Running an Amazon store can be exhausting. There’s always more to learn, always more to do, and never enough time in the day to do it all. When you first start selling on Amazon, you may think that you’re capable of managing your store on your own. But once you start getting into the game, running an Amazon store takes a lot of work — especially if you want to keep growing your brand and remain competitive in the market.
Bulk Uploading
One of the best things about using Amazon FBA as your primary selling platform is that you can ship items directly from your suppliers. Shipping 1,000 units for 10 suppliers takes a lot less time than 1,000 individual shipments from each supplier. However, it’s still not feasible for you to upload each shipment individually. Using an inventory management system makes managing multiple shipments seamless; simply send all of your supplier invoices through one central database and let them worry about getting them onto Amazon’s system. This means that when something does go wrong (items lost en route, incorrect tracking numbers), you have a quick way of finding out where they are and contacting suppliers if necessary.
Formatting
Don’t underestimate formatting. If you don’t have a good-looking, well-formatted piece of content, it will be perceived as less valuable and readers will have less confidence that you know what you are talking about. For example, make sure your post looks consistent—don’t start sentences with different styles (for example, writing some sentences in all caps), keep paragraphs short, use lists when appropriate, etc. Grammar and spelling mistakes can ruin an otherwise good piece of writing; never publish anything that isn’t thoroughly checked for grammar errors or poor spelling. Consider enlisting a friend or colleague to proofread your work before it goes live on your site.
Brand Recognition
One of biggest challenges faced by new companies is brand recognition. A study found that 70% of customers are unlikely to purchase a product if it doesn’t have a recognized brand logo. If you use an Amazon store management service in UK, your customers know they can trust your company because you’re using one of the most trusted names in ecommerce. You’ll also enjoy consistent branding across all platforms and additional customer support resources available through their program.
Logistics
You may not know it, but running an e-commerce business involves a lot of behind-the-scenes work. Logistics can be complicated and costly, especially when you consider things like labor and sourcing. A third party logistics firm—or 3PL—can provide these services for you. This can include distribution, fulfillment, packaging/shipping and returns management (among other services). By using a 3PL, you’ll have time to focus on your business and handle customer service issues and marketing initiatives. They handle all of that administrative stuff so you don’t have too. These are big reasons why many large retailers use 3PLs: they’re experts at what they do and they allow merchants to grow quickly while keeping costs down.
Ease of Order Fulfillment
When selling on Amazon, you have no control over when your products are shipped or what courier company is used. Fulfillment services allow you to quickly and efficiently ship products through a courier company of your choice at a designated time of day. So, instead of having your goods be held up by customs, they’ll be stored with a fulfillment center partner until they’re ready for delivery and then delivered promptly at a time that works best for your business. This means more sales-ready inventory available on store shelves at all times.
Prices and Shipping
When it comes to pricing, you’ll have a range of options with your management service, as will your customers. On one end of the spectrum, you could choose an option that gives you full control over how many and which products are featured on your store. This means you can change prices or promotions at any time without consulting a third party—and it also means that shipping will be 100% up to you. On top of that, there is no minimum number of items sold; if no sales happen for months on end, it won’t cost you anything.
Integration with Seller Central
Amazon has a lot of information on its sellers. If you’re selling on multiple channels and keeping inventory in several warehouses, it might be worthwhile to outsource some management tasks like payment processing and order fulfillment. Many third-party services integrate with your Seller Central account, meaning that all of your orders can be processed through a single system—and automatically routed for shipping. Additionally, many services allow for repricing or inventory management features so you don’t need to keep track of prices or restock orders individually. If you manage an Amazon store yourself, there are plenty of ways you can automate common tasks—but it takes time and effort to set up. Outsourcing allows you to scale without sacrificing efficiency.
