One of the really great features of Amazon FBA is that you can also fulfill orders from elsewhere from your inventory that is already at an Amazon warehouse! I'm going to walk you through how to fulfill a website or Etsy order from your Amazon FBA inventory later on this post. But first, let's discuss WHY you might want to do this.
What Are The Benefits?
Depending on your business and situation, there are some really amazing reasons why you might want or need to fulfill an order this way:
- Did you realize you ran out of supplies when a website or Etsy order comes in? Great! It’s already in stock at the warehouse, send your customer one from there!
- Are you going out of town or traveling? Are you sick or having simple surgery? Instead of putting your website or Etsy shop on vacation notice, fulfill orders from your inventory and keep more money coming in!
- Have a HUGE increase in orders? Like for the holiday season or Mother’s Day, etc.? Send your inventory that’s already made to your customer for quicker processing and shipping time!
Now, the only downside is that it can be hard, especially if you have a large number of items and/or a high volume of sales, to keep track of what is actually still in stock at the warehouses. But, it can be a time-saver in some instances, like the situations above.
How Do I Fulfill An Order From My Amazon FBA Inventory?
This is what is called a multi-channel fulfillment order.
You still need to pay warehouse FBA fees because the workers at the warehouse are still doing the same amount of work as if it was an Amazon order, but no selling commission is taken by Amazon because they didn't make the sale. You also need to pay shipping costs, but Amazon has some great rates, and you can see the shipping options available once you enter the customer's shipping address.
- Go to your Manage Inventory page
- Check the item(s) the customer ordered and that are in stock via FBA
- From the drop-down, choose ‘Create Fulfillment Order’
- Enter the customer’s address and information, any notes you’d like on the packaging slip and their original order number (from your website or Etsy, you can also leave it blank and Amazon will auto-generate an order ID)
- You can also search and add additional items to the same order on this screen
- Once you click Continue, choose your shipping method
- Any shipping costs are taken out of your Amazon Payment Account Balance, and you can choose either 1 day, 2 day or standard shipping
Once the order has shipped, you'll receive an email notification with the tracking number. The order will also show up under your Manage Orders screen.
Really simple and easy, right?
Have you used this feature to ship orders yet?
