Amazon Global Logistics

Amazon Global Logistics (AGL) helps you send your Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) inventory to Amazon fulfilment centres worldwide. You can ship from China to the US via ocean (full-container and less-than-container-load shipments). The programme also offers shipping to the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

To use AGL, you first create a Fulfilment by Amazon shipment as usual. Then you generate cross-border documentation and pay for customs, duties and related charges. You can track your shipment from its origin until it has arrived at a fulfilment centre.

Create an Amazon Global Logistics profile by following the steps below. This will be your shipping account for imports into the US. If you already have an account with AGL, set up your profile by linking to that account.

1. Choose a payment method.
2. Set up an importer of record (IOR), who will facilitate customs clearance.

When you book transport with AGL, you’ll also be asked to provide additional contacts for your shipment, including an exporter of record (EOR). For more information, go to Step 4: Provide shipment contact details on Booking transport with Amazon Global Logistics.

For step-by-step instructions on creating a profile, download “Using Amazon Global Logistics in Seller Central” in English or Chinese.

You can ship your inventory using ocean freight via AGL. You can choose either full-container load (FCL) or less-than-container load (LCL).

When you create a Fulfilment by Amazon shipment, the Ships from location will show the available shipping modes. Make sure that you confirm that you want to ship with AGL when you create your shipping plan. Then, complete your freight booking on the Book transport page or in the Send to Amazon workflow.

For more information, go to Booking transport with Amazon Global Logistics and Using Send to Amazon to book transport with Amazon Global Logistics.

Starting on May 8, 2025, AGL shipments will only count towards your Fulfilment by Amazon capacity usage once the vessel has reached the destination port, also known as the actual time of arrival milestone.

Benefits of this change include increased planning flexibility and improved capacity management:

• You’ll have more control over your inventory planning and you’ll be able to create purchase orders earlier without immediately affecting your capacity limits.
• Your Fulfilment by Amazon capacity usage will more accurately reflect inventory that’s closer to being available for fulfilment.

For more information, go to Fulfilment by Amazon capacity limits.

Rates for AGL vary by origin, destination and weight. For a complete list of rates, go to the Amazon Global Logistics portal. You can also get a quote for your shipment while you are booking transport.

Estimated transit time is the time between receipt of the cargo at the point of origin and delivery or arrival at the destination, either cross-dock or fulfilment centre. Estimated transit time may also include time spent in customs clearance. Volume and external market conditions might affect the actual transit time.

Transit time also varies depending on the place of origin, destination and shipping mode. For your planning purposes, make sure that you check the estimated transit lead time when you are booking transport.

Mode	Origin ports in China	Destinations	Estimated transit time (days)
Standard ocean (FCL)	Fuzhou, Hong Kong, Ningbo, Qingdao, Shanghai, Tianjin, Xiamen, Yantian	UK	50-60 days
		Germany, France, Italy, Spain	55-65 days
	Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Lianyungang, Nansha, Ningbo, Qingdao, Shanghai, Tianjin, Xiamen, Yantian, Zhuhai	US – West Coast	45-55 days
		US – Central	50-60 days
		US – East Coast	55-65 days
Fast ocean (FCL)	Ningbo, Shanghai, Yantian	US – West Coast	35-45 days
Standard ocean (LCL)	Ningbo, Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Xiamen,	UK	55-65 days
		Germany	58-68 days
	Ningbo, Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Xiamen	US – West Coast	54-64 days
		US – Central	50-60 days
		US – East Coast	53-63 days
Fast ocean (LCL)	Ningbo, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Xiamen	US – West Coast	38-48 days
Ship to Amazon Warehousing and Distribution (AWD) FCL	Yantian, Shanghai, Xiamen, Tianjin, Ningbo, Zhuhai, Lianyungang, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Nansha, Qingdao, Fuzhou	US – West Coast	45-55 days
		US – East Coast	57-67 day
Ship to Amazon Warehousing and Distribution (AWD) LCL	Shenzhen, Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen	US – West Coast	45-55 days
		US – East Coast	57-67 day

With streamlined inventory placement, your sortable, non-sortable and speciality products arrive at a single, designated fulfilment centre when they first reach the US. Streamlining reduces your fees and consolidates services. If streamlined inventory placement is not an automatic part of your shipment workflow, contact us.

Fulfilment centres by cargo type

If delivery or processing is delayed at the fulfilment centres below, inventory might be sent to a different fulfilment centre at no added cost to you.

Sortable (standard-size) cargo: ONT8/LGB8

Non-sortable (larger-size) cargo:

• Standard non-sort: IND2/5, MDW6/9
• Heavy bulky (extra-large and oversize): MDW8

Speciality cargo: SD8, ABE2/3

You can confirm which fulfilment centre your inventory is being shipped to each time that you book transport. Review the Ship to address at the top of the Book transport page.

Cargo type details

Sortable: Any product that measures 45.72 cm x 35.56 cm x 20.32 cm or less and weighs no more than 9.07 kg.

Heavy bulky: Any product with one or more of the conditions listed below.

• The product weighs more than 23 kg per unit.
• The length of one side exceeds 274 cm.
• The circumference exceeds 419 cm.

Speciality: Includes clothing, jewellery and shoes.

Why does Amazon charge a separate fee for inbound placement service? When will the Fulfilment by Amazon inbound placement service fee go into effect?

The Fulfilment by Amazon inbound placement service fee for standard (sortable) and large bulky (non-sortable) sized items reflects the cost of distributing inventory to fulfilment centres close to customers. This fee will be effective as of March 1, 2024. AGL will offer you flexible shipment placement options to lower the Fulfilment by Amazon inbound placement service fee. AGL will also optimise the inventory distribution within the fulfilment network, bringing products closer to customers, expediting delivery time and decreasing transport expenses. As part of shipping plan creation in Seller Central, you will be able to view and compare placement options with respective delivery rates and varying Fulfilment by Amazon inbound placement service fee.

Is there a plan to implement the Fulfilment by Amazon inbound placement service fee policy for orders shipped to the UK and the EU?

The Fulfilment by Amazon inbound placement service fee does not apply to orders shipped to the UK and the EU, and there is currently no plan to implement it in these regions.

What happens to AGL shipments with Fulfilment by Amazon purchase orders created before March 1, 2024?

For purchase orders created before March 1, 2024, for standard and large bulky sized items shipping directly to destination, while we will utilise the minimal shipment splits placement option, you will not incur the Fulfilment by Amazon inbound placement service fee as effective date for the Fulfilment by Amazon inbound placement service fee is March 1, 2024. Note that the shippers (through Shipper Central) must select Minimal shipment splits as inbound method for purchase orders created before March 1, 2024. For heavy bulky items, as the Fulfilment by Amazon inbound placement service fee doesn’t apply, you can continue to inbound to a single location with no change in the booking and purchase order creation process.

What happens to AGL shipments with Fulfilment by Amazon purchase orders created on or after March 1, 2024?

The Fulfilment by Amazon inbound placement service fee will be effective starting March 1, 2024. Minimal shipment splits placement option created on or after March 1, 2024, will incur the Fulfilment by Amazon inbound placement service fee, which will be charged by Fulfilment by Amazon within 45 days after the goods have been received in the warehouse. Amazon Managed Placement (AMP) purchase orders created on or after March 1, 2024, will not incur the Fulfilment by Amazon inbound placement service fee . For heavy bulky items, as the Fulfilment by Amazon inbound placement service fee doesn’t apply, there is no change in the booking and purchase order creation process.

What is the impact of Fulfilment by Amazon inbound placement service fee on shipping heavy bulky items?

For heavy bulky items, there is no change in the process. As the Fulfilment by Amazon inbound placement service fee doesn’t apply to heavy bulky items; therefore, AMP and minimal shipment splits placement options are not applicable. You can continue to inbound to a single location with no change in the shipping process.

Does AGL still offer merchant preferred fulfilment or fulfilment centre locking services? If not, why is these services not needed?

Starting on March 1, 2024, Amazon will place your inventory optimally at the destination, no longer requiring merchant preferred fulfilment or fulfilment centre locking services. With AMP, you can send your inventory to one location and we will then spread the inventory across multiple fulfilment centres for optimal in-stock placement. With minimal shipment splits service, you can ship goods into a single destination in the East or the West Coast without having to split a shipment.

How is AGL the fastest entry point into Amazon network vs non-AGL (third-party solutions)?

When you use AGL, with both AMP and minimal shipment splits placement options, it is the fastest way to enter Amazon network with shipments becoming buyable faster. Your inventory becomes buyable upon first receive in the Amazon facility. AGL inbounding facilities are closer to the destination ports resulting in products being buyable faster upon receiving in these facilities.

What changes in user experience will go into effect when placing orders through Seller Central starting on March 1, 2024?

To ship directly to the destination via Seller Central, starting on March 1, 2024, you will see a new shipping placement option for AMP. This option will allow you to ship to one location which Amazon will then split to multiple destinations, incurring no Fulfilment by Amazon inbound placement service fee. The displayed rates are all-inclusive of shipping cross-border and placement at destinations. You will also see the option to book Minimal shipment splits to ship to a single location, incurring Fulfilment by Amazon inbound placement service fee. You will be able to compare AGL delivery rates and estimated Fulfilment by Amazon inbound placement service fee associated with your shipment. The booking experience does not change for shipping heavy bulky items and ship to AWD service.

The Service Provider Network is a directory of services offered by third parties. The services that are listed are available to all Amazon sellers and are organised by categories, including account management, accounting, taxes, storage, training and translation.

Services that are listed in the network’s international shipping category may be useful for China-based sellers who are seeking help with exporter of record requirements. Under Value added service on the left-hand side, select Customs brokerage and then review listings for exporter of record services. If you prefer to use a third-party exporter of record, these service providers can help you with exporter of record qualifications. Some exporter of record service providers also offer value-added services, such as foreign exchange receipts, tax refund services, transport services and consulting services.