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One of the ways for fulfilling orders is by what is called the “fulfillment by merchant” or FBM. It is no surprising why entrepreneurs would want to sell through Amazon. Amazon is by far the largest e-commerce store in the world. This means that selling through their platform gives you an opportunity to be potentially viewed by millions of customers worldwide.

If you are planning to sell through Amazon to take advantage of their huge market, you should learn a few things about their fulfillment process.

What is Amazon Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM)?

Amazon FBM is simply a fulfillment method where the Amazon seller is the one who does the fulfilling. He/she can do so either via their own resources or by having a third-party fulfillment service provider which will do the fulfillment for them.

Amazon FBM vs Amazon FBA

amazon fbm meaning

As mentioned earlier, in Amazon FBM, the seller is the one that’s responsible for the fulfillment of their orders, either by their own efforts or by having a fulfillment center to do the fulfillment for them. In Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon), the seller’s orders are fulfilled by Amazon itself. In Amazon FBA, the seller needs to deliver his/her products to an Amazon fulfillment center. Once a customer makes a purchase on his/her store, Amazon will do the fulfillment on their behalf.

How Amazon FBM Works

If you are interested in fulfilling via Amazon FBM, here’s how it works:

First, you sign up for an Amazon Seller Central account. Once you’ve set up your account, you can begin listing your products to the marketplace. When you receive an order, you’ll then fulfill the order by delivering it yourself or by having a third-party fulfillment center to do the shipping on your behalf (ask your fulfillment center to know how you’ll both coordinate on this). Then, simply be sure to deliver your products safely and on-time. And that’s it – that’s simply how Amazon FBM works!

Should You Do Amazon FBM?

Of course, the decision will totally depend on you. But to help you decide on whether Amazon FBA is for you or not, consider the following:

Pros

  • It is less costly compared to Amazon FBA. When you go FBM, you’ll pay the minimum fees required of you by Amazon such as monthly subscription fees. On the other hand, if you choose FBA, you’ll need to pay for the added services provided for you such as their logistics, delivery, etc.
  • Have better control on the fulfillment process. You’ll have more control in the fulfillment process when you fulfill by yourself than when going FBA. In FBA, you are dependent on Amazon’s delivery performance – and in the event that they went slower (or slower than you would like), you have no control over it. On the other hand, you can control your own fulfillment since you do it yourself or you get to choose which fulfillment center to work with.

Cons

  • The responsibility of fulfillment is on you – if you don’t like the hassle of fulfillment, then FBM may not work well with you. The next option is to, of course, find a fulfillment company to do the work for you. Although it is still on you to look for a fulfillment company that will best serve your needs.
  • You will not have an Amazon Prime badge – Your products will not be Prime-eligible if you choose FBM. One main benefit of Amazon Prime is that, because of its badge, it gets more traffic compared to non-Prime products.

Final Thoughts

Amazon Fulfillment by Merchant is a great choice if you want to have better control over your orders’ fulfillment process. If you need help on fulfilling your products, Fulfillmen can help you with that! We strive to help businesses grow by providing them with the best fulfillment services possible.

If you want to learn more, feel free to contact us here: