The availability of products is essential when it is sold in Amazon . If an article is not physically available in Amazon stores, customers will not be able to buy it. This can have a significant impact on sales, since it takes between 3 and 4 days to recover income after a product has been exhausted for 1 day.
In addition, the lack of stock also negatively affects the classification of sales in the online market, because Amazon will prioritize the products available and with reliable stock of stocks.
In this post, we share 10 proven ways to optimize the availability of your products at Amazon Central Vendor:
Index
- 1. Monitor and compare the availability performance of your products
- 2. Prioritize the assignment of inventory to Amazon
- 3. Check and correct catalog errors
- 4. Avoid provisional storage by your carrier
- 5. Request the expansion of delivery windows
- 6. Automates your order management
- 7. Improves the accuracy of demand forecast
- 8. Take advantage of Amazon's promotional events
- 9. Consider the direct replenishment to the compliance center
- 10. Implement proactive alerts of out of stock
- Conclusion
1. Monitor and compare the availability performance of your products
The first thing you should do is review the Availability performance at Amazon. To do this, enter Central vendor and click reports »Retail analysis» Inventory . Analyze three key availability metrics:
- Products without stocks susceptible to supply : It measures the times that a product is shown as not available for purchase on the product details page when it can be supplied from a 1p seller.
- Supplier confirmation rate : measures the percentage of volume you have accepted as a supplier of a purchase order. Amazon usually points to a provider confirmation rate of at least 80%.
- Fill rate received : Measures the number of units received for an order compared to the confirmed amount. You must maintain this metric about 100%.
2. Prioritize the assignment of inventory to Amazon
It is essential that your teams prioritize Amazon's orders. This implies educating your business to treat Amazon differently compared to other offline retailers . This is because a situation of exhaustion of stock is not the same in Amazon as in a physical store.
3. Check and correct catalog errors
Errors in the catalog, such as problems with the number of units per pallet or the number of units per box, can quickly lead to availability problems. Work with your media agency, the suppliers manager or the AVS brand specialist to perform periodic catalog reviews every month .
4. Avoid provisional storage by your carrier
Many carriers will consolidate your orders with others during high season to save costs. This can cause your products to be delivered outside the delivery period specified by PO, which could cause stock exhaustion . Monitor the anticipated shipping notices (ASN) of your carrier and edit it on the Amazon delivery window requirements.
5. Request the expansion of delivery windows
Check your supplier delivery period in central vendor and, if you cannot deliver the orders within the established period, request an extension to your suppliers manager.
6. Automates your order management
Receiving Amazon weekly orders can be very laborious, especially in peak quarter. Consider automating the request confirmation process to make it more efficient .
7. Improves the accuracy of demand forecast
Work in close collaboration with your suppliers manager or AVS brand specialist to improve the accuracy of sales forecasts. This will help you better plan your inventory and reduce exhausted .
8. Take advantage of Amazon's promotional events
Events such as Prime Day or Black Friday are opportunities to increase your sales, but also represent risks of exhaustion. Carefully plan your inventory and coordinate with Amazon to guarantee availability .
9. Consider the direct replenishment to the compliance center
Instead of sending all orders to your warehouse and then to Amazon, evaluate the possibility of direct reproving to Amazon's compliance centers . This can improve delivery times and availability.
10. Implement proactive alerts of out of stock
Configure alerts that let you know when inventory levels are close to exhausting . This will give you time to react and avoid exhausted products.
Conclusion
Maintaining a high availability of products at Amazon is essential to maximize your sales and avoid losing visibility in search results. Following these 10 steps you can optimize your availability performance and achieve success at Amazon Vendor Central. And, in addition, I would recommend that you explore the hybrid models , to be able to have a "backup" stock in each of your ASIN
