How to choose the correct FBA head logistics?
Amazon has become one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world, and almost all e-commerce sellers are trying to ally with the e-commerce giant. However, how to choose the correct FBA head-end logistics has become a headache for sellers.Many products sold by Amazon are eligible for free 2-day shipping through the company's Amazon Prime service. As of January 2020, there are more than 112 million Prime members. Consumers love the free 2-day shipping guarantee, and sellers want to feature the Prime logo on their listings because it boosts sales.
In 2015, Amazon introduced an alternative shipping method, the Seller Fulfillment Prime program, which allows eligible suppliers to handle shipping themselves while still maintaining Prime status. This adds options for suppliers who may be disappointed by FBA's high storage rates and other constraints.
Amazon Marketplace sellers have three different fulfillment methods when fulfilling Prime orders.
1. FBA
Amazon sellers don’t have to use FBA, but about half of them do because it saves them the hassle of arranging it themselves. When you choose FBA, Amazon manages the entire shipping process for you—a fact that automatically qualifies your products for Prime status. This approach is often suitable for companies that do not have the physical space to store inventory, or that do not work with an experienced third-party fulfillment provider to manage these responsibilities.
By shipping products to Amazon and then having FBA store and ship them, companies save time and hassle associated with fulfillment. For this reason, FBA can be a convenient option, but FBA has many limitations, including that upon delivery, your packaging will not have your branding on it, and you cannot customize how it is packaged (inserts, special packaging, etc.). Also, FBA storage rates can be quite high.
2. Self-delivery
With this option, you will be responsible for all aspects of the order, fulfillment and shipping process. If you understand how to run efficient fulfillment operations, and your warehouse network enables 2-day delivery in the US, then this may be a cheaper method that allows you to maintain control of your product and inventory. But many e-commerce companies simply don't want to invest the money and time to build fulfillment infrastructure. They would rather focus on sales growth.
This option bridges the gap that exists between FBA and the reality that if you do not use Fulfillment by Amazon, your items will not include the Prime Shipping badge.
Using 3PF allows sellers to display the Prime badge, as long as the solution meets strict SFP requirements. Of course, 3PF must be able to meet the 2-day shipping requirement for Prime orders. Check out this blog post to learn more about Seller Fulfilled Prime and using third-party partners.
4. Looking for a freight forwarding company that focuses on the first journey of FBA to be responsible for Amazon orders
If you're looking for a logistics provider to help with Amazon fulfillment, be sure to put the following key points on your list of criteria:
(1) Find a supplier that has multiple warehouses across the country or has strong qualifications, and this supplier can meet the 2-day shipping needs to many different geographical locations.
(2) Look for a business partner with deep expertise in e-commerce services, you'll want to see demonstrable experience in this area.
(3) Find a supplier that offers a late-day order cut-off for same-day shipping.
Remarks: The above content is only an internal opinion and is for reference only.
