Overview

Amazon provides a flat file workflow that lets sellers create and manage Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) product listings in bulk, rather than adding each item one at a time through Seller Central. This is essential for sellers with large catalogs who need an efficient way to onboard inventory into the FBA program. The process involves downloading category-specific inventory file templates, filling in product details, and uploading the completed files through Seller Central.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• Flat files replace manual listing - Instead of creating each FBA listing individually, sellers can upload a tab-delimited spreadsheet containing all their product data at once, saving significant time for large catalogs.
• Category-specific templates are required - Amazon provides different inventory file templates for each product category, so sellers must download the correct template for their product type before beginning.
• Fulfillment center ID matters - Sellers must enter "AMAZON_NA" in the fulfillment center ID column for any product they want fulfilled through FBA. Leaving this blank or entering "DEFAULT" designates the product as seller-fulfilled.
• Leave quantity blank for FBA items - The quantity column must remain empty for FBA products. If a value is entered in the quantity field for an FBA SKU, Amazon will automatically convert that listing to seller-fulfilled.
• Separate listings needed for dual fulfillment - Sellers who want to offer the same product through both FBA and merchant fulfillment must create two separate listings, one for each fulfillment channel.

How the Bulk Listing Process Works

The workflow begins with downloading the appropriate inventory file template for your product category from Seller Central. These templates are pre-formatted spreadsheets with all the required columns for that category. Sellers fill in their product information — titles, descriptions, pricing, identifiers, and fulfillment details — then save the file as a tab-delimited text file. The completed file is uploaded through the "Upload via" tool in Seller Central, where Amazon processes the data and creates or updates the listings. Once the upload is successful, sellers can proceed to create their FBA shipping plans to send inventory to Amazon's fulfillment centers.