Is your eCommerce business starting to feel like it’s bursting at the seams? If you’re an Amazon Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) seller watching your business outgrow your home office (and possibly your patience), we’ve got a solution for you.
It’s called Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA), and it’ll help you reclaim your spare room from its stint as a mini-warehouse, get your evenings back and restore some order to your business life while helping your company reach new heights. With the right help from our Amazon Fulfilment Services, switching to FBA doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
How does Amazon FBA Work?
Inventory Storage and Management
Inventory management often becomes one of the biggest operational challenges for growing businesses. Whether you’re currently managing stock from your home or a small warehouse, FBA takes away many of the common storage and tracking headaches.
With FBA, your products find a home in Amazon fulfilment centres nationwide and possibly beyond. This gives you access to the same world-class infrastructure that Amazon uses itself, including:
- Secure storage
- Real-time inventory tracking and management
- Automated stock alerts that tell you when it’s time to reorder
- Professional handling and organisation systems
The system puts you in complete control of your inventory, accessible anytime, anywhere. You’ll have clear visibility of your stock levels, movement reports, and performance metrics, all through a single dashboard in your Amazon Seller Account. This level of insight helps you make smart decisions about stock levels, reordering, and growing your business.
Order Fulfillment and Shipping
Here is where FBA shines (and where you get to wave goodbye to those late-night packing sessions). When an order comes in, Amazon’s team springs into action, picking your product and getting it shipped. Your products will also be eligible for Prime delivery, so your customers will get their orders at lightning speed, often the very next day.
You’ll also save a small fortune on shipping costs, as you’ll benefit from Amazon’s bulk shipping rates. Plus, you won’t have to juggle different courier services or compare delivery quotes because they take care of this for you.
Customer Service and Returns Handling
With FBA, Amazon’s professional customer service team becomes a member of your team, handling enquiries and returns with the same care and attention they give to Amazon’s own products. They work around the clock in multiple languages, so your customers always get the help they need when they need it. And they’re quick off the mark with customer queries too, making sure your buyers never feel left in the dark about their purchases.
The returns process is also really straightforward. Customers use Amazon’s standard returns system, with items returning to the fulfilment centre rather than your workspace. Refunds are handled automatically, updating your stock levels for you, keeping everything running smoothly and your customers happy.
This level of service helps maintain strong seller ratings and positive feedback, which is important for new sellers. It’s particularly valuable during those hectic peak periods like Christmas holidays or Amazon Prime Days when customer service can make or break your reputation.
Access to Amazon Prime Customers
Being an FBA seller opens the door to millions of Prime members who love that little blue Prime badge. When you use FBA, your products automatically become Prime-eligible, putting them right in front of Amazon’s most loyal customers. Prime members are known for shopping more frequently, spending more than regular Amazon customers, and being influenced by the Amazon Buy Box.
Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF)
A well-kept secret about FBA fulfilment is that it’s not only for your Amazon products. With Multi-Channel Fulfilment (MCF), Amazon can ship orders from your other sales channels, too, like Shopify or eBay.
Just like products sold via Amazon Marketplace, you’ll send inventory to Amazon fulfilment centres. Then, when you get an order from another platform, you create a shipment request through your Amazon Seller Central account, and Amazon will send out the products. While these orders won’t get Prime delivery, they’ll still enjoy reliable shipping and professional handling.
A benefit of FBA for MCF is that you can manage everything from one dashboard, making stock control infinitely easier. No more logging into multiple systems or trying to sync inventory across different platforms – it’s all handled automatically.
However, you need to be aware that Amazon does not offer free shipping for MCF orders as part of its service, so the shipping fees are charged to you as the seller. You’ll also pay Amazon storage fees and fulfilment fees, similar to regular FBA, but there might be different rates for MCF.
Fulfilment Network Expansion and Scaling
The beauty of the FBA service is that you can start small and scale gradually. Perhaps you’ll begin with UK fulfilment, then expand into European markets when you’re ready. FBA grows with you, providing the infrastructure you need at each stage of your journey.
When to Use Amazon FBA
While it might seem tempting to pop everything you sell onto Amazon Marketplace as FBA products, it’s worth being strategic about what you send to those fulfilment centres to make things cost-effective.
Products That Suit Amazon Fulfilment
Small, lightweight items that don’t take up much warehouse space are ideal. Think phone cases, books, accessories, and beauty products. These items typically have:
- Healthy profit margins to absorb FBA fees
- Regular, predictable sales
- Minimal chance of damage in transit
- Good turnover rates
Products That Might be Better for Amazon FBM
Some items are better suited to merchant fulfilment, including:
- Products with very slim profit margins
- Extra-large or particularly heavy items (storage fees can add up quickly)
- Products that have a slower turnover (long-term storage fees might become an issue)
- Items classified as hazardous
Not sure whether to use Amazon FBA vs FBM? You don’t have to choose between all FBA or no FBA – many Amazon sellers use a mixed approach.
