Overview

Amazon’s FBA inventory recommendation engine suggests how much stock to send to fulfillment centers and when to replenish it. The accuracy of those suggestions hinges on the data sellers feed into the system via the SKU Settings page. Updating these settings lets sellers align Amazon’s calculations with their actual supply‑chain timelines, reducing both excess inventory and stock‑outs.

Key Points

• Default values rarely reflect reality — Amazon applies generic lead‑time and replenishment‑frequency defaults that can differ sharply from a seller’s true purchasing cadence, skewing restock advice.
• Three data pillars drive recommendations — Current on‑hand inventory, forecasted demand, and seller‑provided parameters such as supplier lead time and case‑pack size form the basis of Amazon’s guidance.
• Mismatched settings cause over‑ or under‑ordering — If Amazon assumes a four‑week replenishment cycle while a seller orders weekly, the system may recommend four times the needed quantity, inflating storage costs.
• Regular updates keep forecasts sharp — Whenever a supplier changes, a shipping method is altered, or seasonal demand shifts, revising SKU Settings ensures the algorithm mirrors the new reality.
• Per‑SKU customization beats blanket rules — Different products often have distinct MOQ, lead times, and demand patterns; tailoring settings for each SKU yields more precise recommendations.
• Quarterly reviews are a best‑practice benchmark — A systematic review every three months catches most supply‑chain adjustments before they distort inventory planning.

How SKU Settings Work

1. Data collection — Amazon continuously tracks each FBA SKU’s on‑hand quantity and sales velocity, feeding this information into its demand‑forecast model.
2. Seller input integration — The values you enter for replenishment frequency, supplier lead time, and case‑pack size are merged with the system’s internal data to compute a recommended inbound shipment.
3. Recommendation generation — Using the combined dataset, Amazon calculates a target on‑hand level and suggests a shipment quantity and arrival window that should keep the SKU in stock without excess.