Everything You Need to Know About Logistics on Amazon

On Amazon, consumers are able to find whatever they want, whenever they want. They place their order and then receive their items within two days, or increasingly within the next day or even the same day. 44% of respondents to a Forbes survey agreed that the “Amazon effect” of heightened customer expectations is having a dramatic and costly impact on logistics, supply chain, and transportation operations. 

Logistics on Amazon is different than any other marketplace and must be strategized accordingly to meet the unique needs of the Amazon shopper. With more than 120 million products available on the marketplace, and growing, the importance of having a handle on any given brand’s Amazon logistics is vital.

Common Challenges

Sellers face a variety of challenges when they take on the responsibility of logistics on Amazon by themselves.

For example, the small LogOX team sold products on Amazon internally and also handled the fulfillment of these increasing orders on their own. Amazon inventory management and fulfillment grew to be a time-consuming process for LogOX, requiring specific logistics expertise and time the company lacked in house. 

Potential Solutions

Small companies such as LogOX, as well as massive retailers, can relieve logistics pains by finding the right retail partner.

When looking for a retail partner, you’ll want to look for one that offers Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) shipping; this removes the weight off of brands and takes products Prime. A partner that can handle the process from start to finish, offering Amazon Prime two-day shipping on all orders and eliminating fulfillment hassles so you can scale quickly. Many companies don’t cover the Amazon referral and FBA fees, so be sure to find one that allows you not to worry about chargebacks or long-term storage fees.

Brands also struggle with inventory management. Having a dedicated inventory manager can drive efficiency across your business, and these experts handle the scheduling and delivery of partner loads. They also complete all of the labeling and paperwork to streamline the process and ensure that your products are in the best distribution centers to stay in stock.

The sheer volume of complicated returns many brands must manage makes the return process another common challenge. A third-party partner should handle all of your Amazon returns to optimize the process – and hopefully decrease overall return rate. Product quality checks can be handled quickly, and product listings are modified immediately to better convey product details and help reduce the risk of future returns.

Logistics on Amazon can be cumbersome, and the initial education needed to understand the Amazon shopper can seem hard to overcome. Amazon offers sellers a host of logistics tools, but gives little direction on how to use them. At SupplyKick, we handle everything that comes with Amazon logistics, from shipping FBA to inventory management.