FBA Shipments – Non-Partnered vs Partnered Carriers


Overview

Amazon gives you the option to ship to FBA using their partnered carrier program (PCP). However, you can also ship using a non-partnered account, like FedEx, UPS, or another carrier of your choice. You might want to use those carriers if their rates are more cost-effective than Amazon’s partnered program or if you’re shipping hazmat* products that are ineligible for the Amazon program.

Check out this complete tutorial with all the guided steps to use Sellercloud’s FBA Inbound Shipment wizard to create small parcel non-partnered FBA inbound shipments:

*Amazon restricts most materials classified as hazardous by the US Department of Transportation from being sent to Amazon fulfillment centers.
Read the FBA Hazardous Material Policy to learn which materials are prohibited or permitted and to learn more about Amazon’s policy regarding FBA and “hazmat products.”

Create Non-Partnered FBA Shipments

  1. In Sellercloud, search by FBA Inbound Shipment or go to Inventory > Manage Inventory > FBA Inbound Shipments > Create New FBA Inbound Shipment.
  2. In the FBA Inbound Shipment wizard, complete the necessary steps and proceed to the Shipping tab.
  3. In the Amazon Shipment Details panel, click the truck icon.Select shipping method
  4. In the Select Shipping Method box, select the Non-partnered option and click Next.Non-partnered option
  5. Choose the Carrier Name, Service, and Packaging Type > click Generate Carrier Labels.
    Generating a label in Sellercloud will distribute the total label cost among all shipped units for highly accurate cost reporting.Generate carrier labels
  6. After Amazon generates a tracking number for your package, click Submit tracking to Amazon.Submit tracking to Amazon
    Note if you are shipping multiple packages, Amazon will issue separate tracking numbers for each package.
  7. You can print your box and carrier labels in the corresponding panels of the Shipping tab.Print box and carrier labels
  8. Click the green flag button to finish the shipment creation process.
For more information on creating FBA inbound shipments, check out this detailed description of all fields and actions on each of the FBA inbound shipment creation wizard’s tabs: FBA Inbound Shipments Workflow. From there, you can jump to details about each of the wizard’s six tabs.

Create Amazon-Partnered FBA Shipments

  1. In Sellercloud, search by FBA Inbound Shipment or go to Inventory > Manage Inventory > FBA Inbound Shipments > Create New FBA Inbound Shipment.
  2. In the FBA Inbound Shipment wizard, complete the necessary steps and proceed to the Shipping tab.
  3. In the Amazon Shipment Details panel, click the truck icon.
  4. In the Select Shipping Method box, select the Amazon-partnered option and click Request Estimate.FBA shipment Amazon-partnered
  5. Review and confirm the shipping estimate.
  6. Click the green flag button to finish the shipment creation process.

Although Amazon gives you the option to ship to FBA using their UPS account, you can ship using a non-partnered account, such as UPS or another carrier.
Perhaps you would use your preferred carriers if their rates are more cost-effective than the Amazon partnered carrier program, or if you’re shipping hazmat* products that aren’t eligible for that program.

*Amazon restricts most materials classified as hazardous by the US Department of Transportation from being sent to Amazon fulfillment centers.
Read the FBA Hazardous Material Policy to learn which materials are prohibited or permitted and to learn more about Amazon’s policy regarding FBA and “hazmat products.”

 

To create an inbound FBA shipment using a non-partnered carrier:

  1. Create the shipment and follow all steps outlined here until you get to the “Shipping Labels and Box Content section.”
  2. Select Manage Shipping Boxes from the Action Menu > Go.
  3. Select a shipment from the dropdown.
  4. Add box weight and dimensions to all boxes. This is required to make the API call even
    though you are not shipping through Amazon and do not need a shipping estimate.
  •  If you are sending each SKU in a separate box; meaning, all units of product x in one box, check the One SKU Per box only box. A box will be automatically generated for each item in the shipment. You will not be able to add more boxes.
  • Note: Do not confuse this option with the similar One SKU Per Box option on Seller Central,
    which is a box tag to tell Amazon that there is only one item (single or multiple) in the box.
  1. The next step satisfies Amazon’s requirement to provide accurate box contents information on the packing slip. (Ensure that the Client Setting FBA Inbound Shipment Use Unique Label Request is not enabled.)
    1. Select Manage Box Contents from the action menu > Go.
    2. Select a package.
    3. Enter the unit count for every SKU in each box. Add contents to all the boxes in the
      shipment. You can also import a file to upload contents.
    4.  Save and repeat for all boxes in the shipment.
    5. Select next shipment and repeat.
    6. Based on the box content selected at the beginning of the shipment, press the
      action to:

      1. Save and Upload to Amazon – Sends an API call to Amazon with box
        contents. For example, this tells Amazon that Box 1 contains item ABC x 20.
        The shipping label identifies the box with its box number.
      2. Save and Download Feed – Downloads a file for uploading on Seller
        Central.
      3. Save and Download 2D BarCode – The barcode sticker should be placed on
        the package. Read more about 2D barcodes
  2. Wait several minutes for Amazon to process the information, then return to SellerCloud’s
    Manage Shipping Boxes page.
  3. Select package from the dropdown.
  4. Select Shipping type – Small Package.
  5. Check the box Use Non-Partnered Carrier. The page will refresh and a dropdown
    appears to choose a carrier. Options are USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL Express, and Other.
  6. Generate a shipping label. This is done through any external shipping software or
    UPS.com directly, for example.
  7. Copy and paste tracking numbers into the fields for tracking > press Update to save the
    information.
  8. Open the Action menu and select Submit Tracking to Amazon > Go.
  9. Open the Action menu and select Print Box Labels > Go. This will print a box label to
    identify the box (with box contents) to Amazon.
  10. Open the Action menu and select Complete Shipment > Go. This will open a page to
    mark the shipment as shipped and move the inventory to the interim warehouse.

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