Overview

Amazon’s Multi‑Location Inventory (MLI) feature lets Fulfilled‑by‑Merchant (FBM) sellers who store products in several warehouses feed location‑specific stock data to Amazon. Launched this year, MLI enables the marketplace to calculate delivery windows based on the nearest stocked site to a shopper’s zip code. Sellers benefit from more realistic shipping promises, higher conversion rates, and a streamlined fulfillment process.

Key Points

• Location‑driven delivery estimates — MLI selects the warehouse closest to the buyer’s address, then applies the shipping speeds defined in the seller’s template; a customer in Chicago will see a 2‑day window if inventory sits in a Midwest hub, while a buyer on the West Coast may receive a 4‑day estimate from the same listing.
• Works hand‑in‑hand with Shipping Settings Automation (SSA) — When SSA is active, MLI automatically updates the promised delivery dates without any manual tweaks for each order, cutting down on admin time.
• Single‑template shipping management — Instead of maintaining separate shipping rules for each warehouse, sellers configure one universal template that covers all locations, simplifying the setup and reducing the chance of contradictory rules.
• Accurate “in‑stock” visibility — Prior to MLI, many sellers reported only the lowest stock level across sites to avoid overselling, causing listings to appear out of stock even when other warehouses held inventory. MLI aggregates the nearest available quantity, so a product with 5 units in New York and 20 units in Dallas will still display as “in stock” for East‑coast shoppers.
• Automatic inventory sync — Stock changes at any location are pushed to Amazon in real time, eliminating the need for sellers to manually adjust quantities after each shipment or return.
• API‑first accessibility — MLI can be linked through the Selling Partner API (SP‑API) or third‑party inventory platforms, allowing large FBM operations to automate data flow without logging into Seller Central.

How Multi‑Location Inventory Works

1. Customer lands on the product page — Amazon checks the buyer’s zip code, then scans the seller’s inventory feed for all warehouses that hold the SKU.