Optimising Your Amazon Fulfilment Strategy: Tips for Success

There are 9.7 million sellers on Amazon, with approximately 3,700 new sellers joining every day. It’s safe to say that Amazon is a highly competitive online marketplace, especially when it comes to standing out as a seller with products worth picking and pipping the competition to the post. This is why it’s important to use all the tools in your arsenal, including Amazon’s Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) service.

But it’s not enough to sign up to be an Amazon fulfilment company and hope for the best. Ask expert Amazon consultants, they will all tell you the same thing – if you want to make the most out of Amazon’s fulfilment offerings, you must optimise your approach. This will help boost your sales, improve customer satisfaction and streamline your logistics.

What is an Amazon Fulfilment Strategy?

If you’re a seller on Amazon or have done any research into becoming a seller on Amazon, you will probably have come across Fulfilment by Amazon. FBA is Amazon’s own fulfilment strategy and, as a seller, you can take advantage. FBA is a way to make use of the marketplace’s impressive logistics network, handing over the storing of your products, shipping, refunds, returns and customer service to Amazon. This includes using an Amazon shipping warehouse, rather than organising your own and making the most of Amazon shipping and tracking. All you need to do is send your inventory to one of the fulfilment centres and Amazon will take over the logistics process. As Amazon FBA UK fees are relatively low, it often means using it can reduce shipping costs, passing these savings onto customers in the form of affordable products.

The Benefits of Amazon’s Fulfilment Strategy

There’s no denying that Amazon knows what buyers and sellers want, which is why there are a whole host of benefits to using Amazon FBA. For example, by letting Amazon manage the logistical side of things, you can concentrate on other aspects of running your business, such as product development and growth. 37% of small businesses outsource at least one business process to a third party, and FBA enables you to do this in one place. Instead of navigating one team managing storage and another managing customer service, you can free up your time by outsourcing it in one place.

It’s not always easy to scale as a business, especially if your products fly off the shelves quicker than you can handle. With an Amazon fulfilment strategy, you can reduce the complexities of managing order fulfilment by having the support of Amazon’s network, especially with shipping. 52% of customers expect delivery within two to three days, and it’s important to meet this demand as much as possible. With FBA, you can benefit from Amazon’s speedy delivery of millions of items. Though it’s impossible to rule delays out completely, Amazon shipping delays are uncommon, enhancing customer satisfaction and driving sales.

Tips for Amazon Fulfilment Strategy Success

• Ensure Inventory Arrives Quickly – A lot goes into a smooth fulfilment process, and its success relies on inventory being readily available. As an Amazon fulfilment company, you must ensure your inventory arrives on time at Amazon’s fulfilment centres, which act as an Amazon shipping hub. This reduces the chances of a product being out of stock, which boosts customer satisfaction. By managing your lead times efficiently, you can maintain a seamless customer shopping experience.
• Automate Your Inventory Management – As a seller, you’ll know that keeping track of your stock is time-consuming, especially if you have a wide range of products. But, you can optimise Amazon fulfilment in the UK by automating routine tasks. Automation can help you manage your inventory more effectively, finding a balance between overstocking and understocking.
• Optimise Your Product Listings – There are a lot of products on Amazon – 600 million in fact, and only 12 million of these are sold by Amazon itself – and you need to ensure that yours stand out. Your product listings must be optimised with high-quality images, detailed descriptions and relevant keywords. These listings improve your visibility on the platform, which can lead to higher conversion rates. The more products you sell, the more you’ll get out of your fulfilment strategy.
• Make the Most of Amazon’s Shipping Programs – It’s a good idea to take advantage of Amazon’s shipping programs – such as Subscribe and Save and the Next Day Delivery option available to Prime members – to boost your sales. Subscribe and Save can increase repeat purchases by encouraging customers to set up regular orders and Prime delivery appeals to buyers who need free, speedy shipping. There are a few shipping options, so it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with how Amazon delivery works and choose the best method for your customers.
• Monitor Your Delivery Performance – FBA provides various tracking tools, giving valuable insights into your shipping and delivery performance. By regularly reviewing these insights, you can find any areas with room for improvement. For example, by looking at delivery times and accuracy across different fulfilment centres, you can prioritise centres with a quicker turnaround time. This benefits customers by reducing their waiting time.
• Use Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfilment Service – If you sell on multiple platforms as well as Amazon, you could benefit from using the Multi-Channel Fulfilment (MCF) service. MCF allows you to fulfil orders from other sales channels – for example, your own website – using Amazon’s logistics network. This can streamline your logistics by combining all your inventory and shipping processes. It also gives you access to Amazon’s reliable delivery network.

By optimising your Amazon fulfilment strategy, you give yourself the best chance of thriving in a competitive landscape. Success on Amazon isn’t just about having a great product or two, it’s about delivering goods to your customers as quickly and expertly as possible. As an Amazon marketing agency, we’re on hand to ensure you’re doing everything you can to succeed. Whether you need an Amazon SEO consultant or professional Amazon PCC service, we have the knowledge, expertise and passion to help. Get in touch to find out more.