One of the major reasons why you ended up in this article is probably because you are a business selling manufactured goods around the globe and want to affiliate your company with Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment. Well, if that is the case, then we are sure you’d like to gain more information on this service, right?
Lucky for you, you have landed on the right page. Amazon is an exceptional delivery service and over the years has provided its users with all the best benefits and operations. The article below covers all the insights you should know about Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment before trusting it with your business.
What is Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment?
The Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment is a service provided by Amazon to multi-channel e-commerce merchants, allowing them to store their products through the wide array of Amazon’s warehouses. The merchants can have all their orders packed and sent to the customers directly from these warehouses.
The multi-channel fulfillment by Amazon is basically an extension of the fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), with the added facility for companies to fulfill their non-Amazon orders from Amazon facilities.
How Amazon MCF Works?
The workings of Amazon MCF are similar to those of all other third-party logistics and fulfillment centers. What is that? Companies can store their products at Amazon warehouses, and Amazon can then handle fulfillment, shipping their products to customers with ease. Here is a brief breakdown of its working for your better understanding:
⦁ Store Your Inventory
Your brand or company must be registered at Amazon and if it is not the first order of business for you should be to sign up and access your Seller Central account. Once registred, merchants can start sending in their inventory to Amazon for storage.
Merchants can use two options when it comes to storing their inventory. They can either send the product to only one Amazon Receiving Center/Fulfillment Center and then ask Amazon to distribute the products across their network. This would cost an additional fee. If not, then merchants can also split the inventory themselves and send it across multiple fulfillment centers for smaller fees or no extra cost.
⦁ Orders Integrated by Amazon
Once Amazon receives your products, it will then store them for you. Remember, this requires you to pay an additional storage fee every month depending on the amount of space your inventory takes up in the fulfillment center and for how long it is stored there.
If you want Amazon to receive your orders from other channels and e-commerce platforms like Shopify or Big Commerce, you would first need to integrate your Amazon platform into these channels. This would ensure that all orders placed on the integrated channels are automatically sent to the Amazon warehouse.
⦁ Pick, Pack, and Ship
When a customer places an order for your inventory, the Amazon warehouse receives it from one of your sales channels and starts picking the available items and packing them. The fulfillment center charges an additional fee for every order, and subcharges are applied during peak season when order volume is at its max.
⦁ Orders Delivered to Customers
Once packed, Amazon then sends out the placed order to the location where it was ordered. It takes the company about two business days (expedited) or three business days (standard) to deliver the placed order to the customers.
Benefits of Using Amazon MCF
Now that you know how Amazon’s multi-channel fulfillment works, the next step would be to understand the benefits any company might achieve from using the services of Amazon MCF. We have a few listed for you here:
⦁ Superior Delivery Performance
There is no denying that Amazon is renonwed for its superior delivery services and the multi-channel fulfillment is an aspect where the company’s maintains this performance as well. Amazon ensures that all of its customers receive timely delivery, and hence, the company not only operates 7 days a week but also has an exceptional delivery rate of over 97%.
⦁ Inventory Optimization
Amazon ensures that all linked inventories are properly optimized. Hence, it urges its associated companies to consolidate their inventory into a single pool in order for them to be used for all their channels. This helps reduce cost and streamline operations, ensuring that your inventory is properly managed and all your placed orders are fulfilled on time.
⦁ First-Class Customer Experience
Another great aspect of Amazon is the first-class customer experience it provides and the trust it builds with its users. How does it do this? Well, the service provides a real-time tracking on every order placed ensuring that customers know the position and location of their orders along with an expected delivery date and time. Moreover, the company promises its customers a 99.8% undamaged packae delivery rate which it has lived up to always.
⦁ Unbranded Packaging
Another benefit which Amazon provides to its associated companies who trust it with their products is the ability to save money whereever they can. How does it to it? Well, Amazon also allows companies to ship off their orders through its services in an unbranded packaging. This helps companies save cost on the brand packaging and hence no additional cost has to be paid.
