Top 5 Amazon News for June 2022

Each month, we monitor Amazon news and updates to seize opportunities as well as to avoid potential problems before they become an issue for us and our clients.

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Here we share the top updates and news for June 2022:

1. Send to Amazon will replace Send/replenish inventory on September 1

Amazon announcement:

“On September 1, 2022, ‘Send to Amazon¿ will replace the ¿Send/replenish inventory’ workflow as part of our ongoing efforts to make shipment creation simpler and more flexible.

Important dates

  • August 31 is the last day on which you can create shipments using ‘Send/replenish inventory’.
  • Starting September 1, the old workflow will no longer be available. All new FBA shipments must be created either in ‘Send to Amazon’ or with the ‘Amazon Marketplace Web Service API’ or ‘Selling Partner API’ .

Send to Amazon features

Thousands of FBA sellers already use ‘Send to Amazon’, our streamlined shipment-creation workflow. The updated workflow lets you do the following:

  • Create shipments with simplified steps that include training videos.
  • Create reusable case-pack templates to save box-level information and prep and labelling details when you use the same configuration for single-SKU boxes. With these templates, you can avoid re-entering the details each time that you replenish inventory.
  • Add both single-SKU and mixed-SKU boxes to the same workflow.
  • Pack your boxes in advance or just in time when you’re ready to ship.

Starting today, when you create shipments from ‘Manage Inventory’, ‘Manage FBA Inventory’ or ‘Restock Inventory’, you’ll be directed to ‘Send to Amazon’ automatically. You can also access ‘Send to Amazon’ from your ‘Shipping Queue’. You can continue to access the old workflow for new shipment creation until August 31.”

 

ProMerit Tip: Don’t wait until September 1st to learn and adapt to the new workflow or you might miss the chance to replenish your inventory. Moreover, the new ‘Send to Amazon’ feature has all you need to help you save time and streamline your processes, especially when dealing with multiple products and warehouses.

 

2. Limited time offer on Transparency codes

Amazon announcement:

“For every product that is newly protected by Transparency before December 31, 2022 you can receive one year of Transparency codes for free.

Transparency is an Amazon Brand Protection program available for brand owners who want to proactively protect their products from counterfeit. Each unit is labelled with a unique code, which is scanned to verify the unit’s authenticity. Items without a valid code are identified and stopped, so only genuine items reach customers.

To be eligible for Transparency, you need to meet the following requirements:

  • You own a brand.
  • Your brand and associated trademarks are registered in Amazon Brand Registry.
  • You have a Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), such as a UPC or EAN barcode on your products.
  • You can apply unique Transparency codes on every unit you manufacture.”

 

ProMerit Tip:

As you may know, transparency codes help brands prevent counterfeits, but those same codes then need to be implemented across all your distribution channels, including brick-and-mortar stores.

When evaluating this decision, keep in mind that while transparency codes will help you deal with counterfeits, anybody can still sell those products on Amazon. Take this into account before deciding what’s best for you.

 

3. Updates to Remote Fulfilment with FBA fees effective June 30

Amazon announcement:

“Since 2018, businesses that participate in FBA in the US have been able to use Remote Fulfillment with FBA to make their US inventory available for sale in Canada and Mexico. This program offers customers increased selection and gives you the opportunity to sell easily outside of the US.

We’ve nearly doubled fulfillment capacity and added over 750,000 full- and part-time roles, and our average hourly wage in the US has climbed from $15 to $18. These investments have enabled tremendous growth for sellers, who have increased sales in our store by more than 70% during this time.

To reflect the changing costs of fulfillment, transportation, storage, and customer service across North America, we will be adjusting Remote Fulfillment with FBA fulfillment fees on June 30, 2022. These increases are in line with or below industry-average increases for fulfillment services.

We will also include a dimensional weight adjustment in our rate calculations to better align with the standard FBA rate structure.”

ProMerit Tip: In this Remote Fulfilment FBA program, you have control over retail price and availability. The challenge is managing delivery times, which can be long as shipping is done by Amazon, from the U.S. to both Canada and Mexico. We also recommend checking the import fee, which is another important difference from other programs.

So, when would we recommend this program? It can be particularly helpful for market tests, because it’s quick and easy, and Amazon may not require tax registration in those countries.

4. Updates to seller storage quantity limits in Canada

Amazon announcement:

“As of February 22, 2022, we’ve removed ASIN-level quantity limits for shipments to Canadian fulfilment centers. We believe restock limits that are based on storage type provide you with better flexibility as you manage your inventory and send products to fulfilment centers.

We’re introducing new tools to determine your storage-type restock limits. These limits will be based on multiple factors, including your historical sales, forecasted sales and the expected time between your shipment order creation and arrival at our fulfilment centers. Limits that are determined by these new tools should help you maintain inventory levels for two to three months of sales for your products.”

 

ProMerit Tip: Storage usage includes all shipments in process and in transit, so having a short ordering and replenishment lead time will help you maintain a low level of storage usage.

Inventory allowance has had many ups and downs during the pandemic, due to warehouse space limitations and the prioritization of essential goods. Note that this option is available to you today with Amazon, but may be withdrawn at any time, so be sure to manage your inventory wisely.

5. New sub-type of preparation chargeback

“To ensure that our products are safe, we’re introducing a cap seal sub-type of preparation chargeback for liquid and liquid-adjacent products.

Starting July 1, 2022, the cap seal chargeback rate is $0.82 per unit. Data about cap seal compliance has been available in your Operational Performance dashboard since April 2022.

For more information, go to About cap seal non-compliance.

We don’t charge for errors or operational issues caused by Amazon. If you believe that you’ve been charged incorrectly, follow the steps under Dispute a chargeback. Please include any details that will help us validate your dispute.”

 

ProMerit TipThe first step is to check whether the prerequisites apply to your products. If the price is too high, consider whether you should do it yourself or not. Internal costs may need to be updated.

It’s important to verify this, as liquid products often have a low price point and these types of situations can significantly impact profitability.

We hope this article is helpful for your businesses. Please note that the above announcements have been sourced from Amazon’s official channels as well as from some well-known business blogs.

If you have any questions related to our services, please contact us. Remember to sign up for our newsletter to receive more exciting news every month!