Amazon FBA Warehouse Explained: Benefits & Shipping Mistakes

Fulfillment by Amazon (Amazon FBA) Has without a doubt transformed the way merchants sell their products on Amazon.

Instead of shipping the products manually to every customer, all merchants have to do now is send their inventory to Amazon FBA warehouses and let them take care of the rest.

The idea here is to have Amazon manage the tricky part of doing a product business on your behalf – packaging, shipping, delivering, processing returns, and providing customer service.

Needless to mention, all of these services come at a price, often dubbed as Amazon FBA fees. Amazon does all of this so smoothly that sellers barely feel the need to trouble themselves with the intricacies of their operation.

With the entire responsibility now resting on Amazon’s able shoulders, sellers and merchants alike can focus on growing and improving their business.

Since speed and time are of paramount importance here, Amazon has come up with ingenious ways to classify the inventory so that they can be picked up and packaged without a hitch.

In order to ensure that Amazon is able to fulfill the delivery requirements of their customers seamlessly, it has set up numerous Amazon FBA warehouses in different parts of the country.

Generally speaking, when a customer places an order for a particular product, the order is dispatched from the fulfillment center closest to the customer, provided that the center has the product.

Many sellers also opt for the inventory placement service. By default, Amazon divides the shipment into multiple small shipments with shipments each going to different fulfillment centers.

Amazon does this based on a plethora of factors like size and category of the product, season, location, et cetera.

In the case of inventory placement, sellers can avoid the cost of shipping to multiple fulfillment centers. Instead, they need to ship their products to only one fulfillment center, and this center is decided by Amazon.

Once Amazon receives the shipment, it may be then split into multiple shipments and sent to different Amazon FBA warehouses. However, doing this incurs a per-item fee on each shipment which you will have to consider while deciding on a shipping option.

What are the benefits of using Amazon FBA Warehouses?

There are plenty of benefits to using the Fulfillment by Amazon program. Yes, granted that there are certain fees and charges that one must pay to enjoy the features of Amazon FBA but they are well worth it.

Some of these advantages are:

• Amazon will take care of processing all returns and any customer queries that may arise in the process. This, in turn, saves the merchant a lot of time and helps them avoid dealing with this hassle.

• Sellers who use Amazon FBA get to list their products with the exclusive Prime badge. This means better ranking in the search results, instant visibility, and faster delivery options. In fact, products which have the Prime badge are known to do better than the ones without it.

• FBA seller shipping prices Are highly competitive. This means that you are bound to save significantly more if you choose to ship your products through Amazon FBA instead of a third-party delivery partner.
• Lastly, Amazon merchants get to benefit by saving a great deal of time since they don’t have to bother themselves with shipping each product individually to their customers.

Related: How Much Could Your FBA Business Be Worth?

How Does it Work?

Sending an inventory to an Amazon FBA Warehouse is a simple process. All you have to do is go to your Seller Central Account page and prepare your listings. Once you have prepared the listings, you need to select the ones that you would like Amazon to fulfill on your behalf.

The last step is to send the inventory to Amazon by creating a virtual shipment plan. The shipment plan entails the following details:

• The products you want to send to Amazon and their quantity

• Labeling information, that is, whether Amazon needs to label the products on your behalf or you are doing it yourself
• Shipping details such as carrier name, tracking number, a method of shipping, etc.

After you have prepared your shipping plan, you need to prepare your products. In order to do this, you need to carefully pack each product into an individual bag with a safety label that is clearly displayed.

In fact, before you begin to pack your products, you should familiarize yourself with Amazon FBA Packaging and Preparation requirements.

If you fail to comply with the standards and safety requirements set down by Amazon, then your inventory may not be accepted by the fulfillment centers.

Once you have packed your products as per the Amazon FBA standards, the next task at your hands is to label your products.

As we mentioned earlier, you can either do this yourself or have Amazon do it for you. However, if you choose the latter option, then you will be required to pay fees to Amazon.

