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Bradley Grossman posted an update 3 years ago
If you sign up for Amazon s multi-channel fulfillment (MCF). What exactly is Amazon multi-channel fulfillment? Amazon multi-channel fulfillment is a part of the FBA service. It works very much like FBA does from the point at which an order comes into Amazon, but expands your choices for where that order can take place while still remaining fulfilled. As we will see in the next few paragraphs, there are several key differences that make using Amazon as your point of origin for orders quite different than what you might think.
In our first example we looked at how the fee to ship to a consumer’s address worked when using Amazon as your point of origin for your multi-channel fulfillment. On its face this seems like a reasonable way to deal with all of the orders that come through your website. In fact it is a very common way that multi-channel fulfillment works, and a good description of it should be how a consumer places their order on Amazon, pays the fees for that order and then has that order shipped directly to the company who will pack and ship the product to their door.
But that description doesn’t tell the whole story. FBA multi-channel fulfillment providers work much differently than traditional drop shippers or wholesalers who work from one place with one stop. This is because when you work with a traditional wholesaler or drop shipper you do not have an unlimited number of products to stock. You have to keep adding new products to your inventory and you must pay more for shipping and handling fees. With a FBA provider you have unlimited access to an extensive selection of products from multiple places, which you can sell and fulfill from one location with one fee. You don’t have to pay for an entire warehouse to stock your inventory.
So how does this differentiate your business from those other ecommerce websites that allow you to simply list your available products in three different spots? The biggest difference is the type of inventory that you can sell and where you can sell it. Ecommerce sellers typically sell their products in 3 main categories: dropshipping, stock and direct selling. With a traditional drop shipping vendor you simply locate a distributor in one area, they ship the product to your customers and you take a cut of the profit. With the third option you have to locate distributors in multiple areas, do inventory checks, wait for the product to be sold and then try to figure out where you should send it next.
The reason that using an FBA multi-channel fulfillment service can be so cost effective is due in large part to the fact that you don’t have to pay international shipping fees. International shipping fees are what really drive up the costs of doing business. If your product doesn’t arrive in the customers hands on time or arrives damaged then you’re going to lose money and your reputation will be ruined. When an international shipping fee shows up on your invoice, it’s virtually assured that you’ll lose business. With an FBA inventory you can ship to any customer around the world without international shipping fees and you only have to pay a small fee for that service.
Because an FBA inventory service has no inventory, you also don’t need to handle returns. If you had to handle returns, you would be losing money quickly and forever. You may not realize this but there are millions of dollars in sales channels that never make it to the end of the funnel because they never get started. Because an FBA inventory service handles all of your inventory is always replenished, you don’t have to worry about ordering more products to handle returns.
Most traditional multi-channel fulfillment vendors charge you high fulfillment costs upfront for their services before they start fulfilling orders. But an FBA service is completely free to use after you have purchased your FBA kit and you’ve fulfilled all your orders. This means you’ll immediately be able to see your bottom line increase with more sales channels processed and more customers contacted. Once you’ve shown your customers that an FBA can free them from shipping, handling and return worries, they will be more than happy to tell their friends and other contacts about your great service. The best way to spread the word about your product and services is to utilize multi-channel fulfillment .
An FBA will help you gain more sales by freeing up your sales staff to handle other customers. Because FBA sellers don’t need to warehouse and fulfill orders, you can send your team off to meet with more potential customers and close more sales. So if you’re thinking about selling online but are worried about your warehouse and fulfillment needs, contact an FBA seller today. They’ll help make your dream of selling goods online a reality!