefore be part of normal overdue-order control.
A practical ageing structure might be:
1–2 working days overdue
New exception.
Requires initial review and action.
3–7 working days overdue
Extended exception.
Requires clear supplier response and recovery status.
8–30 days overdue
Significant backlog item.
Root cause and ownership should be clear.
More than 30 days overdue
Potential stale transaction or major unresolved supply issue.
Requires particular attention.
The exact ageing buckets can vary by company and category.
The principle is more important than the specific numbers:
Age tells you how long the exception has remained unresolved.
Do not use one control SLA for every overdue order
Not every overdue Purchase Order has the same operational impact.
A production-critical component due yesterday may require immediate action.
A low-value administrative residual quantity may justify a different follow-up cycle.
A practical approach can classify overdue items by criticality.
Critical
Potential immediate impact on:
- production;
- customer delivery;
- safety;
- critical service.
Action may be required within hours.
Standard
Normal overdue operational order.
Action may be required within one working day.
Administrative
For example:
- small residual quantities;
- missing receipt records;
- stale transactions.
These may be handled through a defined housekeeping cycle.
The KPI can still aggregate the population by asking:
Was each overdue exception controlled within its applicable SLA?
Criticality matters more than a good percentage
Suppose there are:
1,000 open PO schedules.
20 are overdue.
Past-Due Open PO Rate = 2%
The headline number may appear strong.
But one of those 20 schedules could be a single-source component that will stop production tomorrow.
Therefore:
Use the percentage to understand process health.
Use exception criticality to manage operational risk.
A good KPI never replaces professional buyer judgment.
Never move a date simply to make the KPI green
This is one of the most important rules in overdue-order management.
Imagine:
Supplier-confirmed date: 10 May
Today is:
15 May
The supplier has not delivered.
If the buyer simply changes the ERP date to:
25 May
the overdue line disappears.
The KPI improves.
But the supply problem has not necessarily improved at all.
A new date should only replace the previous operational commitment when it represents a genuine new supplier commitment and the company’s order-management process allows the update.
Even then, supplier-performance measurement should preserve the fact that the original commitment was missed.
The distinction is:
Internal order control
Maintain the latest valid supplier commitment in the operational system.
Supplier performance
Maintain the evidence required to determine whether the supplier met its previous and final commitments.
Do not manipulate operational dates simply to improve the overdue KPI.
Reason codes make overdue data useful
A raw overdue count provides limited information.
Reason codes help explain what is actually happening.
Supplier-related reasons
- Supplier late
- Capacity constraint
- Material shortage
- Production problem
- Transport delay
- Supplier failed to communicate updated commitment
Internal or administrative reasons
- Missing goods receipt
- Residual quantity not closed
- Cancellation not recorded
- Updated supplier date not entered
- Incorrect PO quantity
- Master-data issue
- System/process error
Other reasons
- Quality hold
- Documentation problem
- Receiving discrepancy
- Internal logistics issue
This allows procurement to distinguish:
supplier lateness
from
internal order-book quality problems.
That distinction creates much better improvement actions.
Supporting diagnostic: Administrative Overdue Share
A useful data-quality measure is:
Administrative Overdue Share
Administrative Overdue Share (%) = Administratively caused overdue schedules ÷ Total overdue schedules × 100
Administrative causes may include:
- missing goods receipt;
- unnecessary residual quantity;
- unclosed cancellation;
- incorrect schedule date;
- data-maintenance error.
Suppose:
40% of all overdue PO lines are actually caused by internal housekeeping problems.
Then procurement does not primarily have a supplier delivery problem.
It has an open-order data-quality problem.
That is an important management insight.
Partial deliveries and residual quantities
Partial deliveries are a common source of overdue Purchase Orders.
Consider:
PO quantity: 400 units
Delivered: 398 units
Remaining open: 2 units
The buyer should ask:
Are the remaining two units still required?
If yes
Keep the quantity open and obtain a valid supplier commitment.
If no
Close the residual quantity according to the purchasing process.
Leaving unnecessary quantities open can create:
- false overdue reports;
- unreliable planning;
- unnecessary supplier follow-up;
- incorrect inventory expectations;
- poor KPI quality.
Cleaning residual quantities is part of professional operative purchasing.
Missing goods receipts
Another common situation is:
The supplier delivered on time.
The material is physically at the site.
But the ERP system still shows the full PO quantity as open.