To label the products, you need to open your Seller Central Account and take a printout of the labels which will be available to you after you have prepared your listings. Once you have printed these labels, you need to place them in front of your product.

To ensure that these labels can be scanned easily, you may use a barcode scanner to check.

Your shipment is now ready. You will need to weigh and measure the dimensions of your shipment so that they can be input accurately into the system. Based on these metrics, your shipping charges will be calculated.

The last step in the process is to print your box label. This is nothing but a sheet of paper which has all the important information regarding the package printed on it.

This shipping label can be downloaded from the Seller Central account, and it needs to be placed securely on the box.

Recommended Read: Amazon FBA 2019 Guide

Find Amazon FBA Warehouse Near Your Locations

Arizona 

Code	Address	County
#PHX3	6835 W. Buckeye Road, Phoenix, AZ 85043	Maricopa County
#PHX5	16920 W. Commerce Drive, Goodyear, AZ 85338	Maricopa County
#TFC1	5050 W. Mohave Street, Phoenix, AZ 85043	Maricopa County

California 

Code	Address	County
#LGB3	4950 Goodman Way, Eastvale, CA 91752	San Bernardino County
#LGB6	20901 Krameria Ave, Riverside, CA 95208	Riverside County
#SJC7	188 Mountain House Pkwy, Tracy, CA 95391	San Joaquin County
#OAK3	255 Park Center Drive, Patterson City, CA 95363-8876	Stanislaus County

Colorado 

Code	Address	County
#DEN5	19799 E 36th Dr, Aurora, CO 80011	Adams County
#DEN2	24006 E. 19th Ave., Aurora, CO 80019	Adams County

Connecticut 

Code	Address	County
#BDL1	200 Old Iron Ore Road, Windsor, CT 06095	Hartford County
#BDL2	409 Washington Ave., North Haven, CT 06473	New Haven County
#BDL5	29 Research Parkway, Wallingford, CT 06492	New Haven County

Delaware 

Code	Address	County
#PHL1	1 Centerpoint Boulevard, New Castle, DE 19720	New Castle County
#PHL3	1600 Johnson Way, New Castle, DE 19720	New Castle County
#PHL7	560 Merrimac Avenue, Middletown, DE 19709-4652	New Castle County

Florida 

Code	Address	County
#TPA1	3350 Laurel Ridge Ave., Ruskin FL 33570	Hillsborough County
#TPA2	1760 County Line Road, Lakeland, FL 33811	Polk County
#MIA1/5	1900 NW 132nd Place, Doral, FL, 33182	Miami-Dade County

Georgia 

Code	Address	County
#ATL6	4200 North Commerce, Atlanta, GA 30344-5707	Fulton County
#ATL8	2201 Thornton Rd., Lithia Springs, GA 30122	Douglas County
#MGE1	650 Broadway Ave, Braselton, GA 30517-3002	Jackson County

Illinois 

Code	Address	County
#MDW2	401 E Laraway Road, Joliet, Illinois 60433	Will County
#MDW8	750 Bridge Drive, Waukegan, IL, 60085	Lake County
#STL4	3050 Gateway Commerce Center Dr S, Edwardsville, IL	Madison County

Indiana 

Code	Address	County
#XUSE	5100 S Indianapolis Road, Whitestown, IN 46075	Boone County
#IND2	715 Airtech Parkway, Plainfield, IN 46168	Hendricks County
#IND4	710 South Girls School Road, Indianapolis, IN 46214	Marin County
#IND6	1453 10th Street, Jeffersonville, IN 47130	Clark County

Kansas 

Code	Address	County
#TUL1	2654 N US Highway 169, Coffeyville, KS 67337	Montgomery County
#MKC6	6925 Riverview Ave, Kansas City, KS 66102	Wyandotte County
#MCI1	113th Street and Renner Boulevard, Lenexa, KS, 66219	Johnson County

