Amazon Supply Chain: What Every Seller and Brands Needs to Know

Supply Chain, starting with manufacturers and ending with customers, is the foundation of a successful ecommerce business. Amazon has aced the supply chain mechanism, and its name is synonymous with deliveries and fulfillment in the world of online business. With its best-in-class technology, automation, and software, Amazon has built an unbeatable system that delivers the products at the convenience of customers and makes the tedious process a cakewalk for sellers, reducing their burden. There is a lot about this rather simple-looking Amazon supply chain, so here's a detailed sketch that will help you understand the system better.  

Kick Start with Basic: Amazon Supply Chain Management  

With a comprehensive and automated suite of services, Amazon's supply chain management makes it easier for goods to travel from producers to consumers all over the world. The system allows for faster and more dependable shipment, also guarantees that products are constantly in stock, and drastically lowers expenses. Amazon prioritizes speed, precision, and customer satisfaction while designing its supply chain. In addition to this, Amazon's supply chain makes extensive use of automated technology and robotics, which makes it fit for the fast-paced deliveries and requirements of the customers.

FBA vs FBM: Introducing Two Fulfillment Methods 

FBA and FBM are the two most renowned fulfillment methods used by the sellers to deliver their products to the final consumer. The two come with their own pros and cons, and sellers can make their choice as per their suitability; let's discuss both FBA v/s FBM here:

FBA 

Amazon will handle all customer service and logistics if sellers choose this option. All that sellers need to do is transport their bulk items to Amazon's fulfillment centers so they may be picked, packaged, and shipped. FBA is typically the preferable option for sellers who handle tiny and light products and lack logistics.

In addition to the aforementioned, Amazon also offers a program called FBA Onsite, which helps sellers optimize their warehouses by using Amazon's own warehouse management software. Amazon is responsible for collecting orders from the seller's warehouse and choosing the most practical and efficient fulfillment method, while sellers will handle the inventory of their own products.

FBM 

Under this arrangement, sellers will be responsible for listing their goods on Amazon and managing all aspects of the fulfillment and storage process independently. This allows sellers to have complete control over fulfillment, packaging, shipping, etc., but this is more tedious and hectic in case the sales are high and has a limited geographical scope as well.

What All Goes on in Amazon Supply Chain 

Amazon's Supply Chain is an intricate process that carefully takes the items from manufacturers and delivers them to the customers upon receiving an order. Here's a detailed view of the process:

1. Product Receiving 

Products are either physically loaded onto pallets at Amazon Fulfillment Centers or removed from trailers using a forklift. Freight is separated into two categories: freight from Amazon facilities and freight from third-party suppliers using FBA. It should come as no surprise that small firms and individuals presently sell half of their products on Amazon.

2. Inventory Storage

Amazon stores its products at random, in contrast to other warehouses that arrange their inventory according to kind. Computers track the random objects in Amazon's yellow-tiered bins. Depending on the size of the merchandise, these containers are subsequently transported to Amazon associates.

3. Order Pickup

When the order arrives after the customer clicks the "buy button," a robot will deliver pods full of merchandise to Amazon colleagues stationed at pick stations. After reading the screen, these pickers will take the item out and put it in a yellow plastic box, sometimes referred to as a bag.

4. Quality Check

It takes a lot of quality assurance for people and robots to collaborate well. It is necessary to confirm that the robots are operating properly and that the item's actual location corresponds with what is on the computer. Since technical innovation is essential in a large-scale supply chain company like Amazon, fine-tuning takes place throughout the entire process.

5. Order Packaging

Finally, before being delivered to the pack station, products from various shipments are scanned and arranged. There, the technology will calculate how much tape is needed and suggest box sizes to Amazon employees. Third-party vendor items are shipped in original boxes, but Amazon works with third-party vendors to reduce packaging.

6. Order Shipment and Delivery

Finally, the order gets dispatched to reach its final destination, where it is going to be delivered to the customer. This is the place where prime members get the maximum benefits as they get their products on priority through a sophisticated delivery system.

7. Order Returns 

Returns are as much a part of online business as sales and profits. Amazon's Supply chain also takes care of the order return for Amazon store sales to maintain a positive environment among sellers and their customers. While returning the product, a customer might choose to drop off the return at a designated location or have it picked up by the carrier. In either case, the package is then sent for inspection to determine its condition to know if it can be fixed, thrown, or resold.

5 Pillars of Amazon Supply Chain Management  

For such an intricate process to stand strong, there have to be some pillars that keep them all together. There are five of them in this case; here's the list:

• Warehousing - It keeps all the items of the sellers and the returns from the customers safe so that sellers do not have to incur the cost of lost or damaged inventory.
• Delivery - As mentioned earlier, Amazon's delivery system is not just quick but also efficient in delivering the product in the perfect condition and at the perfect spot.
• Technology - A lot of small and big robotic automation, software, tools, etc, are used on a daily basis, which comes together to perfect this supply chain.
• Pricing - The price point of this service is a steal for both sellers and customers, as Prime customers pay to get their delivery fast, and sellers pay to deliver safely and effectively.
• International Selling - Sellers get access to international markets in North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and many other locations to widen their scope of profits and reach of customers.

These 5 pillars together make the Amazon supply chain a complete package of precision and efficiency.

Amazon Supply Chain Management for Best Selling Experience  

Online Sellers face new challenges every day; they deserve a partner that takes some load off their overloaded shoulders and helps them on a daily basis. Amazon's Supply chain does that for sellers without even having to ask for it; sellers simply send their products to Amazon and then wait to get orders. Then, they simply have to notify Amazon to deliver the order if they are selling on different sales channels.

Now, here's a thing: why ask for fulfillment manually? Why not automate this part using software? Well, go no far as MapMyChannel can do it all for you. It will automatically integrate your order with Amazon's fulfillment network, and the seller will take care of the product and advertising. It can integrate multiple sales channels for e-commerce multi-channel fulfillment to bring them together on one centralized dashboard for inventory management, fulfillment, product listing, bundling, etc.

For further details and any query related to the features and functionalities MapMyChannel offers contact us at info@mapmychannel.com

However, you can directly reach out to us by MapMyChannel website or you can Book a Demo.