Fulfillment by Amazon: A Deep Dive into Amazon’s Global Shipping Network

“You Sell It, We Ship It.”

That’s the tagline and the foundation of the Fulfillment by Amazon program. Amazon has been strategically expanding its fulfillment footprint by building fulfillment centers (FCs) around the country in populated regions, bringing products closer to customers with the goal of drastically reducing fulfillment costs.

Less ground between product and customers = lower transportation cost

The structure of the program is simple; retailers opt in to the FBA program and store products in Amazon’s network of FCs. When a product is ordered, Amazon picks, packages and ships the item to its final destination, and handles customer service on your behalf.

1. Sellers send products to Amazon. You send your products – new or used – to Amazon’s FCs.
2. Amazon stores the products. Amazon intakes, catalogs and stores your products safely in its network of FCs.
3. Customers order the products. Customers order your products on Amazon.com or other sales channels registered with Amazon’s fulfillment program.
4. Amazon fulfills the product order. Amazon fulfills the order on your behalf, picking, packaging and shipping it to its final destination.
5. Customer Service. Amazon’s world-class customer service team takes responsibility for all customer service related issues – including inquiries, refunds, returns and more.