⦁ Integrated, Automated Fulfillment Operations
Another great benefit which Amazon provides to its users is the ability to seamlessly connect your multi-channel fulfillment to your back-end systems. This helps companies automate their entire order fulfillment process with the state-of-the-art e-commerce integration, making working through the service so much easier.
Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment Pricing
The Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment service has a sought-out fee-based structure. While the company does not require you to pay the 15% referral fee on the non-Amazon channel orders, the company still has a list of other costs that the businesses are required to pay in order to go through with their omnichannel orders. Here is a break down on the type of fee which companies are required to pay:
⦁ Storage Fees
The multi-channel fulfillment merchants are required to pay a monthly inventory or stprage fees. This refers to the amount which one has to pay to store their inventory within the storage units at Amazon and the amount varies depending on the space your products take and for how long they are stored there.
⦁ Fulfillment Fees
The fulfillment fee is another fee charged based on the delivery time selected for your order to be delivered. Amazon delivers packages within 5 working days, and hence, the standard pricing for it is different compared to the 3 business days (expedited) and 2 business days (priority) delivery for which the fulfillment charges are different.
⦁ Additional Fees
There is a set of other additional fees which are to be paid under different circumstances. For exampl, inbound fees is paid by merchants to Amazon for them to receive inventory at one of their receiving centers or fulfillment centers. Inventory removal fees are to be paid when businesses remove their products from the Amazon fulfillment centers for any reason. This fee is charged per unit of inventory removed.
Amazon MCF Vs. FBA
When it comes to comparing MCF vs. FBA, businesses will notice a lot of similarities and differences. Understanding them properly is essential to make the best pick for yourself. Here is a simple comparison of both for you:
Feature Amazon FBA Amazon MCF
Sales Channel Products are sold on the Amazon marketplace only. The products can be sold on multiple channels including Amazon.
- Inventory is stored within Amazon fulfillment center and handles by FBA. Inventory is stored within Amazon fulfillment center and handles by MCF.
- FBA is responsible for customer services and return of orders. Sellers are responsible for customer services and return of orders.
- Only Amazon branded packaging is required. Provides the ability for unbranded packaging as well.
- The pricing is based on per unit of inventory. The pricing is based on volume and storage time.
Amazon MCF Vs. 3PL
Both MCF and third-party 3PL services have great fulfillment abilities, the two differ from each other in various aspects.
Feature Amazon MCF Other 3PL Providers
- Target Sale Channels: All channels and marketplaces Services specific channels.
- Scalability: Extensive global network Varies from provider to provider
- Integration: Seamless with all e-commerce platforms May require additional development in integration.
- Speed: Leverages Amazon’s extensive network for faster delivery Delivery speed depends on the provider’s network and location.
- Pricing: Primarly storage and fulfillment fee is charged Multiple fee charges for various aspects
Best Use Cases for Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment
The Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment is great for those businesses that want to sell on multiple platforms and consolidate fulfillment under one roof. It works well for those who have a high volume of sales and need scalability or those brands who lack in-house logistics. MCF is also a great aspect to use when it comes to managing seasonal sale spikes and other promotional services based on their fast delivery services.
Streamline Multi-Channel Fulfillment Orders with NextSmartShip
If Amazon multi-channel fulfillment is not your ball-game and you want to incline towards a third-party 3PL service then the options for you in the market are wide. However, choosing the best one out of so many choices is quite hard. If you are looking for the best multi-channel fulfillment 3PL service, then let us suggest one for you.
NextSmartShip is undeniably one of the best services in business when it comes to storing your inventory and packing it before shipping it off to the customers. The company has its main office in China and over 10 different warehouses in all important locations around the globe. This helps them ensure that your products reach the customers on time and quickly, no matter where in the world they are. The service is immaculate, and we highly suggest you check it out today.
Conclusion
If you are someone who is looking into learning more about the Amazon Multi-channel fulfillment service, then we hope this article was helpful for you. If you believe Amazon MCF won’t work for you and are inclined towards a third-party 3PL service, then we highly suggest you check out NextSmartShip.