The problem may be:
- missing goods receipt;
- incorrect receipt quantity;
- receiving error;
- material posted against the wrong PO.
The operative buyer should work with the relevant receiving or logistics function to correct the transaction.
This is important because the KPI should reflect reality.
An ERP report is only as reliable as the transactional data behind it.
System-generated does not automatically mean reliable
Overdue PO reports are commonly generated automatically from ERP data.
That is useful.
But an automated report is not automatically accurate.
The KPI depends on fields such as:
- confirmed delivery date;
- open quantity;
- goods receipt;
- cancellation status;
- delivery-schedule status;
- PO closure status.
If those fields are wrong, the KPI will also be wrong.
The principle is:
Automated extraction improves efficiency. Reliable transactional data creates reliable KPIs.
This is why open-order housekeeping and data discipline matter.
A practical Overdue PO KPI example
Assume procurement has:
500 eligible open delivery schedules
Of these:
25 are past the current confirmed delivery date
The condition KPI is:
Past-Due Open PO Rate = 25 ÷ 500 × 100 = 5%
Now investigate the 25 exceptions.
| Reason | Number |
|---|---|
| Genuine supplier delay | 12 |
| Missing goods receipt | 5 |
| Unnecessary residual quantity | 4 |
| Revised commitment not entered | 2 |
| Supplier delay not followed up | 2 |
| Total | 25 |
Of the 25:
23 were correctly actioned within the required control SLA.
Therefore:
Overdue PO Control Rate = 23 ÷ 25 × 100 = 92%
Now management can see several things.
Order-book condition
5% of eligible open schedules are past due.
Buyer control
92% of overdue exceptions were controlled correctly.
Supplier performance
12 schedules represent genuine supplier lateness.
Internal process quality
11 schedules are primarily administrative or system-maintenance problems.
Buyer-control gap
2 supplier delays were not followed up correctly.
One headline number could never provide all of that insight.
A practical overdue-order worklist
The operative buyer needs more than a monthly percentage.
A useful exception list might contain:
| Supplier | PO | Schedule | Confirmed date | Days overdue | Open qty | Reason | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supplier A | 450100 | 10 | 10 May | 2 | 100 | Supplier late | Recovery plan |
| Supplier B | 450200 | 20 | 1 May | 11 | 2 | Residual quantity | Close line |
| Supplier C | 450300 | 10 | 5 May | 7 | 500 | Missing GR | Internal correction |
| Supplier D | 450400 | 30 | 12 May | 1 | 50 | Supplier late | Escalated |
The worklist allows the buyer to prioritize according to:
- criticality;
- days overdue;
- material shortage risk;
- supplier;
- open quantity;
- next action.
This is where the KPI becomes daily operative work.
Do not confuse overdue backlog with supplier performance
A high number of overdue POs can have several causes.
It may reflect:
- poor supplier delivery performance;
- inaccurate acknowledgements;
- weak PO change control;
- missing receipts;
- bad ERP housekeeping;
- stale residual quantities;
- supply disruption.
Therefore:
A high uncontrolled overdue backlog may indicate weak buyer control.
But:
A high total overdue backlog requires root-cause analysis before responsibility is assigned.
This protects the KPI from becoming an unfair buyer-ranking tool.
How Order Acknowledgement affects overdue POs
Good acknowledgement discipline improves the quality of overdue-order control.
If suppliers consistently confirm:
- quantity;
- delivery date;
- relevant schedule;
procurement has a stronger basis for determining when an order becomes late.
Weak acknowledgement processes can create unreliable confirmed dates.
That makes overdue reporting less meaningful.
For more information:
Order Acknowledgement KPI for Operative Buyers
How Active PO Management affects overdue POs
Requirements often change after initial acknowledgement.
A delivery may need to move earlier or later.
Quantity may change.
The supplier may report a new constraint.
Good Active PO Management ensures that the order book reflects the latest valid agreement.
That creates trustworthy confirmed dates for overdue-order control.
Read more:
Active PO Management KPI for Operative Buyers
The relationship is:
Acknowledgement establishes the initial commitment.
Active PO Management maintains the current commitment.
Overdue PO Control identifies commitments that have passed without operational closure.
Overdue PO Control and supplier delivery KPIs
The supplier-performance side should remain separate.
Useful supplier measures include:
On-Time Delivery
Did the supplier deliver according to the confirmed date?
