By Ruth Richter • May 19, 2017
Undoubtedly, Amazon is the King of Sales on the Internet. If you’re ready to increase your eCommerce exposure by listing your products with the world’s largest retailer—or if you already have and are struggling to keep up—you should learn about the integration options you have between Sage 100 & Amazon.
Find out how your business can streamline the Amazon experience as you handle your own shipping, customer service, and inventory storage. Get your questions answered about launching your products onto Amazon and your integration options between Sage 100 & Amazon by contacting Ruth Richter at ROI Consulting at 402-934-2223, ext. 1.
How Does the Self-Fulfillment Process Work with Amazon?
For companies that want increased online exposure while maintaining full control over pricing, inventory, shipping, and customer service, Fulfillment By Merchant (FBM) is the Amazon service to choose.
With FBM, you’ll take care of:
- Listing your products on Amazon
- Customer service, including inquiries, returns, etc.
- Shipping charges and logistics per customer (you must meet Amazon’s quick turnarounds)
- Inventory management
What Are the Benefits to FBM?
FBM gives you full control over your pricing, unlike other Amazon seller programs. While this means that you have the potential to earn higher margins on your products, you must also price competitively against Amazon – and their standard pricing is based on a volume model.
You can maintain your customer relationships. If you aren’t yet large enough to require outsourced fulfillment options, you’ll want to make sure you’re interacting regularly with your customers, giving them that small-business personality and service you’re known for. You will, however, have to also handle unhappy customers.
You’ll fully understand shipping costs. This sounds like a drawback, because it means you’ll be spending so much time shipping, but as a smaller business, this is a benefit. When you understand shipping costs, you’ll be better prepared to estimate your true costs when you get larger and need to source more from suppliers.
What Are the Drawbacks to FBM?
Shipping can get out of control quickly. If you sell, small, fragile items, packing will take you a lot of time. If your products cost very little or your pricing competition is very high, your shipping costs can exceed your items costs, scaring away buyers.
You can get lost in the mix. Amazon has very strict requirements for their FBM sellers, requiring them to act like Amazon themselves. When you start out, your Seller Rating will be very low, because that rating is based on customer satisfaction, your overall responsiveness, and your shipment accuracy. Until you get great feedback, your products will be buried on Amazon, which means sales may start slow.
Amazon requires perfection. If you make mistakes while you’re learning, your customers will give you bad reviews. If you have bad reviews, your Seller Rating won’t increase, and Amazon won’t feature your products. In addition, if you don’t meet Amazon’s requirements for 24-hour response time and quick turnarounds (read: you must work weekends and holidays), Amazon may ban you from selling on their site.
Will My Sage 100 & Amazon Systems Work Together with FBM?
Luckily, there is an easier way to meet Amazon’s high standards while maintaining your own sanity: Sage & Amazon integration with your Sage 100 system. When your business has seamless, bi-directional sync between your Amazon cart and your ERP, you’ll be able to work more quickly and efficiently, and you’ll have full, real-time visibility into your sales and inventory performance.
In fact, you’re likely to watch your sales numbers grow quite a bit.
I Don’t Like Shipping. What Are My Alternatives?
If you have a high transaction volume and your packing and shipping time is already out of control, FBM is unlikely to be the right choice for you. In that case, you may want to consider Amazon’s Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) seller program, in which Amazon handles shipping, customer service, and inventory for you. Watch this blog next week for more information on FBA.
Contact the Experts to Learn More About Your Sage 100 & Amazon Integration Options
ROI Consulting welcomes your call and the opportunity to help you launch your products on to Amazon and to solve your software integration challenges. Contact ROI Consulting online, or call us at 402-934-2223, ext. 1.
