Question re Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF

#1

I am considering using Amazon FBA but have a question:

Can Amazon also do fulfilment from my company website so we don’t need to have separate stock (3rd party fulfilment)? We are currently using another 3rd party channel to do this.

I’ve just read about Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) - is this what I need to achieve this?

#2

Yes, that’s what MCF is for - sending stock from Amazon estate for sales made away from Amazon. Do note though that the packaging is Amazon-branded. I did get an email a little while ago about them testing plain packaging but didn’t look at it too closely.

#3

Yes Amazon can fulfil orders from your company website via MCF. Some sites such as Shopify do a plug in for this and the orders come through to Amazon automatically, others you have to enter the order manually into Amazon.

You will need a way of keeping stock in sync between Amazon and your website. Again some websites offer a plug in for this, otherwise it is a pain to do manually.

Just a note that MCF fees are not always the same as Amazon fulfilment fees. For example small and light items don’t go at the same cost.

Also the orders are sent in Amazon branded packaging which may cause confusion to your customers. I had an email about an upcoming pilot where there would be an option to send in plain packaging but I haven’t heard anything more about this.

#4

Check the fees though, if you are sending multiple quantities or multiple items in one order itcan be quite a bit more expensive than sending yourself

#5

The email I got back in March was as below but not head anything more. The last MCF order I did last week didn’t give an option for unbranded packaging so not sure if the pilot has started or not.

Also not sure why I need a dashboard to show my unbranded packing metrics!!!

Thank you for choosing Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfilment (MCF) as your fulfilment partner to help power your ecommerce business. We are pleased to announce the upcoming launch of our unbranded packaging pilot program in the UK marketplace. The new pilot program will offer:

  1. Unbranded packaging for sortables, which include all non apparel and footwear that do not exceed 45.72 x 35.56 x 20.32 cm and/or 9 kg
  2. A performance dashboard that shows your unbranded packaging metrics

To learn more about MCF, please visit supplychain.co.uk. Stay tuned for more details from us in the weeks to come.

Thank you,
Your Multi-Channel Fulfilment team