Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfilment (MCF) service allows sellers to outsource their inventory management and shipping to Amazon. By utilising this service, sellers can benefit from Amazon’s advanced logistics system and secure warehouses. Amazon warehouses are widely recognised as secure facilities for storing orders, providing businesses with high reliability and peace of mind. It is advantageous to use Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfilment (MCF) service to increase sales and enhance operational effectiveness.
There are several drawbacks, too, even with all of Amazon’s multi-channel fulfilment benefits. Many enterprises are wondering whether to stay with Amazon, go to a 3PL, or handle retail fulfilment within the company due to concerns about Amazon developing competitive merchandise and its failure to provide customer care.
What Is Amazon's Multi-Channel Fulfilment?
Amazon multi-channel fulfilment services are a set of fulfilment services like inventory storage, order processing, return management, etc, provided by Amazon. By availing this service, commercial traders from all over the world can access Amazon’s storage warehousing systems. This is where they can store and get their orders shipped.
The special feature that provides a key advantage to e-commerce merchants is that they can even sell non-Amazon products via this platform, which is indicative of business growth.
Fulfilment By Amazon: Highlighting The Key Differences
Amazon FBA, or Fulfilment by Amazon, is similar to Amazon’s multi-channel fulfilment program. To be more specific, Amazon’s multi-channel fulfilment actually comes under the category of Amazon FBA. So basically, what is the major difference between these two? Amazon FBA is mainly responsible for shipping and sales for the products sold on Amazon. Amazon’s multi-channel fulfilment program also offers services to trade with products that are not under Amazon’s banner. Multi-channel refers to all other selling channels owned by the trader.
FBA takes orders only from Amazon’s official website. The shipments in the Amazon FBA program are usually the next day or 2 days later. It offers a remarkable opportunity for individuals who wish to set up and manage their own online enterprises, effectively marketing their business on the prestigious platform of Amazon.com and enabling sales. According to estimates, a significant majority of sellers on Amazon, specifically 86%, will use Amazon FBA by 2024.
Different businesses create different banners to advertise their products and services. This tactic is because small companies need help keeping up with Amazon’s rules, policies, and pricing. Amazon multi-channel fulfilment stands out because it extends these capabilities beyond the Amazon marketplace, allowing businesses to fulfil orders from various sales channels, such as their own websites or other marketplaces like eBay or Shopify. This flexibility enables sellers to consolidate their inventory and streamline their logistics operations while still benefiting from Amazon’s reliable and efficient fulfilment services.
How Does Amazon's Multi-Channel Fulfilment Work?
Have you ever heard about third-party logistics companies? That’s exactly how Amazon’s multi-channel fulfilment works. The following steps will help you understand it working in a better way:
Managing And Organising Your Supplies
To begin using Amazon’s fulfilment services, you first need to register as an Amazon seller and sign up for a Seller Central account. Once registered, you are ready to send your inventory to Amazon’s fulfilment centres. You have two options for distributing your inventory: you can opt for Amazon’s Inventory Placement Service, which for an additional fee allows Amazon to distribute your inventory across multiple shipment centres in their network, or you can choose to send your inventory to multiple Amazon fulfilment centres yourself, which is a more cost-effective option. Upon arrival at the fulfilment centres, Amazon takes over, handling the storage, order processing, picking, packing, and shipping of your products. This ensures that your inventory is efficiently managed and orders are fulfilled promptly.
Remember that your storage fee is charged depending on how much space is occupied by your inventory as well as for how long the inventory is being kept in the Amazon fulfilment centre.
Receiving Your Orders
To avail of Amazon’s multi-channel fulfilment services, you must be affiliated with Amazon. Once it’s done, Amazon will be easily able to receive your orders.
Some famous e-commerce brands that have collaborated with Amazon in this regard are Shopify, Big Commerce, etc.
Selecting, Packing, and Shipping By Amazon
Using the procedures outlined below, let’s examine how Amazon selects, packs, and ships items:
- When an order is received from any of your sales channels, Amazon’s multi-channel fulfilment team rushes to pick up your order from the inventory.
- After picking up the ordered products, they are packed or assembled according to the need.
- After the procedure is completed, the final step is to handover the order to the customer. Here comes the shipping process.
- Merchants can decide whether the shipping of Amazon orders has to be done the next day or in the coming 2,3 or 5 days.
Keep in mind that Amazon prioritises FBA orders when it comes to shipping.
Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfilment: Expert Strategies And Tips
With the help of Amazon’s multi-channel fulfilment, E-commerce merchants can now efficiently reduce costs and gain an appreciable amount of profit.
However, while using any platform, one should be aware of both the bright and the dark side. Here are some expert strategies and tips to help you with.
Keep Your Inventory Safe In One Place
Amazon’s multi-channel fulfilment is one of the leading well-established fulfilment businesses. Amazon has various fulfilment centres in multiple countries. By collaborating with Amazon, you can access all the warehousing systems. Your inventory might be stored in different parts of the world, but for you, it is just safe in one place.
Businesses that offer their products on various channels, such as their own websites for e-commerce, other marketplaces on the internet, retail stores, and Amazon itself, are the perfect candidates for Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfilment (MCF) service. MCF allows these companies to centralise inventory control and process orders from a single stock pool. Whatever the source of the purchase, this method guarantees quicker, more dependable delivery to clients while reducing complexity. Consistent inventory levels are maintained, the overselling risk is reduced, and general operational efficiency is increased by the integrated system.
Take Advantage Of Amazon’s Professionalism
With thousands of employees working in just one fulfilment centre, Amazon manages to handle all your fulfilment needs just in time. Trust their professionalism and technical advancements for all your orders.
Fast Shipping
Amazon really has a vast supply chain and an extensive network of logistics. This amazing distribution network allows the shipping process to become even faster as well as cheaper than usual.
Amazon undoubtedly possesses cutting-edge technology and logistics know-how. With these cutting-edge tools, Amazon can thus pick, pack, ship, and deliver customer orders to their destination fast and effectively. This results in fewer errors and delays, which are essential considerations in ensuring that customers continue to be satisfied with the website. Additionally, with Amazon’s connected systems, businesses are able to provide customers with tracking information and delivery updates, which results in increased transparency and customers’ confidence in their purchases.
Check Out Restrictions
Although Amazon’s multi-channel fulfilment includes a wide range of items, some products are restricted under this program. This means that Amazon does not allow you to ship them. These restrictions are applied on products like Toys, games, subscriptions, and some other products that require review by Amazon. To ensure smooth processing, it’s advisable to check Amazon’s list of restricted products before listing your inventory.
Prepare For The Risks
Whenever you are using a third-party platform to sell your products, some risk concerns are always there to consider. Therefore, understanding the risks and preparing for them beforehand is a mature choice as it can save you from hassles.
For example, some third-party sites can use your success and customer data to sell their own labelled products, which is completely unethical.
A use case for Amazon MCF is its ability to support seasonal and promotional sales spikes. Businesses often face challenges during peak shopping or special promotions due to the sudden surge in order volumes. With MCF, companies can use Amazon’s extensive fulfilment network and infrastructure to handle these increased demands seamlessly. This ensures that businesses can maintain high service levels and quick delivery times without the need to invest heavily in additional warehousing and staffing.
Handle The Consumers
Unfortunately, Amazon’s multi-channel fulfilment does not provide any sort of customer support. Therefore, you must have your own team to communicate with your customers. This communication requires solving customer queries, delivery questions, answering requests, and more. To stay updated and ensure smooth operations, consider investing in a robust customer service system and regularly training your team on best practices.
Conclusion
For many business owners, Amazon’s multi-channel fulfilment services are a huge yes. They have greatly increased profit margins and helped numerous firms expand by lowering shipping expenses. Choosing Amazon’s multi-channel fulfilment eases the concerns associated with order receipt, packaging, and delivery. Considering all the stances made, companies should evaluate their logistics strategies carefully and consider diversifying their shipping options to mitigate risks associated with relying solely on Amazon’s services.
FAQs
Is it necessary to be an Amazon seller to access MCF?
No, it is not necessary for you to be a seller on Amazon in order to use Amazon’s multi-channel fulfilment. Create the Amazon Seller Central Account, and you are ready.
Can I use my FBA inventory to fulfil my MCF orders?
If you are already a registered seller on FBA, then Yes! Your current inventory can be used to serve both your FBA and MCF customers at the same time.
MCF is available in which countries?
Amazon’s multi-channel fulfilment is available in countries like the USA, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
How do I sign up for MCF?
If you are already a registered Amazon seller, then you don’t need to sign up. But If you are new, register here to create your Seller Central Account.
Are FBA and MCF the same?
The major difference between FBA and MCF is that FBA relies on taking orders from only Amazon, whereas MCF corresponds to the fulfilment services provided for multiple seller channels.
