As the name suggests Fulfillment by Amazon means your inventory is fulfilled by Amazon. You are required to send all of your inventory to Amazon already prepared for shipping. Before you send your products to Amazon, use an experienced fulfillment service company such as Fulco Fulfillment Inc. (FFI) as your dedicated prepping partner. They will package your items to Amazon’s specifications, print and apply labels and bar codes, and ship them to a regional facility. Simply put FBA works like this: you sell it, then Amazon ships it.
- Send your items to Amazon’s fulfillment warehouse to be stored. After they receive it they may shift your stock from one warehouse location to another if they see a geographical need.
- After Amazon receives your inventory you can monitor it through their tracking system.
- Customer places order. You can market your product via email, or any of your social media marketing channels and see your orders come in.
- Amazon picks packs and ships
- Customer service available at Amazon and they accept returns.
Are you asking yourself, “Should I be using FBA?”
Using Amazon’s marketplace as a sales channel gives users the ability to grow their business and reach more customers. But, there are some things you need to consider before using FBA. There are some pitfalls with FBA that could be major. Since FBA isn’t a flexible service they require your products to be ready to be fulfilled upon arrival at their fulfillment centers. If not, unplanned prep may delay Amazon’s receiving of your shipments by up to 48 hours. Not properly preparing your inventory before sending to Amazon can also run the risk of being charged for noncompliance or even worse, refusal of inventory.
Sellers that use FBA for Amazon sales still outsource to an existing fulfillment center, like Fulco Fulfillment Inc., for fulfilling sales from other online channels. Examples of other selling channels could be Etsy or their own web site otherwise known as off-Amazon sales. If you sell on several channels other than Fulfillment by Amazon, such as your own website and other marketplaces like eBay, you can use FBA to fill those orders too. Amazon calls this service Multi-Channel fulfillment or MCF. Your inventory storage fees are the same, but the MCF fulfillment fees are higher. Fulco Fulfillment Inc (FFI) fulfillment by Amazon preparation supports you if you are a multichannel customer and Amazon is one of your sales channels, or if you are exclusively an Amazon seller and don’t sell through other channels.
Take a look at Fulco Fulfillment for not only your FBA prepping services but to help you manage fulfillment for non Amazon shipping needs. After that your major fulfillment task is done, aside from checking stock levels and replenishing when necessary.
Fulco Fulfillment FBA Prepping Services:
Receive Materials
We receive your products, inspect product shipments for visible damage and verify quantity.
The importance of quality control is key at this moment. Photo documentation can be provided following item inspection if items appear damaged. If price tags or stickers are visible they will be removed or covered.
Amazon Prep Services
- Case and Pallet Labeling
- Generate Amazon ID Labels
- SKU labeling
- ASIN: Each unit must have a scannable barcode (ISBN, UPC, GTIN, EAN, or JAN). The unit’s barcode must not be punched out, marked over, covered, or otherwise obstructed.
- Multipack packaging “sold as set”
- Repackaging
- Loose products
- Case-packed products
- Fragile item preparation
- Polybagging
- Secondary packaging
- Bundling
- Compliant Markings: anti-suffocation warning, sold as set, choking hazard, expiration date etc.
Ship to Amazon Warehouses
We divide your products to ship out to different Amazon fulfillment centers, using either small parcel or LTL service. Trackability will be accessible through the Amazon seller central portal.
Fulco Fulfillment Inc offers seller Central shipment management for your FBA, give us a sign-in and we can take it from there.
Beware of Hidden Storage Fees That Amazon Charges
Long-term storage
As FBA grows, space within their fulfillment centers becomes more valuable. It’s no surprise, if inventory is stored in an Amazon fulfillment center for longer than six months penalty fees are charged. If your items have long shelf lives or if you usually have stale inventory, you’re paying more to rent to store items, especially if it doesn’t sell. Your need to make sure you are keeping track of all inventory and monitor it. Don’t let it become too much of a burden and sit stagnant for too long.
Seasonal storage increase
October – December holiday season storage rates increase dramatically during these three months. This is something to watch closely if you use FBA, and is a major reason that volume sellers rarely use FBA as their sole storage option. Instead, sellers often store the bulk of their inventory using an outside fulfillment center like Fulco Fulfillment Inc. Then periodically ship just enough stock to cover a range of forecasted sales at Amazon.
Stock removal fee
FBA charges a removal fee if you want to pull inventory from Amazon or dispose of unsold stock.
There are other scenarios where additional fees apply. These different instances can cause a change in FBA standard pricing: Oversized items that have special handling fees per shipment. Other fees can apply such as prep service fees or fees for processing customer returns in specific categories. Clothing items incur an extra surcharge per unit. If you are only shipping large, oversized items or only shipping/storing during the peak months of October through December you may want to reconsider using FBA. If you’re considering using FBA, you need to be aware of these fees to ensure they don’t unknowingly creep into your bill. If you don’t stay on top of these, your profits can slip away. So be sure to understand the FBA fulfillment and storage fees, and how they apply to your products, before taking the plunge.
Is FBA Worth the Cost of Your Business?
Just because FBA, Fulfillment by Amazon, is used by so many companies, you need to determine if it’s right for your company. For some it’s a tough choice. If you decide it’s right for you remember the services that Fulco Fulfillment Inc offers to assist you with properly prepping your products to meet fulfillment by Amazon’s standards and specifications.
