Overview
FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant) is a fulfillment option offered by Amazon where, as a seller, you are responsible for storing and shipping your own products to customers. This means that you must handle your own packaging and shipping logistics. In contrast to that, FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) is a fulfillment option that allows sellers to store their products in Amazon’s warehouses and have Amazon handle the picking, packing, and shipping of those products to customers.
You can configure your products in Sellercloud to use either of these fulfillment methods:
- FBM — Fulfilled or shipped by merchant.
- FBA — Stored and fulfilled by Amazon.
Setting Fulfillment Method for All Products
To set the default fulfillment method for all products in a company:
- Go to Settings > Companies > Manage Companies > Open a company > Toolbox > Amazon Settings > Product Defaults.
- In the new window, choose the method in the Fulfilled By field > Save.
Change Fulfillment for Individual Products
To set the fulfillment method for a product:
- Go to Catalog > Manage Catalog > Open a product > Toolbox > Amazon Properties.
- Click on the Actions menu and select Change Fulfilled By.
- In the pop-up window, select Amazon or Merchant.
Note: The Update on Amazon box is selected by default.
Change Fulfillment for Multiple Products
Changing the fulfillment method for multiple products will automatically change the product in Sellercloud and send an update request to Amazon to change the product’s status.
- Go to Catalog > Manage Catalog and select products.
- Click on the Action menu and select either:
- Switch to AFN — Changes products to Fulfilled by Amazon; OR
- Switch to MFN — Change products to Fulfilled by Merchant.
Change Fulfillment in Bulk by File Import
Bulk updating the fulfillment method for multiple products updates only their status in Sellercloud. It does not update their status on Amazon.
- Go to Catalog > Tools > Import Product Info > Bulk Product Update.
- Generate a template with the FulfilledBy column and populate it with values of Amazon or Merchant.
- Save it and update Sellercloud. A bulk update job will be scheduled.
- When the job is complete, your products’ Fulfilled By status will show as updated.
Fulfilled by Inconsistent
You should always change a product’s fulfillment method in Sellercloud. This information can be pushed to Amazon, which keeps the status in sync at both locations to prevent overselling.
To see all items in Sellercloud with discrepancies in their Fulfilled By status, see the FBA/FBM Discrepancies page. This feature shows you items where the fulfilled status in Sellercloud does not match Amazon’s (which can lead to overselling and other inventory issues).
- Go to Settings > Companies > Manage Companies > Open a company.
- From the Toolbox, select Channels > Amazon Settings > FBA/FBM Discrepancies.
- The grid shows all items with a Fulfilled by Inconsistent status.
- Select the vertical ellipses to Export to Excel.
Understanding FBM and FBA
Products can be set to be fulfilled, or shipped, by the merchant or set to be stored and fulfilled by Amazon. Read here about shipping your products to an Amazon Fulfillment Center. Set the default fulfillment method on the Amazon Product Defaults page (Settings > Company Settings > Toolbox > Amazon Settings > Product Defaults).
Changing the default method on products
Individual products
- Open the Amazon Properties page.
- Open the action menu and click Change Fulfilled By.
- Select to Change and Update Amazon or Change and not Update Amazon.
Multiple products
- Select products on the Manage Inventory page.
- You can add the desired products to the grid by pressing SKU next to the ProductID search field. Click on the Show/Hide textbox to paste SKU list link. Copy and paste the SKUs into the text box. Maximum 50 per search. Press Search SKUS. Then press Select. Press Search.
- On the action menu, select Switch to AFN to be Fulfilled by Amazon, or Switch to MFN to be Fulfilled by Merchant. An update request will be sent to Amazon automatically to change the status of the product.
Update with an import file
Use column header FulfilledBy. Enter value Amazon or Merchant. Upload file through Bulk
Update page. Please note that this will only update the status in Sellercloud. It will not update Amazon with the changed status.
Understanding Fulfilled by Inconsistent
This feature shows you items where the fulfilled status in Sellercloud does not match Amazon. This can lead to overselling and other inventory issues. In Sellercloud, items with a Fulfilled y Inconsistent status can be viewed from the Company details page.
- Companies > Company > Fulfilled by Inconsistent. The grid shows all inventory with the status Fulfilled by Inconsistent.
- Click Select Action > Export to Excel to create a spreadsheet of the information in the grid.