Overview

Sending inventory to Amazon's fulfillment centers is a foundational step for any FBA seller. Understanding the shipping plan process, available tools, and compliance requirements helps ensure your products are received quickly and made available for sale without unnecessary delays or penalties.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• Shipping plan required - Before sending any inventory to Amazon, sellers must create a shipping plan that specifies the products, quantities, and shipping details for their fulfillment shipments.
• Send to Amazon is the primary workflow - Amazon's "Send to Amazon" workflow is the streamlined shipment creation tool that has replaced older methods, offering simplified steps for replenishing inventory.
• Three-day processing window - Inventory that arrives at a fulfillment center is typically scanned and made available for sale within three business days of delivery.
• Ship to designated locations only - Amazon assigns specific fulfillment center destinations for each shipping plan, and sellers must ship to those exact locations.
• Non-compliance has consequences - Deviating from your approved shipping plan by canceling portions, misrouting shipments, or sending incomplete orders can result in processing delays and potential restrictions on your ability to create future shipments.

How the Shipping Process Works

The FBA shipping process follows a straightforward sequence: create a shipping plan, pack your products according to Amazon's requirements, and send them to the fulfillment centers that Amazon designates. Sellers can build their shipments by either adding products directly from the Send to Amazon page or by uploading a product list using a spreadsheet file. Amazon strategically places inventory closer to customers to reduce delivery times, which is why sellers may be directed to ship to multiple fulfillment centers across different regions. Once your shipment arrives, Amazon handles receiving, storing, and eventually picking, packing, and shipping the products to customers.

Shipment Creation Requirements

As of January 17, 2022, Amazon requires that all new FBA shipments be created using either the Send to Amazon workflow within Seller Central or through Amazon's SP-API. The older shipment creation workflows have been fully retired and are no longer available. Sellers who use third-party inventory management software should verify that their tools have been updated to integrate with the current Send to Amazon system or the appropriate APIs. In eligible regions such as Australia, Amazon also offers a pickup service where a carrier will collect inventory from a seller's home or warehouse at an eligible postcode and deliver it directly to the designated fulfillment center.