4 benefits of using Fulfillment by Amazon

As the leading Inventory Management platform, QuickBooks Commerce is intimately aware that there are many challenges involved with growing and scaling a successful eCommerce business.

One of the biggest of these challenges is dealing with and managing the operational and logistical issues of fulfilling orders. Today the team has taken a look at what exactly is Amazon FBA and why it can be integral to small businesses who need to efficiently manage growing fulfilment quantities and are looking to scale.

What is Amazon FBA?

Launched in 2006, Fulfillment by Amazon (Amazon FBA) is a paid service that gives Amazon Marketplace sellers access to Amazon’s extensive fulfillment network and services. With Amazon FBA, sellers are able to store their inventory in any of Amazon’s fulfillment centers worldwide, and let Amazon handle all the packing and shipping details for them from the moment an order is placed. 

FBA sellers would likely have considered other fulfillment networks, such as Merchant Fulfilled Network (MFN). MFN simply refers to sellers who handle the entire warehousing, packing, shipping and customer service, on their own.

While every business boasts different needs and requirements, Amazon FBA is often the preferred choice thanks to the compelling advantages it offers. So if you are considering becoming an FBA seller, read on to find out what is Amazon FBA all about, and is Amazon FBA really worth it?

Cost-effective shipping rates

Costly and fluctuating shipping rates could be the bane of your business, and a turnoff to potential customers who choose online retail as a means to avoid high prices, only to realize the opposite effect when shipping costs are added.

With Amazon FBA, you can to enjoy cost-effective shipping rates that trickle down to make for happier customers.

FBA sellers of any business size, have the advantage of offering all the shipping options that Amazon does, and access to discounted shipping rates. With one of the most advanced fulfillment networks in the world, Amazon FBA sellers are assured of the fast, efficient and reliable shipping service their customers will get.

To sweeten the deal, selling on Amazon FBA will automatically make you eligible to offer Amazon Prime shipping to customers. This means that Prime customers become your potential buyers as well, and purchasing your products will allow them to enjoy Amazon Prime’s FREE two-day Shipping and/or FREE shipping on qualified orders.

The cherry on top is Amazon FBA’s flexible “pay-as-you-go” model. FBA sellers are charged only for the services they use - no additional subscription fees, no minimum units, and no start-up fees. To help you decide if Amazon FBA is worth the investment, do a preliminary calculation of FBA fees and potential revenue, with the Fulfillment by Amazon Revenue Calculator.

World class customer service

As a business scales, your worry shifts from how to grow sales, to how to handle sales and after-sales. Handling customer enquiries, returns and complaints well is a key motivator for returning customers.

Stellar customer service isn’t easy to achieve, especially when supporting customer requests can be a long-drawn process, with competing resources dedicated to other business goals.

Having Amazon’s 24/7 customer service team manage customer inquiries, refunds and returns for Amazon FBA orders takes a load off your plate, and a load off customers’ minds too.

FBA sellers will have a ‘Fulfillment by Amazon logo’ displayed on their listings. This assures customers that the packing, delivery, customer service and returns of their orders are all handled by the world-class Amazon team.

This service is provided at no charge to Amazon FBA sellers with the exception of the Returns Processing Fee for certain product categories.

Never run out of storage space

Keeping deadstock is a constant worry among business owners. It is a problem that steals time and resources that could have been better invested into growing the business.

With FBA, you can store your inventory, with no minimum number of units, at any or several Amazon fulfillment centers globally. When an order is placed, the item will be shipped out from the fulfillment center nearest to the customer, ensuring quick delivery.

As an added advantage, using Amazon FBA to conquer inventory space constraint doesn’t just apply to Amazon sellers, but extends to other sales channels such as Shopify as well.

Fulfill orders from multiple sales channels

Multichannel retailing is a popular strategy that targets customers on various channels to increase sales opportunities. Thoughtfully enough, Amazon FBA is going beyond Amazon to help FBA sellers fully optimize the benefits of FBA by allowing access to Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MFC) feature.

MFC allows Amazon sellers to fulfill orders with Amazon’s full fulfillment network whether orders are placed on Amazon.com or on other sales channels.

MFC works by sending your inventory directly to an Amazon fulfillment center. When customers purchase products on Amazon or other sales channels, the Amazon team receives the orders and handles the entire shipping process from the fulfillment center.

QuickBooks Commerce's inventory and order management software works with Amazon FBA to streamline operations and connect you to other useful tools for managing your accounting and shipping, helping sellers reach more customers worldwide 24/7. Start a free trial with QuickBooks Commerce today and leave the cumbersome operational and logistical issues to experts, so you can focus on what really matters in your business.

See also:

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