Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) is a service that helps take off some weight from sellers, by allowing them to delegate the responsibility of outsourcing their orders to Amazon. With Amazon FBA, sellers have a more convenient means to sell their products. All they have to do is to send their products to one of the Amazon warehouses, and then Amazon takes it up from there; they store the product if it would require a long waiting period before shipping, and they also handle the picking, packing, and shipping of the products to the customers.
For sellers who would like to leverage Amazon FBA, they have to ensure they check out all the processes needed to properly prepare their products for FBA to guarantee a hitch-free experience and maximize the benefits of the FBA service.
Today’s article will help you understand all you need to put in place to ensure a correctly prepared product and excellent product delivery.
1. Understanding Amazon FBA Requirements
There are certain guidelines that Amazon FBA has put in place to make sure the quality of its fulfillment service doesn’t reduce. Sellers are required to comply with these regulations before their products can be approved to be handled by FBA. Some of these requirements include; selling good quality products, appropriate product labeling, compliance to safety measures, and so on.
As a seller willing to maximize Amazon FBA, you need to know these guidelines and follow them.
2. Sourcing Quality Products
Now that you know selling quality products is required for you to be accepted as a seller under the FBA service, your next step of action should be to find out how you can source quality products.
Here are some tips to help you find reliable suppliers:
- Make sure you do a good background check on whatever supplier you want to purchase from. Find out what other buyers have said concerning them, and if they have a proven reputation to deliver effectively.
- It’s best to find a supplier that can meet up with your demands. This is to ensure you don’t run out of supplies, leaving your customers disappointed. So ensure your supplier can deliver consistently.
- To avoid any disappointment, collect samples from your supplier before purchasing in bulk to be sure the quality of their products meets your standards.
Your business has more chances for long-term success if you can ensure a good quality control system. Therefore, it’s necessary that you carefully check your products before shipping them to ensure that they fulfill the quality standards necessary to please your clients.
3. Proper Packaging Techniques
When products are transported from one location to another, they are usually at the risk of being damaged in the process. To mitigate this, Amazon has established some packing requirements that must be adhered to before the products are dispatched.
For example; fragile objects need to be protected with multiple layers of padding, moisture-sensitive items need to be packed in waterproof materials, the right box sizes should be used to package the items, and boxes shouldn’t be overstuffed or cramped.
There are some specific packaging materials that Amazon always recommends its sellers to use for either storage or shipment. Some of them are:
- Adhesive tape
- Shipping labels
- Poly Bags
- Bubble Wraps
- Foam Sheets
4. Accurate Labeling
Amazon prioritizes appropriate labeling of every product stored or sorted in their fulfillment centers. These labels make it easier to organize and process the products in their inventory. Without proper labeling, the products could get mixed up or mishandled.
There are various labels required to be placed on products before they are taken to the fulfillment centers. Here are a few of them:
- Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit (FNSKU): This is Amazon’s special barcode placed on the outside of the product’s package.
- Box Labels: They are placed on either side of the boxes where they can be easily seen. These are also generated by Amazon during the shipment preparation.
- Bundle Labels: Products that are ordered in bulk, or sold in sets and bundles always have a label on them which clearly states that they should not be separated.
Some other labels give an overview of the products such as; Expiration date labels, Suffocation warning labels, etc.
There are some common mistakes usually made during labeling. Sometimes, it could be that the wrong label is used, or the barcodes are unclear. Other times, it’s possible that the labels are not correctly placed or they don’t have the correct information. Whatever the mistake might be, it can be easily prevented by following the labeling instructions given per product, ensuring that labels are properly placed and not obstructing g other important labels, and making sure that the barcodes are clearly printed out.
5. Bundling and Kitting
Some products are sold as bundles and kits which involves putting together several items into one package. These sorts of products must be treated carefully so that none of the items would be lost or tampered with.
To keep bundles and kits safe during transportation, it’s important that they have a clear description of their contents and they must be wrapped securely.
Bundled products must have their own unique FNSKU and clear labels that differentiate them from individual products.