OTIF – On Time In Full
Did the supplier deliver on time and in the correct quantity?
Delivery Date Adherence
How closely did actual supplier delivery match the promised commitment?
These measures help explain why genuine overdue orders exist.
Read more:
Supplier Performance KPIs – Supporting the Operative Buyer’s KPIs
The two KPI systems should work together.
Operative buyer KPI: Are overdue exceptions controlled?
Supplier KPI: Why did the delivery become overdue?
Overdue PO Control maturity
The LHTS learning level for this article is Basic.
KPI maturity describes how the process develops.
Maturity stage 1 – Overdue visibility
Procurement can identify:
- past-due schedules;
- supplier;
- PO;
- confirmed date;
- open quantity;
- responsible buyer.
The focus is visibility.
Maturity stage 2 – Control and ageing
Procurement adds:
- Overdue PO Control Rate;
- backlog ageing;
- criticality;
- action status;
- reason codes;
- SLA performance.
The focus becomes systematic control.
Maturity stage 3 – Root-cause integration
Procurement separates:
- genuine supplier lateness;
- internal administrative issues;
- data problems;
- planning problems;
- acknowledgement problems;
- change-management problems.
Supplier-performance information helps explain the order book.
Maturity stage 4 – Exception-based automation
ERP, procurement or analytics tools automatically:
- identify newly overdue schedules;
- alert responsible buyers;
- highlight critical items;
- assign workflows;
- monitor ageing;
- support reason-code analysis.
The operative buyer increasingly focuses on high-risk exceptions rather than manually searching the order book.
The principle is:
Automate detection. Apply buyer judgment to resolution.
Desired behaviour created by the KPI
A well-designed Overdue PO KPI should encourage the operative buyer to:
- Monitor the open order book
- Work from valid supplier-confirmed dates
- Identify newly overdue commitments quickly
- Separate supplier lateness from administrative problems
- Follow up suppliers
- Obtain credible recovery commitments
- Escalate critical shortages
- Clean residual quantities
- Correct missing receipts
- Maintain accurate PO data
- Prioritize exceptions according to business risk
- Keep Planning informed
The objective is not to make every overdue line disappear from the report.
The objective is to make sure every overdue line tells the truth and has an owner and action.
Common Overdue PO KPI mistakes
Measuring only how many overdue POs exist
The count does not show whether procurement is controlling the exceptions.
Measure both order-book condition and buyer control.
Blaming the operative buyer for supplier lateness
The supplier owns delivery performance.
The buyer owns identification, follow-up and control.
Assuming every overdue PO represents supplier failure
Investigate missing goods receipts, residual quantities and stale data.
Using requested date instead of valid confirmed date
The supplier commitment should normally form the basis of overdue-order control.
Moving confirmed dates simply to remove overdue items
Only use genuine new supplier commitments.
Never manipulate dates to improve the KPI.
Ignoring historical supplier misses after updating the date
Operational systems may need the latest commitment.
Supplier-performance reporting should still preserve evidence of missed commitments.
Measuring only at PO-header level
Use line or delivery-schedule level where necessary.
Treating all overdue items as equally urgent
Use criticality and appropriate SLAs.
Ignoring ageing
A 60-day-old overdue order requires different attention from a newly overdue schedule.
Leaving unnecessary residual quantities open
Clean up balances that no longer represent real demand.
Trusting system-generated data without validation
Automated reporting does not make incorrect transactional data correct.
Using overdue count as an employee-ranking measure
Use root-cause data before assigning responsibility.
A practical monthly Overdue PO dashboard
A Basic-level dashboard might contain:
| Measure | Result | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Overdue PO Control Rate | 92% | ≥98% |
| Past-Due Open PO Rate | 5.0% | Trend / category target |
| Total past-due schedules | 25 | Trend |
| Critical uncontrolled overdue schedules | 2 | 0 |
| >30-day overdue schedules | 4 | 0 / defined tolerance |
| Administrative Overdue Share | 44% | Reduce |
| Genuine supplier-late schedules | 12 | Supplier KPI input |
The dashboard should then create questions:
Why are two overdue schedules uncontrolled?
Why are 44% of overdue records administrative?
Which suppliers create the largest genuine late backlog?
Are confirmed dates being maintained properly?
Are goods receipts accurate?
Are residual quantities being cleaned?
Those questions create process improvement.
