In the fast-evolving world of digital commerce, consumer brands both large and small are seeing the value in adopting an omnichannel sales strategy designed to reach shoppers wherever they are. But often, these omnichannel ambitions involve complex implementation. And for vendors, manufacturers, and wholesalers whose businesses are built around supplying direct-to-consumer (DTC) retailers, investment in an ecommerce site might not be on the roadmap.
But with Buy with Prime, Amazon Retail vendors have an easier path to pursue those omnichannel ambitions. Whether or not your ecommerce website is a key sales channel, Buy with Prime can help you reach customers beyond Amazon.com while saving both time and money by using one pool of inventory across your Amazon and DTC ecommerce sales channels.
Beyond attracting and converting more shoppers on your own ecommerce site, “Buy with Prime and the solution for Amazon Retail vendors can help you build omnichannel efficiencies and scale your ecommerce business,” says Nehel Khanani, Tech Sales Executive at Buy with Prime who works closely with vendors. “Whether you’re a wholesaler that supplies Amazon and other retailers or a retail brand with multiple third-party and DTC sales channels, the Buy with Prime solution for Amazon Retail vendors is designed to help you grow. Simplified inventory inbounding, invoicing, and inventory management can make it easier to expand your omnichannel strategy with Buy with Prime.”
What is the Buy with Prime solution for Amazon Retail vendors?
Unlike Amazon sellers who list products independently on Amazon.com, Amazon Retail vendors sell their products to Amazon as first-party wholesalers. Vendors sell and ship goods in bulk to Amazon, and then Amazon owns that inventory. Amazon becomes the seller of record when these products are listed on Amazon.com as “Sold by Amazon.com” and when an order is placed, Amazon fulfills the order from the inventory it purchased from the vendor.
Buy with Prime orders, on the other hand, are fulfilled using Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF), which uses the world’s largest fulfillment network and Amazon omnichannel expertise to fulfill ecommerce merchants’ order on channels beyond Amazon.com.
The Buy with Prime solution for Amazon Retail vendors takes advantage of existing inventory in Amazon fulfillment centers by allowing you to request that inventory you previously inbounded and sold to Amazon through your Vendor Central account can be transferred to your MCF account. Your units are transferred from your Amazon Retail inventory, giving your business the flexibility to scale on demand.
This also helps you:
- Save on shipment and warehousing costs: You can save time and money with streamlined inbounding across your Amazon Retail and MCF inventory. You can request to send your MCF inventory and Amazon Retail inventory in the same shipment to Amazon fulfillment centers.
- Grow your business faster: Buy with Prime has been shown to increase shopper conversions by an average of 25%*, and MCF provides low cost, reliable order fulfillment as fast as two days. Vendor Central linking and catalog autoload means simplified onboarding to your MCF account and automatic importing of your Vendor Central listings into your MCF catalog.
How does inventory sharing work?
First, you assign minimum inventory quantities for MCF. Then, if your MCF inventory drops below the target minimum level it will trigger inventory transfers from Amazon Retail to MCF (provided the transfer doesn’t result in your Amazon Retail inventory dropping below the minimum safety stock level set by your vendor manager). The inventory is virtually transferred to your MCF account but remains physically stored in Amazon fulfillment centers.
Amazon creates a return invoice to your Vendor Central account, and the amount may be deducted from Amazon’s future payments due to you. There’s no return processing or additional fee for the inventory transfer at this time. However, once transferred, your inventory is subject to MCF’s standard storage fees and applicable order fulfillment fees.
Pay by invoice allows you to pay Buy with Prime and MCF fees through invoices and wire transfer. You get greater flexibility in billing and payment processing for alternative payment types that cover major operating expenses like fulfillment. For more details on Buy with Prime pricing, explore the rate card.
Minimizing omnichannel retail risks
There’s a reason that C-suite decision makers tout Buy with Prime as a cost-effective deployment for brands and ecommerce brands looking to expand across channels and grow their ecommerce businesses.
“By allowing you to transfer your Amazon Retail inventory and use it to fulfill orders through your own website, you gain the advantage of testing the waters to see how Buy with Prime works for you, with very low risk,” says Buy with Prime Enterprise Sales Executive Simon Contreras Candiales, who has been helping enterprise businesses grow for the past 25 years.
“Another huge advantage is that the Buy with Prime solution for Amazon Retail vendors also makes forecasting easier across your channels,” Nehel says.
The Buy with Prime solution for Amazon Retail vendors can help larger national brands on the journey of expanding their existing ecommerce footprint. Buy with Prime can also help brands that don’t yet have their own ecommerce channels because they initially built their businesses through retailers like Amazon or others.
“Vendors are starting to realize the value of having their own website and their own relationships with their customers online. But it’s hard: You’re a manufacturer that excels in stocking products and stores, but now you have to build a website, acquire your own customers, manage relationships, and build new supply lines,” Nehel says. “Think of this as a solution where Buy with Prime helps grow your direct-to-consumer business just like Amazon.com does for your wholesale operation.”
Buy with Prime can help brands drive success across omnichannel retail channels by engaging and converting more shoppers with the trust of Prime and fast, free delivery. Contact your vendor manager to learn more or sign up for Buy with Prime today.
*This data point measures the average increase in shoppers who placed an order when Buy with Prime was an available purchase option versus when it was not, during the same time period.