FBA, or Fulfillment by Amazon, is a logistics service where Amazon stores, picks, packs, ships, and handles customer service for products sold by third-party sellers. Sellers send inventory to Amazon fulfilment centres, and Amazon manages order processing through its warehouse and delivery network. FBA can help ecommerce businesses offer faster delivery, Prime eligibility, returns support, and scalable fulfilment, but sellers must follow Amazon’s labelling, packaging, shipment creation, inventory, and storage requirements.
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a program where sellers send inventory to Amazon’s fulfillment centers, and Amazon handles storage, picking, packing, shipping, returns, and customer service for orders placed on the Amazon marketplace.
How FBA Works
- Seller ships inventory to Amazon’s designated fulfillment centers
- Amazon stores the goods and lists them as Prime-eligible
- When an order is placed, Amazon picks, packs, and ships the goods
- Amazon handles returns and customer service for FBA orders
FBA Logistics Considerations
- Shipments must comply with Amazon’s packaging, labeling, and prep requirements
- Each product requires an FNSKU barcode in addition to the manufacturer barcode
- Amazon charges storage fees per cubic foot per month and fulfillment fees per unit
- FBA import shipments must clear customs before delivery to Amazon’s FC
For related logistics context, see glossary entries on Ecommerce Fulfillment, SKU, FBA ID, and Ship From Address (Amazon).
