Key Highlights:
- What is Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment?
- Cost Structure For Using Amazon MCF?
- What Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment do for sellers?
- Enhance your Amazon MCF experience with WebBee integration?
- Conclusion
Over the past few decades, our shopping habits have changed dramatically, which created a sudden hype in online retail sales, globally. Amazon alone contributes almost 44% to all e-Commerce sales in the United States of America. In this era of online retail, it’s very high time to invest in several e-commerce channels for the greater audience reach. I mean by maintaining your own online store along with a presence on eBay, Shopify, Walmart, and Amazon would be the best combination ever. Note that these are just a few names to mention here, and you can find a lot more on google.
But managing such diverse channels comes with its own challenges that can’t be addressed without a smooth order fulfillment process. Amazon has already contributed its shares in facilitating the customers on its e-Commerce platform. You’ve probably heard about the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) process and the benefits it offers you. However, Amazon offering a lesser-known service called Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF). It has surely put an end to all the chaos circulating around businesses corner, related to selling on multiple sales channels.
In this article, we have tried to cover all the important aspects of Amazon MCF, from what Amazon MCF is and how it improves the effectiveness of your fulfillment. So, let’s proceed!
What is Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment?
Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment is actually an extension of Amazon’s well-known service called Fulfillment by Amazon. You might have heard people referring to it as FBA. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is meant to handle all the back-end activities for its third-party sellers. What FBA does for its users, storage or inventory management, fulfillment, and even customer support. What else can someone ask for?
Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) is a service or program offered within Amazon’s fulfillment service FBA. What makes it different from FBA is that it serves sellers outside Amazon. Whether you are selling on any other marketplace (Shopify, eBay, Walmart) or your own website, you can avail Multi-Channel Fulfillment by Amazon. In case you use Multi-Channel Fulfillment with FBA, fulfillment will be provided by Amazon for your orders on Amazon as well as those placed on other platforms outside Amazon. Just like FBA, you can keep your inventory in an Amazon warehouse. They will maintain the inventory and ship the products directly to your customers, whenever an order is placed on your non-Amazon sales channel. This way, non-Amazon e-commerce sellers can take benefit from operational expertise, an efficient fulfillment network, and shipping methods.
Storing your inventory and processing your orders from a single place is all you need for your multiple e-commerce sales channels, everything is centralized. You’re just a call away to change anything you want and the quality will be consistent for the customers purchasing from different e-commerce channels. It’s obvious that you save a lot of time and energy, but how about money?
Cost Structure for Using Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment
Although Amazon charges different fees depending on the size, weight, and delivery place of the products, here are some standard charges to avail Multi-Channel Fulfillment by Amazon. In Amazon MCF, you need to choose from one of the following shipping options:
- Priority Shipping – delivery on the next day of order placement (Charges $12.80 – 13.85)
- Expedited Shipping – delivery within 2 days of order placement (Charges: $7.90 – 8.35)
- Standard Shipping – delivery within 3-5 days of order placement (Charges: $5.85 – 5.95)
Note that the above-mentioned charges are per unit product and discounts can be availed for the greater number of orders. Also, an additional $0.39/lb, will be charged for orders greater than 2 lb. To get more details on the Amazon MCF fees for international orders.
Shipping charges will vary according to your destination. However, order handling ($13.65) and pick & pack ($0.60) charges are the same, irrespective of where your order is shipped. Given below are the weight handling charges for some common locations:
- United States of America: $2.4 per pound weight
- Europe: $2.2 per pound weight
- Middle East & Africa: $3.6 per pound weight
- Asia: $3 per pound weight
What Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment do for Sellers?
Are you an e-commerce retailer and looking forward to expanding your online retail business? If yes, then it is very high time for you to change your dream into a reality. Being a retailer, your topmost priority should be to increase your customers’ reach. The best approach to increase your potential customers is to expand your e-commerce channels.
Yes, having more than two e-commerce stores or websites is a huge asset one could have in today’s competitive world. But, it comes with its own challenges. However, the biggest challenge of all time is to maintain your inventory and ship products to the customers. Many options are available fulfillment for Shopify, where a third party will take care of all your business needs, from inventory management to delivery. But, how about getting your fulfillment done by an e-commerce giant “Amazon”?
There are a number of reasons, why a smart seller should opt for the Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment service. Cutting down your cost and faster shipping are just a few benefits of Amazon MCF. It can offer you much more to handle your multiple e-commerce channels, simultaneously. So, let’s dive into some of the miracles Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment has done for its users!