How much are Amazon FBA fees?
Amazon FBA costs are split into two main categories:
Monthly Inventory Storage Fees
Storage fees are your warehouse rent and are calculated monthly based on the space your inventory takes up in Amazon’s fulfilment centres.
Rates vary between standard and oversized items, with premium rates charged during peak season (October to December). Amazon charges a fee for items stored for more than 365 days to encourage regular stock turnover.
Fulfilment Fees
FBA charges include fees for picking and packing, shipping to the customer, and customer service management. These fulfilment fees are calculated based on the item’s dimensions and weight and cover the entire process, including returns processing.
Here’s a top tip that could save you a fair bit of money: always run your numbers through the Amazon FBA Calculator before sending anything to the fulfilment centre. Pop in your product details, and you’ll see straight away whether the sums add up for your business.
Step-by-Step Guide to Starting Amazon FBA
Getting to grips with how to sell on Amazon might seem like a lot to take in, but with a clear plan and a bit of preparation, it’s a straightforward process:
1. Choose Your Products
Start by researching demand using Amazon’s Best Sellers list and your own market knowledge. Look for products that sell steadily throughout the year and have healthy profit margins after the FBA fees.
2. Set Up Your Seller Account and Choose the Right Plan
You’ll need to decide between an Individual or Professional seller account. For most FBA sellers, the Professional plan makes sense, especially if you plan to sell more than 35 items monthly.
The setup process is straightforward. Amazon will guide you through each step, and their Seller Central team is there to help if you need it.
3. Prepare Your Inventory
Getting your inventory ready to ship to Amazon FBA involves a bit more than just popping things in boxes (though that’s certainly part of it). Amazon has specific requirements that help keep their fulfilment centres running smoothly, and even minor mistakes can lead to costly delays or rejections.
Each of your products needs a unique barcode, and you can choose whether to use your existing product barcodes (if you have them) or let Amazon create fresh ones for you. For many sellers starting with FBA, letting Amazon handle the barcoding keeps things simple.
Packaging, however, is where things can get tricky, as Amazon is extremely particular about how your items are prepared. Products need to be:
- Packaged securely to survive the journey to and from Amazon’s fulfilment centres.
- Properly sealed to prevent any damage during storage.
- Clearly labelled and ready to ship directly to customers without additional preparation.
If Amazon decides that your products do not meet these requirements, they will reject them or flag them to be resolved. This will cost you time, money to rectify and potentially you will lose sales.
Save Time & Effort With Our Amazon FBA Services
Want to save yourself the hassle of packing? Our Amazon FBA Prep Services are designed to streamline your operations and get your inventory fully compliant for FBA. All you have to do is send us your products, and notify Amazon when you want stock sent to their fulfilment centres, and we do the rest.
We’ll manage your stock at our warehouse, tracking it in real-time so you’re never overstocked or out of stock. We integrate with your Amazon Seller Account, so we’re alerted when you tell Amazon you’re sending units and immediately get to work. We’ll pick, pack, and label your orders so your inventory arrives at Amazon in perfect condition and fully complies with their requirements. We can even include custom packaging or inserts to give your customers a branded customer experience.
By partnering with us, you can avoid the stress and common pitfalls of FBA prep, save time, and keep your business running smoothly.
4. Optimise Your Product Listings
Creating effective Amazon listings means striking the right balance between customer appeal and search visibility. Your title should include the key product features and brand name while remaining clear and readable. Product descriptions need to be easy to read and informative, answering common customer questions upfront.
High-quality images from multiple angles are important as they’re often the deciding factor in turning browsers into buyers.
5. Monitor Your Performance and Metrics
The Amazon FBA program is an excellent way to sell, but you need to keep on top of what’s working and what needs attention. Getting your stock turnover and inventory levels balanced is the difference between making money and being charged fees for being under or over-stocked.
Make sure you are using the FBA tools like the Inventory Performance Dashboard in Amazon Seller Central to keep things profitable and help you spot opportunities for growth.
6. Boost Your Visibility with Amazon Advertising
Amazon’s advertising platform offers powerful tools to get your products in front of the right customers. A well-planned Pay-Per-Click strategy can significantly boost your visibility and sales, especially when you’re first launching products.
Become A Top Amazon FBA Seller With Delta Fulfilment
Ready to take your Amazon FBA business to the next level? Let’s do it together. Let Delta Fulfilment take care of all those time-consuming prep tasks, from inspection and labelling through to secure packaging, letting you focus on growing your business rather than wrestling with packing tape.
Whether you’re sending one pallet or twenty, our UK-based team make sure your products arrive at Amazon’s fulfilment centres exactly as they should with no rejections or delays.
Want to know how we can make your FBA journey easier? Get in touch to get a quote and have a friendly chat about your prep service needs.