While Amazon FBA’s temporary block on inbound shipments for non-essential goods from third-party sellers is still in effect until April 5th, reports from Bloomberg are suggesting the restrictions may be present until the end of the month. However, many affected businesses still require their operations to continue running.

For those in need, Activ8 services provide Fulfilment by Merchant (FBM) support. This means that we can help with you with the entire process, from keeping your Amazon listings optimised and active to delivering the products.

Our systems can ensure that the services are operations within 48 hours of approval.

What to do?

We recommend that sellers leverage Fulfilled By Merchant (FBM) as part of the merchant Fulfilled Network (MFN)  wherever possible, to decrease the reliance on Amazon’s own fulfilment network and continue to ship orders.

For FBA merchants that want to shift Amazon orders, it is essential to create new SKUs in Amazon Seller Central or the listing tool, which should appear as a new offer on an existing ASIN. Please note that if you have FBA and FBM live offers with inventory, Amazon may penalise your account.

We recommend using Linnworks software for automating and connecting selling processes. However, we understand that it can be difficult to manage new platforms and processes independently. Activ8 is able to help with setup, controlling stock levels, customer service, communication emails, setting up shipping templates and much more.

The key points when using merchant fulfilled:

·       List under separate SKUs to FBA

·       Ensure your shipping templates are accurate

·       Have stock management levels in place as this will impact performance

·       Manage incoming stock to optimise listings management

·       Enure customer service in place. This is usually covered under FBA but will impact performance metrics if not implemented.

How we do it at Activ8

We have partnered with some industry-leading companies to help bring you the best possible e-commerce solutions. We have access to 11 UK and international couriers to provide best-in-class services.

Our support extends across many channels and platforms, so don’t hesitate to contact us to find out how your existing systems can be integrated.

The goal is to leverage your stock across as many channels as possible without incurring any potential performance penalties.

Our API solutions integrate with platforms such as Amazon Seller Central, eBay API and more. Our partners at Peoplevox help with dispatching, offering a 99.999% pick and packaging success rate by removing any possibility of sending the wrong items. Our partners are strategically incorporated into our services, to help you have greater control and automation of the selling process.

Why it’s important

Each day, we’re seeing the ongoing impact of the current health situation. However, through e-commerce, sellers are still able to serve buyers which are now spending more time at home.

We believe that maintaining Amazon sales and optimising the fulfilment process is the best way to continue moving forward. This is an opportunity to make changes that will have a positive long-term impact.

As supplies are scarce and deliveries are becoming more erratic, consumers are looking for reliable sellers that are able to put their mind at ease. By ensuring that items are delivered on time using Activ8, sellers can build long-term customer trust during difficult periods and maintain a steady revenue stream.

Using Activ8 also helps you maintain inventory more efficiently, connecting all your e-commerce channels. By centralising stock and inventory, you can track items more accurately and prevent any shortages, which have detrimental effects on Amazon.

Next steps

We understand that it’s difficult to know which service is right for you. Don’t hesitate to contact us to find out how we can help guide you through each step of the process.