Kentucky 

Code	Address	County
#SDF1	1105 S Columbia Avenue, Campbellsville, KY 42718	Taylor County
#SDF2	4360 Robards Lane, Louisville, KY 40218	Jefferson County
#CVG1	1155 Worldwide Blvd. Hebron, KY 41048	Boone County
#LEX1	1850 Mercer Road, Lexington, KY 40511	Fayette County

Maryland 

Code	Address	County
#BWI1	2010 Broening Highway, Baltimore, MD 21224	Baltimore County
#BWI2	5001 Holabird Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21224	Baltimore County
#MDT2	600 Principio Parkway, North East, MD 21901	Montgomery County

Massachusetts 

Code	Address	County
#BOS5	1000 Tech Center Drive, Stoughton, MA 02072	Norfolk County
#BOS7	1180 Innovation Way, Fall River, MA 02722	Bristol County

Michigan 

Code	Address	County
#DTW1	39000 Amrhein Rd., Livonia, MI 48150-1043	Wayne County
#DTW5	19991 Brownstown Center Dr, Brownstown Charter Twp, MI 48183	Wayne County

Minnesota 

Code	Address	County
#MSP1	2601 4th Avenue East, Shakopee, MN 55379	Scott County
#MSP5	5825 11th Avenue East, Shakopee, MN 55379	Scott County

Nevada 

Code	Address	County
#RNO4	8000 North Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89506	Washoe County
#LAS2	3837 Bay Lake Trail, Suite 113, Las Vegas, NV 89193-0001	Clark County
#RNO1	1600 East Newlands Drive, Fernley, NV 89408	Lyon County

New Hampshire 

Code	Address	County
#BOS1	10 State Street, Nashua, NH 03063	Hillsborough County

New Jersey 

Code	Address	County
#ACY5	2277 Center Square Road, Swedesboro, Logan Township, NJ 08085	Gloucester County
#EWR4	50 New Canton Way, Robbinsville, NJ 08691	Mercer County
#EWR5	301 Blair Road #100, Avenel, NJ 07001	Middlesex County
#LGA8	38171 Amrhein Rd, Livonia, MI 48150	Wayne County

North California

Code	Address	County
#CLT5	1745 Derita Road, Concord, NC 28027	Cabarrus County

Ohio 

Code	Address	Location
#CLE5	8685 Independence Parkway, Twinsburg, OH 44087	Summit County
#CMH1	11903 National Road SW, Etna, OH 43062	Licking County
#CMH2	6050 Gateway Court, Obetz, OH 43125	Franklin County

Pennsylvania 

Code	Address	County
#AVP1	550 Oak Ridge Road, Hazleton, PA 18202	Luzerne County
#AVP3	289 1st Ave, Gouldsboro, PA 18424	Wayne County
#ABE2	705 Boulder Drive, Breinigsville, PA 18031	Lehigh County
#ABE4	1610 Van Buren Rd., Easton, PA 18045-1707	Northampton County

South Carolina 

Code	Address	County
#CAE1	4400 12th Street Extension, West Columbia, SC 29172	Lexington County
#GSP1	402 John Dodd Road, Spartanburg, SC 29303-6312	Spartanburg County

Tennessee 

Code	Address	County
#BNA1	14840 Central Pike, Lebanon, TN 37090	Wilson County
#BNA3	2020 Joe B Jackson Parkway, Murfreesboro, TN 37127	Rutherford County
#BNA5	50 Airways Blvd, Nashville, TN 37217	Davidson County

Texas

Code	Address	County
#DFW1	2700 Regent Boulevard, DFW Airport, TX 75261	Dallas County
#DFW6	940 W Bethel Road, Coppell, TX 75019-4424	Denton County
#DFW7	700 Westport Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 76177-4513	Tarrant County
#SAT1	6000 Enterprise Avenue, Schertz, TX 78154	Guadalupe County

