Overview

Amazon now allows sellers to use 2D barcodes as an alternative method for providing box content information when creating FBA shipments through the Send to Amazon workflow. This feature lets fulfillment centers scan a barcode on each box to quickly identify its contents, which can be particularly valuable for sellers who drop-ship inventory directly from suppliers or manage high-volume operations.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• Available for individual unit shipments — The 2D barcode option appears in step 1b of the Send to Amazon workflow, but only if you add inventory as individual units earlier in step 1.
• Replaces manual box content entry — When you use 2D barcodes, you do not need to provide box content information through other methods in the workflow.
• Third-party tool required — Amazon does not generate the 2D barcodes for you. You will need a third-party application or website to create them.
• Does not replace shipping labels — 2D barcodes are supplemental. Standard Amazon shipping labels are still required on every box in your shipment.
• Box weight and dimensions still mandatory — Even if you opt out of providing detailed box content information, you must still enter box weight and dimensions for all shipments.

How It Works

During the Send to Amazon shipment creation workflow, sellers can select the 2D barcodes option and then apply a unique 2D barcode to each box in the shipment. When the boxes arrive at an Amazon fulfillment center, staff simply scan the barcode to determine the specific contents of that box. This eliminates the need to manually enter product quantities for each box through the standard box content information steps. The barcode encodes the product quantities for the items inside each box, streamlining the check-in process at the warehouse.

Benefits for High-Volume Sellers and Drop Shippers

One of the biggest advantages of 2D barcodes is their usefulness for sellers who drop-ship inventory directly from suppliers to Amazon fulfillment centers. A supplier can apply the barcode and provide box-level information without needing access to the full details of your FBA shipment plan. This keeps your shipment data private while still giving Amazon the information it needs. For sellers managing high-volume operations, 2D barcodes scale more easily to larger shipments compared to manually entering box content details for dozens or hundreds of boxes.