Fulfilment by Amazon (or FBA) is an easy way for small businesses to outsource much of their logistics process, and improve the service they offer to customers on the world’s biggest online store. Rather than shipping all of your products yourself, you’ll ship them in bulk to the Amazon warehouse, from where they can be easily shipped all over Europe.
Boost Sales
When your orders are fulfilled by amazon, your products will be tagged with the Prime badge, which means that prime customers will be entitled to free delivery. This will vastly increase your potential customer base, and thereby bolster your sales. The effect of this can be self-reinforcing, as the customers you gain will, if you’ve done everything right, come back for more, and leave reviews that will boost your sales still further.
Remote Access
If you’re up and about during the day, then it might not be easy to find the time to check on your stock. But since Amazon’s control panel is accessible from anywhere via your smart device, you’ll be able to oversee how your orders are going from just about anywhere. This is especially advantageous if your business is just a side-hustle, and you have other commitments to deal with (or even a full-time job).
Cheaper Shipping and Storage
An organisation as large as Amazon benefits from considerable economies of scale, which means that they can ship your products alongside millions of others. This provides them with the leverage they need to negotiate the best possible deal. Moreover, they can also take the cost of storage away, meaning that you won’t have to pay for warehouse space yourself.
With that said, Amazon is a shop and not a warehouse, so they’ll charge more if your products sit unsold for more than 365 days. Moreover, the storage costs are higher in the three months leading up to Christmas. If you have the funds available, the expenditure might be worthwhile; bad credit business loans might help you to secure the necessary cash, even if you don’t have a stellar history of wise investment.
Less Work
Most new businesses aren’t experts in international logistics. Through FBA, you can concentrate on what you’re good at, and leave the postage and packaging to those who know how to deal with it. Inevitably, some of your orders will be returned, and this can be a process that can trip up businesses that lack the experience to handle it speedily. Amazon FBA manages this for you in-house (though they do charge a fee for the service). This means less of a learning curve, fewer mistakes, and, ultimately, happier customers.
Greater Reach
With the help of a Europe-wide network of warehouses, Amazon will use artificial intelligence to anticipate the demand for your product, and then make sure that your items are distributed so that they can be delivered to the customer the following day. That means less waiting, and a speedier service than you could possibly provide if you elected to handle your shipping in-house.
