Carrier and tracking information requirements

In our ongoing efforts to receive your shipments quickly and make your inventory available for sale faster, we have updated our policy about carrier and tracking information. The updated policy applies for sellers who send shipments to Amazon outside of the Amazon Partnered Carrier programme.

Starting November 1, 2021, FBA sellers will be required to enter the carrier name and tracking information if your carrier provides it. Submit tracking information before your shipment is received at the fulfilment centre. This change does not apply if you use the Amazon Partnered Carrier programme or Amazon Global Logistics since we’ll generate tracking for you.

Providing carrier tracking information helps Amazon receive your inventory more efficiently avoid delays in the receiving process. Additionally, when In-Stock Head Start is active, your out-of-stock products can be made available for sale because we will have real-time tracking for in-transit shipments. For faster receive times, ensure that the tracking IDs for parcel shipments are mapped to the correct FBA box-ID label on each box.

You can provide tracking information on the Track shipment tab of a Shipment summary page in your shipment workflow. You can also provide the information through Amazon Marketplace Web Services. For parcel shipments, tracking IDs will be required for every box. For less-than-truckload and full-truckload shipments, a freight progressive number (PRO) will be required for every shipment.

Amazon will measure your missing tracking information defect rate at the shipment level. For instructions on uploading tracking information and tracking the status of your shipments, go to Track your shipment: (Shipping Queue).

Frequently asked questions

How do I input carrier and tracking information?

If you are using the Amazon Partnered Carrier programme or shipping using Amazon Global Logistics, you do not need to enter carrier or tracking information since we will generate it for you. You can track your shipments by tracking ID and carrier status on the Track shipment tab on the Shipment summary page. If you ship using your own carrier, use one of the following methods:

• When using Seller Central, you can select the carrier from the drop-down during shipment creation. When using the new Send to Amazon workflow, you can enter the Track shipment tab by clicking on the Track shipment link after you have completed the workflow.

  Alternatively, you can enter tracking information in the Shipping Queue by clicking on Track shipment next to your shipment and then going to the Track shipment tab. You can use barcode scanners or a spreadsheet to upload tracking information in bulk. To help minimise user errors when updating tracking information, we will show you messaging and alerts to prompt you to recheck entered values. To learn more, go to Summary of shipment process.

• When using integrators, like Amazon Marketplace Web Services, you can configure and use the available APIs to share tracking information. To learn more, go to Step – 6 Send shipment tracking numbers to Amazon.

Why is this important?

With the carrier name, shipping method and tracking information that you provide, we can pass any tracking events made available by the carrier on to our fulfilment centres. We use this information to efficiently plan for receiving your inventory and make your in-transit inventory available for sale to customers.

What do I enter if my carrier is not listed in Seller Central?

When you prepare to ship your inventory and do not see your carrier listed in the drop-down menu, please select Other. We will add more carriers over time.

How do I edit a tracking number?

You can edit shipment tracking information up until the shipment is delivered. To edit the details, take one of the following steps:

• In Seller Central, go to your Shipping Queue and click on Track shipment next to your shipment. On the Shipment summary page, go to the Track shipment tab and edit the entered tracking IDs.
• When using integrators, like Amazon Marketplace Web Services, re-submit updated tracking information.

What should I do if my carrier does not provide a tracking number?

Sellers are encouraged to use carriers that provide tracking for delivering shipments as these carriers provide real-time status to us and can help minimise receive delays and avoid out-of-stock risk.

For international shipments, my freight forwarder provides tracking information only after my shipment reaches the final destination country (for example, my shipment originates in China and arrives in the receiving country 40 days after I ship). Is that too late?

No. Enter tracking information for the shipment as soon as your carrier shares it with you, before your inventory is delivered to a fulfilment centre.

Is Amazon going to monitor my performance? If yes, where do I see it?

Yes. Starting November 1, 2021, Amazon will measure your missing tracking information defect rate for all shipments sent to Amazon using your own carriers at the shipment level. The defect will be shown in the Problems tab of the Shipment Summary page in Seller Central.

Initially, only the defect will be shown. In the future, you may be required to acknowledge each defect before you can create new shipments. We may contact you for one-on-one seller coaching if your coaching defect level is ‘Elevated’, and we may restrict you from creating new shipments to Amazon for 24 to 72 hours if your coaching defect level is ‘Critical’.