AMAZON SELLERS
FULFILLMENT GUIDE

Merchants who are ready to take control of their growth take a proactive approach to supply chain optimization. Their decisions will be based on granular details and sku-level performance, and they’ll actually see that they can control demand from the bottom-up.

Study your shipping trends, and ask yourself, “What are my customers buying?” and “Where am I shipping most often?” This is a leading indicator to identify which products consumers are most attracted to. Using this simple approach will allow you to start focusing on the SKU’s and customers that are driving the volume.

An Amazon Seller that’s ready to control their costs and create demand will have the right SKUs in the right quantity in the most optimal location before a consumer makes a purchase. This enables the fast shipping customers expect without eroding profitability with costly solutions like next-day air.

Amazon FBA, or Fulfillment by Amazon, is what many sellers use when getting started and growing their business on the marketplace. The program allows third party sellers to stock inventory alongside Amazon’s products. Amazon handles all fulfillment, shipping and customer interactions on the seller’s behalf, for a % fee on each sale.

Up until recently, this program has been widely regarded as the best option for many sellers due to convenience, cost and scale. However, COVID-19 disruptions made it difficult for many sellers when their hands were tied as unfulfilled orders piled up and complaints rolled in. Then, new restrictions on storage limits caused sellers’ storage capacity to drop up to 20%-50%, putting even more stress on those relying on FBA for all order distribution heading into the holidays.

Many Amazon Sellers who rely on FBA for all fulfillment are rethinking that strategy, incorporating FBM or SFP through a third party to gain more direct control over inventory, distribution and customer relationships. Amazon’s warehouse capacity limits, paired with extended dock-to-stock times have become a competitive weakness with sellers having little control over the ultimate outcome.

To avoid service disruptions and simplify multi-channel order management, savvy Amazon Sellers have adopted a multi-threaded fulfillment strategy, building their own network for distribution.

Rather than relying solely on FBA, sellers are partnering with third party fulfillment partners for supplemental support on warehousing and distribution. By having a backup fulfillment method in place, sellers are able to control distribution and avoid operational disruptions.

Choose a fulfillment partner with a fully integrated WMS that streamlines the inbounding process. A well-documented and timely ASN submitted digitally through a WMS will ensure a faster dock-to-stock time so you can start selling faster.