Running your own e-commerce store or private label business has never been simpler, thanks to Amazon. But streamlining your business operations requires a sound strategy. Addressing logistical concerns, like pricing, packaging, and shipping, involves thorough planning and the right business infrastructure.
There’s a lot that can go wrong with shipping products. Does your business specialize in fragile items? If so, you need the right product preparation workflow to ensure that your customers receive intact and functional merchandise. Who can you trust for reliable and efficient shipping services?
Amazon FBA prep services are part of Amazon’s “Fulfilled by Amazon” (FBA) program and a perfect option if you’re interested in improving your business’s operational effectiveness. In this article, we’ll explain how Amazon FBA prep services work and what you can do to take advantage of this amazing opportunity to streamline your business growth.
What Is Amazon FBA Prep Service?
An Amazon FBA prep service is a state-of-the-art logistics enterprise that assists business owners with fulfillment concerns. Amazon businesses can excel when they utilize the FBA service, which lets Amazon handle the fulfillment of orders. An Amazon FBA service vets your inventory and prepares it for shipping from the Amazon warehouse.
Would you like to focus more on designing and crafting your products as opposed to packing and shipping your wares? Packaging is time-consuming and stressful. Amazon FBA prep service handles packaging and shipping for you.
Whether you are just starting on Amazon or if you already have an Amazon business, you can easily sign up with an Amazon FBA prep service. Simply find your account’s “Prepare Products” page and select “Amazon Prep” as your prep service, and then ship or deliver your products to an Amazon Fulfillment Center. It’s that easy.
That being said, Amazon prep services don’t come with labeling services, so you’ll pay a small surcharge (around $0.55 per item) for labeling services. As with the packing process, your Amazon FBA prep service adds basic packaging to your product and then transfers it to a fulfillment center so they can handle the rest of the process.
What Is an FBA Prep Center?
Some business owners prefer an additional degree of assistance with their fulfillment and logistics operations. If that sounds appealing to you, you can use an FBA prep center.
FBA prep centers are warehouses operated by a third-party contractor working for Amazon. Unlike regular FBA prep services, prep centers handle everything for you:
- Packaging and polybagging
- FNSKU labeling
- Including warning labels
- Shipping
If you specialize in bulk or resale operations, you can benefit greatly from using a prep center, as you won’t even have to interact with your merchandise. A third-party middleman between you and Amazon can make all the difference when streamlining operations.
The Benefits of Amazon FBA Prep Services
Whether you choose to work with Amazon FBA prep services or a third-party prep center, you’ll take advantage of several benefits. Here are some of the best perks of working with Amazon FBA prep services:
- Upscaling made easy: Expanding business operations can be tricky. With the right prep services, you can scale your business easily and handle more inventory.
- Smoother operations: Having Amazon handle compliance and safety regulations means you don’t have to worry about your packaging and labeling meeting Amazon standards. The FBA prep service handles it all, so you’ll eliminate hiccups that would otherwise derail your operations.
- Product bundling: The right prep center can help with bulk deliveries. If you want to bundle multiple products together, you can trust them to get the job done.
- Additional space: Running your own business requires a lot of space. Why use a storage unit or warehouse packed to the brim when you can have a prep center handle things for you?
- Sales tax savings: No business owner likes paying taxes. If you choose an FBA center in a state with friendly sales tax legislation, however, you can save money.
- Rapid turnaround time: Customers want and deserve fast and efficient shipping. It’s what makes Amazon so popular. With Amazon FBA prep services, you can guarantee that your products will get to your customers on time.
While you can de-select Amazon FBA prep services on your “Prepare Products” page and handle all the packing, labeling, and shipping yourself, the benefits of these services usually outweigh the cost.
What to Consider When Looking for an FBA Prep Center
Here’s what you should look out for when choosing a third-party prep center.
Speedy Prep Time
When it comes to e-commerce, few things matter more than a rapid turnaround time. You’ll want to hire an Amazon FBA prep company that can handle your wares with speed, getting them shipping within a 24- to 48-hour timeframe. From there, an Amazon Fulfillment Center can deliver the products to the customer.
Proper Storage
Do you sell groceries or other perishable goods? Seek climate-controlled, clean facilities that will keep your products fresh. Even if you sell non-perishable items like electronics, you still might want a climate-controlled service.
Cost
Any investment requires a solid cost-benefit analysis. Different prep centers have different rates, and while it might be tempting to go for the cheapest one around, ask yourself if you are willing to compromise quality for a cheap rate. You don’t have to sacrifice both if you can find the right blend of affordability and reliability.
Typically, prep centers charge a per-unit rate. Find a center that has a rate that matches your needs, do the math to calculate your potential expenditures, and find the best fit.
Location
Where do you tend to ship products the most? Do you import goods from abroad? Take these factors into consideration when choosing your prep center’s location.
You can find prep centers virtually anywhere; shipping ports and major cities are two common locations that come to mind. But perhaps you should also think about finding a prep center located in a state with a low sales tax. Sales taxes add up over time, but you can win big with a prep center located in a business-friendly state.
Amazon FBA Prep Services Prevent Amazon Reject Shipments
There’s nothing more frustrating than seeing Amazon reject your business’s shipments. Usually, this occurs when there’s a labeling error; if you fail to label a fragile product with an appropriate label, for instance, your shipment won’t go through. But shipment failure can occur for other reasons, too.
When you fail to properly measure your product’s dimensions and weight — preventing Amazon from shipping your package — your item won’t go through. Another common issue business owners run into is unpaid or void duty fees for international products. In any event, by working with Amazon FBA prep services, you can easily prevent these troubles from happening.
The Importance of Following Amazon’s Packaging Specifications
There are key considerations you must take into account when considering Amazon FBA prep services and prep centers. One of the most pressing is packaging specifications. Amazon has strict regulations governing packaging size and quality. Fragile, hazardous, and organic items require special labels and packaging.
When you use Amazon FBA prep services, they can ensure compliance for all of your products. If you’re interested in childproofing your wares or including additional promotional materials with each package, they can handle it for you.
Amazon FBA Prep Centers Handle Labeling for Your Packages
Amazon uses multiple tracking numbers for different purposes. A UPC code comes standard with every Amazon product. When you list a product on Amazon, it receives an ASIN or Amazon Standard Identification Number, which helps Amazon keep a tally of different versions of the same product across multiple vendors.
An FNSKU label is a Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit or a number that Amazon Fulfillment Centers use to track vendor products throughout the selling and shipping process. But they only assign FNSKU labels to products that travel through FBA centers; if you use Amazon FBA prep services, your products will have a unique FNSKU number.
FNKSU and UPC numbers are much the same, but FNSKU numbers add an extra degree of security. In the event that a dispute arises, Amazon staff will have an easier time matching your FNSKU number to your ASIN. While all of these labels might be confusing, the right third-party prep center can handle them all for you.
Schedule a Consultation with San Diego’s Fulfillment Experts
Amazon offers unparalleled efficiency and convenience for vendors who sell products online, and Amazon FBA prep services make it even easier. To keep up with the logistics and Amazon’s packaging requirements, you need expert help. You can depend on the experts at Streamline Fulfillment to help you improve your Amazon business’s operations.
We provide superb fulfillment services in San Diego and have years of experience providing Amazon FBA prep services. We can take care of your business’s logistical operations, handling warehousing, packing, labeling, and shipping with ease. We’re in a perfect location for entrepreneurs importing products from abroad, too.
Schedule a call with our experts today to see how Streamline Fulfillment can help your Amazon business!