Amazon is one of the leading seller marketplaces in the world, but navigating the backend of Amazon for small businesses can be intimidating. For sellers, Amazon uses two interfaces, Vendor Central and Seller Central. The platform has first-party sellers who sell their products through Vendor Central. Selling your goods in bulk to Amazon, which resells them to customers, puts you in the role of a supplier. Vendor Central registration is by invitation only.
Suppose your business is noticing Shortage Claims on your Amazon business account. In that case, this means that Amazon is implying that you, the brand/manufacturer, did not deliver an adequate amount of units to Amazon during the Purchase Order stage. Purchase Quantity Variance (PQV) shortage claims are another term for this.
Unfortunately, reviewing the Amazon process to verify how packages are being fulfilled at a Fulfillment Center is inaccessible. By evaluating your procedures, you can minimize the likelihood of Shortage Claims.
Below is a simple checklist to ensure your business stays on track:
- Conduct an audit of the Vendor Central catalog to verify that it has the correct UPC and GTINs.
- Ensure that your products have a GTIN Gold Listing.
- If the employee checking in your shipment at the facility cannot verify the carton label, they will still be able to validate it by scanning the GTIN.
- Confirm that your facilities apply SSCC labels or Amazon carton labels to all containers.
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- Disregard if shipments are on a Pallet Ordering Vendor Code.
- Though tedious and maybe redundant, neglecting this step may be why your business has shortage claims. To help avoid this, remember to adhere container labels to each package; tags are on a plain surface (no corners or seams) with no bubbles, and your printing label ink will not fade or smudge.
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- Request the Pallet Ordering Vendor Code – by doing this, Amazon will place orders in bulk, allowing you only to need one label on a pallet instead of multiple.
- Avoid multiple barcodes on shipments.
- Provide SSCC numbers at the package level hierarchy in EDI856 under the MAN*GM section if you manage PO processes via EDI.
- Dispute the Shortage Claims after 30 days of receiving notice; Amazon may have tallied additional units, thereby decreasing the number of Shortage Claims.
- Ensure the ASN is complete before items arrive at the Amazon Fulfillment Center.
- The number of discrepancies between POs and what you send should be noted and corrected in the ASN.
- Utilize standard case containers and pallets over mixed cases/pallets.
- Refrain from mixing SKUs in the same case/pallet.
Navigating the terms and agreements as a business on Amazon can be tricky to work through. Companies such as SalesDuo, work to help propel businesses to success by offering powerful insights on ways to optimize a business’s presence through account management, operations, creative services, and finance.
With the Amazon marketplace showing no signs of slowing down, with the market totaling 50% of total sales, it’s important to scout out the best ways to beat your competition and optimize profits.