Virginia

Code	Address	County
#RIC1	5000 Commerce Way, Petersburg, VA 23803	Petersburg County
#RIC2	1901 Meadowville Technology Parkway, Chester, VA 23836	Chesterfield County
#BWI1	45121 Global Plaza, Sterling, VA 20166	Loudoun County

Washington 

Code	Address	County
#BFI1	1800 140th Avenue, E Sumner, WA	Pierce County
#BFI3	2700 Center Drive, Dupont, WA 98327	Pierce County
#SEA6	2646 Rainier Avenue, South Seattle, WA 98144	King County

Wisconsin 

Code	Address	County
#MKE1	3501 120th Avenue, Kenosha, WI 53144-7502	Kenosha County
#MKE5	11211 Burlington Road, Kenosha, WI 53144	Kenosha County

Other Things to Consider

You can also send your products to Amazon via Amazon-partner carriers. While this may prove to be far more convenient, you need to consider the costs here and compare them with third-party shipping services.

You can find all the relevant costs and information on the Seller Central dashboard.

When you receive an order, Amazon processes it and picks up the products which are stored in its fulfillment centers.

It then packages it, ships it, and provides customer support. Additionally, it also processes returns, if any, on your behalf, and stores the products back in the warehouses.

As a seller, you will always have a choice to replenish your inventory or even remove items from your inventory. Obviously, these services will incur a charge, and they are a part of the Amazon FBA fees.

Amazon FBA warehouses have also made it possible for the e-commerce giant to purchase products on a wholesale basis and then sell them under their brand name on the website. Since these FBA warehouses are huge, Amazon can conveniently store the wholesale products and market them based on their strategies and requirements.

Parties who sell their products to Amazon on a wholesale basis are known as Amazon Vendors.

Keep in mind that this is completely unlike the Amazon Sellers program, wherein sellers use the Amazon platform to sell their own products and, in turn, pay Amazon fees for letting them use their portal. Furthermore, a person can become an Amazon Vendor through an invitation only.

Mistakes to avoid while shipping to Amazon fulfillment warehouses

If you are just starting out with Amazon FBA, you are bound to make mistakes. It is quite all right to do so as it is tricky to get a hang of it right at the beginning. This is particularly the case when it comes to shipping your inventory to Amazon FBA warehouses.

To help you avoid making these fba mistakes, we have prepared a list of common errors that many people make:

• Illegible barcode: Barcodes make it easier for the staff at Amazon FBA warehouses to track various products. After all, no one has the time to check the description of each product individually.

• If you the barcode on your product is unreadable, then it may result in your items getting rejected by the Amazon FBA workers. Always make sure that the barcode is visible clearly on the edge of the box, with no creases and wrinkles.

• Not labeling your products correctly: It is important that you label your products correctly – make sure to re-check your inputs while you are preparing your product listings. If you mislabel your products, then there is a very good chance that they may be rejected.

• Not labeling your products at all: While the chances of this happening are quite slim, it has happened nonetheless. As an Amazon seller, you must strive for perfection and make sure that all the items that you are sending to Amazon FBA warehouses have been labeled.

• Failing to check your shipping label: As a rule of thumb, your shipping label should clearly have the details like the name and address of the seller, Amazon reference ID and shipment ID, name and SCAC code of the carrier, the shipping reference number of the carrier, seal and container number, et cetera.
• These details will be required by Amazon prior to collecting your shipment and therefore, you must make sure that this information is clearly mentioned on the label.

Additional Read : 10 Mistakes Amazon Sellers Need to Avoid

Final Thoughts

Amazon FBA warehouses comprise the foundation on which the entire FBA model has been built. Amazon stores all the products it gets from the sellers in these fulfillment centers and then processes the orders as and when it receives them. By storing the products at one convenient location, it becomes easier for Amazon to pack and ship the goods.

It is also equally easy for Amazon sellers to send their inventory to these FBA fulfillment centers, thanks to the well-designed Seller Central portal, If you are an Amazon FBA member, then please feel free to share your experience in the comments below!

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