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Sellerwix Academy - Amazon seller fulfillment best practices (FBM/MFN Guide)

Jun 09, 20235 mins to read
Amazon seller fulfillment best practices FBM

7 steps to selling with Amazon FBM Merchant Fulfilled Network

As long as you recognize your obligations to your customers and have suitable systems in place, it can be relatively straightforward to set up as an Amazon MFN seller. All you need to do is follow the steps below:
sell using FBM

Step 1: Create an Amazon seller account

Once you create your seller account and choose a selling plan, you’ll have access to Seller Central, your go-to resource for selling on Amazon.com. Before you sign up, make sure you’re ready with the following:
  • Business email address or Amazon customer account
  • Quality, competitive price
  • Government ID (identity verification protects sellers and customers)
  • Tax information
  • Phone number
  • A bank account where Amazon can send you proceeds from sales
Read this article to learn more about Sellerwix Tips: Key factors to sell on Amazon successfully.

Step 2: List products for sale and create product pages

How you go about listing will depend on if you have existing listings, need to create new listings, and whether you want to create listings one by one or in bulk. Help shoppers find items by adding descriptive titles, clear images, and concise feature bullets on offers.

Learn about product categories, product details, product IDs, and more

Listing an FBM product is largely the same as creating any other product offer.

Using the steps outlined above, once you reach the part of the offer that reads ‘Fulfillment Channel’, select the radial that states ‘I will ship the item myself (Merchant Fulfillment).’

Amazon FBM Fulfillment channel
After the product appears in Amazon’s catalog, you will find your Merchant Fulfilled products under Inventory > Manage Inventory. Make sure you check ‘Active’ for ‘Status’ and ‘Merchant’ for ‘Fulfilled by.’
manage inventory merchant fulfilled network FBM

Step 3: Manage your storage space, warehouse, or fulfillment center

The more efficiently you manage inventory, the more profitable your business can become. Try to have enough inventory to cover demand, but not so much that you become overstocked.

Continuously manage inventory to get a return on your investment. It’s essential to have enough inventory to meet customer demand, especially during seasonal holidays or peak sales events such as Cyber Monday or Prime Day.

Get the beginner’s guide to selling on Amazon.

Step 4: Set up your shipping templates to match your logistic capabilities for both handling time and transit time

Through the Seller Central dashboard, you can assign shipping templates from the Manage Inventory dropdown menu. Create large batch shipping templates and assign them to specific offers that match your logistic capabilities for specific products.

Additionally, through the Seller Central dashboard, you can set your Default Handling Time and Order Handling Capacity to ensure that you are protected from a surge in orders.

Learn about Merchant Fulfilled Network FBM.

Amazon FBM merchant fulfilled network

Step 5: Coordinate picking, packing, and shipping for orders

Once a customer completes a transaction, order processing begins. If you want to handle fulfillment in-house, be sure you have the capacity to efficiently pick, pack, and ship orders to customers. You will also want to make sure that the carriers you will be using are part of our valid tracking rate network of carriers.

A critical part of order processing is choosing the right packaging. This could be:

  • Boxes
  • Paper or bubble mailers
  • Packing material such as bubble wrap or air filter

Be sure to follow all Amazon requirements for packing and preparation to minimize costs and avoid damaging items in transit.

Step 6: Handle customer service and returns in-house

Providing great customer service is essential for success on Amazon. Research shows that orders, where sellers respond to customers’ messages within 24 hours, receive half as much negative feedback as orders with response times over 24 hours. (source)

Staying on top of customer service can help convert one-time buyers into loyal customers. Monitor customer service metrics in Seller Central to stay on top of customer feedback and responses.

Excellent customer service includes handling returns swiftly and efficiently.
Here are a few simple measures you can take to limit returns and exchanges:
  • Provide accurate product listings
  • Include sizing guides
  • Allow customers to ask questions about products before purchasing
  • Use the “Request Review” button to encourage customer feedback
fulfillment products with Amazon FBM

Step 7: Consider FBM costs and fees

Costs vary based on many factors, including:
  • Your selling plan. Learn about the differences between an Individual or Professional plan
  • Referral fees. For every item sold, sellers pay Amazon a percentage of the total price – including item price, shipping cost, and any gift-wrapping charges – or a minimum amount, whichever is greater
  • How you handle fulfillment

Did you know?

Shipping can make or break a sale.

Order shipping is among the top factors customers weigh when deciding whether to buy a product. A study on U.S. shoppers found:

  • Free delivery is the most important factor for 83% of shoppers when ordering online (source)
  • More than half of shoppers (54%) have abandoned online shopping baskets because of delivery costs (source)

8 pro tips for MFN shipping and delivery

Merchant Fulfilled Network (MFN) is Amazon’s terminology for Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM). It refers to a method of selling where sellers list products in Amazon stores but manages all storage, shipping, and customer support independently.
  1. Customers appreciate fast delivery. See how to manage delivery times
  2. Learn how to manage shipping account settings and holiday settings
  3. Aim to meet standard shipping requirements and service-level agreements (SLAs)
  4. Get acquainted with Premium shipping and learn how to meet requirements in order to offer One-Day and Two-Day Shipping
  5. Improve the customer experience by offering free shipping. This also increases your chance of winning the Featured Offer
  6. See more about delivery expectations for individual sellers
  7. Consider Amazon’s Buy Shipping services, where you can buy labels, handle shipping, confirm orders, and track shipments
  8. Set your Default Handling Time and Order Handling Capacity to ensure that you are protected from a surge in orders that might result in poor customer experience and impact your metrics

Wrapping Things Up

Over the last several years, Amazon has invested over $30 billion in the fulfillment network and technology. And as the data shows, sellers who add FBM into their repertoire find more success in the long run! Get started with Amazon FBM now with Sellerwix!
With insightful experiences in the eCommerce market, Sellerwix will be the fully integrated solution to manage and grow your business effortlessly. Let’s meet at business@sellerwix.com or support@sellerwix.com if you need any help. Follow our blogs to stay on top of Print On Demand trends!
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Nhu Giap
Marketing Executive
Hello! Besides marketing and the e-Commerce world, I am keenly interested in innovations, culture, content writing, and much more. Let’s connect!

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