- Common Storage for all your Inventory:
If you have been into an e-commerce business, you must be aware of how difficult it is to manage your inventory. And when you need to manage it for multiple platforms, it will consume much of your time and effort. But don’t worry, your problem has been solved by Amazon. Amazon MCF is the best option for those interested in expanding their e-commerce business without any additional stress. It is providing you with the largest network of fulfillment centers across the world. With Amazon MCF service, you no longer need to manage your own inventory. Instead, Amazon will do the job for you. Your inventory will be stored in one of the Amazon warehouses and will be directly processed and shipped to the targeted customer.
It’s definitely less costly than shifting your inventory to a bigger premise or hiring additional staff to manage all things for you. And what’s more convenient than that you can control all your inventory for Amazon and non-Amazon orders from a single dashboard. Simple is that you can quickly track your inventory and decide when it’s the right time to restock your inventory.
- Three-tiered Pricing Policy
It might seem confusing at first, but once you have gone through all the details of Amazon’s pricing strategy you will be completely satisfied with the process. It will provide you the complete information on how much you’re charged for each order. What’s more amazing is that you can calculate the total charges for an order using a free calculator, before actually processing it. So, you can get a clear idea of whether the MCF of a particular order is in your budget or not.
Note: Details of the pricing policy are already mentioned earlier in this article.
- Scalability
Scalability is another benefit that Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment provides you. If you makeup your mind to avail of this service, then Amazon will charge you for each cubic footage area your products will take in their warehouse. So, you can easily increase or decrease the space according to your demand. Like, you may want to scale up during the peak sales season and vice versa. The process is very straightforward and hence, the pricing can be predicted accordingly.
Enhance Your Amazon MCF Experience with WebBee Integration
Amazon has already made it much easier for sellers to manage multiple e-commerce sales channels, by introducing its Multi-Channel Fulfillment service. However, if you have a hectic routine and are unable to manage all the stuff even with Amazon MCF, WebBee integration is all you need for your e-commerce business. It will automate the order fulfillment process and directly update you on your orders and inventory stock. Here are some of the benefits, WebBee integration offers you:
- Easy and Simple Integration – You can integrate our app with just one click and you’re all set to explore exciting new features. The installation process is super easy and its user-friendly interface will help you get familiar in no time. Still, our customer support team is there 24/7 to answer your queries.
- SKU Mapping – Amazon SKU mapping has become a lot easier with our integration application. All you need to do is, just integrate our app with your e-commerce website and it will automatically map the unmatched SKUs.
- Product Bundling – WebBee integration apps allow you to bundle products to increase the value of your customers’ cart, during special offers or discounts. It will require you to locate the products to be bundled, do some mapping, and there you go.
- Automated Order and Inventory Fulfillment – With our applications, you no longer need to maintain spreadsheets and details of your seller account. Your order and inventory will be updated automatically after installing our Amazon FBA integration app. Not even a single manual entry is required after that.
- Shipment Tracking – Our integration solution helps you to track your real time orders. After installing our application, you don’t need to send order confirmation or shipment emails to your customers. They will be automatically notified about any upcoming order.
- Display Delivery Dates on Checkout – We do our level best to ensure that your customers are satisfied with your service and come back with new purchases. Whenever a customer checkout to proceed with the payment, he will be notified of the dynamic delivery dates. This will improve the checkout experience for your customers.
- Unbranded Packaging – The main issue retailers have with the Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment service is branded packaging. The products kept and shipped by Amazon through its MCF service are packaged in Amazon-labeled packages. But with WebBee integration apps, you can get access to unbranded packaging.
- Multiple Amazon Marketplaces – It will provide you with access to multiple marketplaces. You can easily integrate any of your e-commerce websites or stores with Amazon and avail the Multi-Channel Fulfillment service by Amazon. You can even add more Amazon marketplaces of your choice, with a few easy steps.
Conclusion
It’s always a better idea to diversify your sales channels, rather than putting all eggs in one basket. Previously, it was a bonus point to serve on more than one e-commerce platform, but now it has become a requirement for online retailers to have stores on more than two e-commerce platforms. Only then, you can keep pace with the ever-advancing business world. But the problem is, how to manage such a huge number of sales on multiple e-commerce channels. Multi-Channel Fulfillment by Amazon has solved much of this problem. Amazon will take care of your inventory, storage, processing, and shipment of your orders placed on Amazon as well as non-Amazon marketplaces. Even with Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment, you need to take care of several things manually. Amazon MCF integration applications by WebBee are the ultimate solution to all your multi-channel e-commerce needs. Along with basic Amazon MCF services, there are a lot of hidden surprises for you in our integration applications.
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