Develop your knowledge with Operative Procurement Processes 3
Overdue-order control is part of the broader operational procurement process.
The LHTS Operative Procurement Processes 3 course provides the knowledge foundation for this article.
It connects operational topics including:
- Purchase Order requirements
- Order acknowledgement
- Order management
- Delivery discrepancies
- Invoice discrepancies
- Excess and obsolete material
Take Operative Procurement Processes 3 at Learn How to Source
For supplier-side delivery measures, continue with:
Supplier Performance KPIs – Supporting the Operative Buyer’s KPIs
Frequently asked questions about Overdue Purchase Order KPIs
What is an overdue Purchase Order?
An overdue PO schedule normally has an open quantity or commitment where the current valid supplier-confirmed delivery date has already passed.
What is the Overdue PO Control Rate?
It measures the percentage of eligible past-due PO schedules that procurement correctly actions within the required internal control SLA.
What is the Past-Due Open PO Rate?
It measures how much of the eligible open order book is currently past the supplier-confirmed delivery date.
Is every overdue PO caused by a late supplier?
No.
Missing goods receipts, stale residual quantities, cancellations and incorrect system data can also create overdue records.
Should requested date or confirmed date be used?
For operative overdue-order control, the valid supplier-confirmed commitment is normally the more useful reference.
The requested date should still remain visible for planning and gap management.
Can an overdue PO still be under control?
Yes.
A supplier may be late, but the buyer may have identified the issue, obtained a recovery plan and escalated the business risk correctly.
The PO remains late, but the exception is controlled.
Should the buyer update a confirmed delivery date when the supplier provides a new date?
The operational system should reflect the latest valid commitment according to the company’s process.
However, supplier-performance reporting should preserve the information required to identify missed commitments.
What is overdue ageing?
Ageing groups overdue schedules according to how long they have been past due.
It helps buyers prioritize old or unresolved exceptions.
What is Administrative Overdue Share?
It measures the portion of overdue schedules caused primarily by internal administrative or transactional issues rather than genuine supplier lateness.
Should small residual quantities remain open?
Only if they are genuinely required.
If the remaining quantity is no longer needed, it should be closed according to the purchasing process.
Is a system-generated overdue report always reliable?
No.
The report depends on the quality of confirmed dates, quantities, goods receipts, cancellations and other transactional data.
Is Overdue PO Rate a supplier-performance KPI?
Not directly.
Supplier delivery performance should be measured through metrics such as On-Time Delivery, OTIF or Delivery Date Adherence.
The overdue-order KPI measures the condition and control of the buyer’s open order book.
Conclusion: An overdue order must tell the truth
An overdue Purchase Order is not automatically evidence of a poor supplier.
And it is not automatically evidence of a poor buyer.
It is evidence that the order book contains an exception that needs to be understood.
The recommended internal KPI is:
Overdue PO Control Rate (%) = Past-due eligible PO schedules correctly actioned within control SLA ÷ Total past-due eligible PO schedules due for control × 100
Support it with:
Past-Due Open PO Rate
to understand the condition of the order book.
Overdue Backlog & Ageing
to prioritize unresolved exceptions.
Overdue Reason Distribution
to identify root causes.
Administrative Overdue Share
to improve transactional data quality.
Supplier OTD / Delivery Date Adherence
to understand genuine supplier delivery performance.
The most important operating principle is:
A late supplier delivery and an uncontrolled Purchase Order are not the same thing.
When an order becomes overdue:
Identify it.
Understand why.
Correct the data if necessary.
Contact the supplier when required.
Obtain a recovery commitment.
Escalate critical risk.
Close unnecessary balances.
Keep the system aligned with reality.
The goal is not a report containing zero red lines because dates have been changed.
The goal is a clean, credible and controlled open order book.
Your next step
Review the overdue Purchase Orders in your own purchasing area.
Ask:
- Which schedules are genuinely past due?
- Which suppliers are actually late?
- Which records are caused by missing goods receipts?
- Are small residual quantities still required?
- Are current supplier commitments correctly entered?
- Which overdue items have no action?
- Which exceptions are most critical?
- How old is the backlog?
- What percentage is caused by administrative issues?
Once the open order book is under control, another type of operational exception remains:
What happens when the problem is not the delivery date, but the quality of the material or the correctness of the invoice?
That leads to the next KPI in the LHTS Operative Buyer KPI system: