How to prevent different sku from being comingled under a same UPC/ASIN?
Dear Forum,
We have a dietary supplement product with a unique ASIN and UPC code. As the sole brand owner, we’ve opted to use the manufacturer barcode (UPC code) in the “Ship to Amazon” section of FBA. This approach helps us save on labor costs by avoiding the need to manually apply FNSKU labels.
Since each batch of our product has a distinct expiry date, we ensure that each batch is assigned a single expiry date and is listed separately with a unique SKU. In the past, we removed the listing for a soon-to-expire SKU entirely, but recently, Amazon notified us that one item nearing its expiration date was found in our current inventory and asks us to remove the entire listed inventory. This suggests that Amazon has commingled our active inventory across different SKUs.
Our question is: for managing inventory with varying expiry dates but the same UPC/ASIN, what FBA strategy should we adopt to ensure our inventory matches the correct listing and SKU? Additionally, if we wish to continue using the manufacturer barcode, is there a way to prevent different SKUs from being comingled during fulfillment?
Thank you for your guidance.
2 replies
Dominic_Amazon
Hi @Seller_31LwHGIZ1c942,
Dominic from Amazon here, happy to try to help with this. At the end of the day its the Seller's decision on what type of Barcode to use.
By default, we use the manufacturer barcode to track eligible inventory throughout the fulfillment process, unless you change your barcode setting or your product is not eligible. When more than one seller has inventory with the same manufacturer barcode, we may fulfill orders with the inventory that’s closest to the buyer, to facilitate faster delivery.
If your product isn’t eligible for virtual tracking with the manufacturer barcode, an Amazon barcode is required. You may be able to get an exemption to use the manufacturer barcode by enrolling your ASIN in Amazon Brand Registry.
Best,
Dominic
Seller_j6QF72HJp1qRW
Hi,
I am not Amazon associate. I am just reviewing pro and con of comingled inventory with a UPC barcode.
I understand that you may not satisfied by the previously received progenerated answer.
Amazon's robot scanner can see only 1 barcode at a time. If you tell them to use manufacturer barcode, there is no other way to identify bottle's expiration or manufacturing lot.
My solution is you only send one lot with same expiration date to FBA warehouse and wait until the whole lot running low or 1 year to expire. Then you could retract the whole lot and then create a new SKU and supply a new lot with new expiration date. Only this way can guarantee that no expiration mixed up.
