Amazon FBA: Can It Work For You?
Management of inventory, logistics, transportation, and inventory management can all be grueling processes. It's not fun to be constantly surrounded by plastic and cardboard wrap. They are crucial in creating an experience for customers that is seamless, which in turn can help in converting the traffic from the internet into real customers. The retail giant Amazon recognizes this. Amazon's Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service provides all logistical support together under one umbrella. Amazon FBA manages your inventory for you: Amazon stores your stock in a fulfillment facility and ships orders out for fulfillment, and also provides assistance to customers (including return requests). All you have to do is to get your inventory into the Amazon fulfillment center. Amazon will assist you with that too.
What You Need To Know About FBA: ● ●
You can complete orders through FBA or fulfillment by merchant (FBM) which means that you or your distributor take on packaging, storage shipping, and customer service. It is also possible to mix the two options if you're selling many products available and you want to choose FBA for certain products and FBM for other products.
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FBA allows your purchases to qualify to receive Free Shipping or Prime One Day/Two Days Delivery. People are much more inclined to click the Buy button when shipping is included for free. FBA provides you with a higher chance of getting the sought-after Buy Box on Amazon-otherwise known as the white box that sits on the side which allows customers to add products to their shopping carts. Some sellers do not have access to this benefit You must be able to demonstrate high-quality fulfillment metrics to be eligible for an entry into the Buy Box without FBA. Amazon will also pick up your items from your doorstep for a reduced cost if you choose FBA.
Club Amazon FBA with other Amazon services for consolidated fulfillment services: ●
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Your FBA inventory could qualify to be eligible for Amazon's Subscribe and Save program, and may be used as stocks to be used in Amazon's multi-channel Fulfillment (MCF) in which Amazon acts as your logistics provider for orders placed through third-party sites. Reduced fulfillment costs are available for products which are lightweight and small in size. Make sure your products are qualified for international fulfillment. Amazon has been testing it out with markets like the US, UK, Spain, Germany, France, Japan and Italy markets. Choose to avail other fees-based Amazon services, such as barcode labeling, preparation of products manual processing, as well as other distribution services.
With amazon fulfillment fees, storage of inventory on a monthly basis as well as long-term storage return processing, and any unplanned service (such as when a product arrives at one of the Amazon fulfillment centers with no labels) could eat up your pocket. Consider it more as an enterprise model rather than it's a profit. If a portion or all of your items are lightweight and small-sized or you are able to quickly turn over inventory choosing to go with FBA is a smart option. It's also sensible to accelerate logistics with FBA in the event that you do not have logistics experience. You don't want to lose customers or receive negative reviews for this. Delivery is free as an additional benefit you'd like to make use of, even when you're not able to provide it by yourself.