6. Preparing Shipments
After you’ve completed the above steps, the next step you want to take is to go on Amazon Seller Central and create a shipping plan. This would allow you to ship your products to Amazon’s fulfillment centers and monitor the entire shipping process.
To create a shipping plan, all you have to do is head over to Amazon Seller Central, log in with your seller account details, and create the shipping plan you want. Creating a shipping plan on Amazon Seller Central, also allows you to; review your shipments, check that you have the right labels, and help track the shipments that are in progress.
To ensure that your shipments are accurate and efficient, you should always double-check to verify that all the details and labels for the products being sent out are correct. Also try to merge several shipments into one, to save cost and streamline operations.
7. Documentation and Compliance
For your shipments to pass through customs without much hassle or any additional cost, you need to have all the right documentation.
Some important documents you should have are a bill of Lading, Certificate of Origin, Import Licenses, Packing List, and Commercial invoice.
Once you have these documents in place, you shouldn’t have any trouble shipping your products.
You should also note that there are different customs regulations for different countries. You must be well-updated and informed of these regulations so that your shipment isn’t affected, and you don’t have to suffer the consequences for non-compliance.
8. Using Third-Party Prep Services
Processing shipments according to Amazon’s guidelines can be very time-consuming and demanding. Using a third-party prep service helps take care of shipment preparation tasks so you can have more time to spend on other parts of your business. These prep services help make sure that you fully comply with all of Amazon’s requirements.
If you’d like to make use of these third-party services, but are unsure of how to find one that is reliable, just try researching prep services that have a good reputation and are well-experienced in handling businesses with similar products as you.
Acquiring the service of third-party prep services might seem like an unnecessary additional cost at first, but its benefits outweigh the cost. Not only do they help you save time and reduce mistakes in your shipments, but they also can help you negotiate for better shipment deals.
9. Quality Control and Inspection
With all the steps above completed, you have to make sure your products meet Amazon’s quality standard requirements. Third-party inspection services can be very helpful in giving accurate assessments of your products.
If customers are not satisfied with the product quality, they most likely would return it or give negative reviews about it. Amazon tries to prevent this as much as possible, which is why they keep strict quality control rules.
Bad reviews and returned products can also affect your ratings as a seller and affect your business reputation.
10. Managing Inventory Levels
As a seller, managing your inventory properly keeps you ahead and helps prevent you from running out of stock unprepared. With good inventory management, you get to know the products you have in stock and determine the products that sell out fast and the ones that aren’t selling out as fast.
You can also use Amazon’s restock inventory tool to receive recommendations on what and when to reorder. The tool also helps you automate your inventory management.
11. Handling Returns and Defective Products
Whenever a product is returned by a customer, Amazon handles it. They receive the returned item, inspect it, and check to see if they can resell it to another customer. Products that can’t be resold, are sent back to the seller.
Amazon also asks for feedback from customers who return their purchases to determine the reason for their return.
If you’d like to minimize the rate of products that get returned to you, then you must make sure that you thoroughly inspect products before their shipments are finalized, and source your products from a reliable supplier. Also, have a good feedback system to be sure about the rate of satisfaction your customers are getting from your products.
12. Cost Management
If you’d like to know how you can reduce the cost of your shipment, here are some tips for you:
- Try merging shipments and shipping in bulk.
- Minimize space wastage or extra weight in your packaging.
- Assess your shipment preparation processes to know if it would be cheaper or costlier for you to use third-party prep services.
- Use Amazon’s partnered carrier programs to enjoy discounted shipping rates, streamlined shipping and tracking of products, and mitigate the risks associated with shipments.
Conclusion
Remember that in preparing your products for Amazon FBA, you need to have really good and efficient quality control, documentation, packaging, labeling, cost management, and shipment processes.
If you’re successfully able to implement these tips, you’ll experience an easy and smooth FBA operation for your business. You’d be positioned better to satisfy your customers and increase your business profitability.
You can check out Amazon Seller Central and Amazon’s FBA guidelines online for more information on this topic.
