Blog Posts MFN Offers Post-COVID Alternative to Fulfillment by Amazon
More than 450,000 Marketplace sellers use Fulfillment by Amazon to handle their orders. However, many of these sellers have experienced significant challenges with FBA in the wake of COVID-19.
Saddle Creek’s vice president of business development Jeff Jones details recent issues with FBA and explores the advantages of a Merchant Fulfilled Network (MFN) in his new blog for Multichannel Merchant.
Following is an excerpt…
What Sellers Need to Know About Fulfilling Amazon Marketplace Orders
In recent months, Marketplace sellers who utilize FBA have faced significant challenges.
In the initial throes of the coronavirus pandemic, non-essential products took a backseat as FBA opted to prioritize essential items. Sellers were temporarily suspended from replenishing non-essential goods to Amazon warehouses. Outbound shipping times lengthened from as little as 24 hours to weeks or more. When regular shipping resumed in mid-April, Amazon limited the quantities that sellers could ship via FBA.
Problems still persist. In recent weeks, Amazon has struggled to accept shipments of inventory due to space constraints and began restricting warehouse space for sellers using FBA based on inventory productivity, effective Aug. 16.
These restrictions are hitting sellers hard. They are not paid for merchandise until items ship. In addition, slow receiving can result in out-of-stocks which can cause products to drop in search rankings and ultimately, impact sales.
MFN Offers Alternative to FBA
Sellers are not limited to FBA for marketplace fulfillment. They may choose to use a Merchant Fulfilled Network (MFN), also known as Fulfillment by Merchant. This allows them to receive consumer orders from Amazon and execute the pick-pack-ship process themselves.
Alternatively, they may opt to use a combination of these options. In fact, 29 percent of Marketplace sellers opt to utilize MFN and FBA, according to a study by JungleScout.
To learn about the advantages of MFN and how 3PLs can provide support, read the full article on Multichannel Merchant.