Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program has its function and operations to make online sellers manage their businesses by handling storage, packaging, and shipping on their behalf. However, before the inventory products arrive at Amazon’s fulfillment centers, there must be some strict packaging and labeling requirements to meet. These are called by Amazon FBA Preparation (Prep) Service.
There are key aspects of the FBA Prep Service. It includes what it is, what it includes, and who should use it. It also covers the benefits and drawbacks of using this optional service.
Contents
Knowing the Amazon FBA Preparation Service
The Amazon FBA Prep Service is one of the service solutions offered by Amazon. In this service, the company prepares your products for storage and shipment on your behalf. This preparation includes several tasks such as labeling, bagging, bubble-wrapping, and ensuring. All of which is to make the items comply with Amazon’s strict packaging guidelines.
The start of this service is when sellers enroll in this service. Then, they will send unprepared inventory to Amazon, and Amazon’s staff completes the necessary prep tasks before processing the products to the storage section and this will make the product available for sale.
This Amazon FBA preparation service serves an important role in the business. Since Amazon has detailed requirements for some issues such as the procedure for product packaging, labeling and presentation. Sellers must comply with all these requirements.
If not, there will be some consequences of this negligence. The company may reject the shipments. The items may be stranded or unavailable for sale. Or sellers may have to pay penalties or extra charges.
Knowing the FBA Prep Service guidance will help sellers avoid these problems. It is especially for new sellers in Amazon, or sellers with high selling volume, or sellers with remote business management.
Key Aspects of the Amazon FBA Prep Service
There are some main components as including in the prep process:
Labeling
Amazon applies a unique label namely FNSKU (Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit) for each product sent. This barcode facilitates Amazon to easily identify the product and match it to the seller account. Any arriving products without labels or incorrect ones, then Amazon will complete it with the proper one namely one in the enrollment of preparation service. There is a fee for this labeling, it is typically $0.30 per unit.
Poly Bagging and Sealing
There are certain products that require poly bagging in order to protect them from dust, damage, or separation. These products are such as clothing, soft items, or those with multiple pieces.
This poly bagging must be sealed properly. There is also a label with suffocation warning for any products with opening exceeding five inches. This bagging procedure is to meet these criteria. The charge for this bag is around $0.50 per unit depending on the service level.
Bubble Wrapping and Protective Packaging
There are also requirements for special items such as fragile ones. The packaging for fragile items must use bubble wrapping so that there will be no breakage during shipping and handling.
Any products with extra protection while sellers can not ’t provide it themselves, the. Amazon will handle this for a fee, usually it is around $0.80 per unit. This fee includes items made of some fragile materials such as glass, ceramics, electronics, and other similar materials.
Taping and Assembling
There are some products having to be taped shut. For example boxes with loose flaps. Some others also need to be assembled before being packed. Amazon can perform this light assembly work or reinforce packaging so that the products can meet handling and storage requirements.
Expiration Date Labeling
In this goods business, presenting information about expiration dates is important. There are some products such as perishable or time-sensitive products like vitamins, cosmetics, or food that must present clear expiration dates printed on each unit. Amazon will give this label or verify these. There will be this procedure sellers use the prep service.
Sellers using this Amazon prep service will get some benefits. It will save time and labor. It also can ensure compliances and streamline the workflow. By all of these benefits, sellers may always consider having this preparation service.
Shipazon is a warehouse industrial business which provides various services including the preparation service. Shipazon can perform all of the aforementioned procedures. When you consider the benefits of this service, you may also consider to be the partners of Shipazon since it will serve you with all of the procedures and methods in this preparation service.
Shipazon offers complete services. It covers comprehensive warehousing and fulfillment services for both e-commerce sellers and traditional businesses. The services include port drayage, transloading, cross-docking, final-mile delivery, Amazon fulfillment, and both B2B and B2C order fulfillment. You can adjust these with your business and needs.