The volumes of merchandise to be handled within Amazon FBA warehouses have increased considerably over the past 2 years. In fact, due to the pandemic, e-commerce sales have increased exponentially, putting pressure on logistics around the world.
To continue to offer consistently excellent service, Amazon has decided to introduce a volume limit for the products that each seller can stock in their warehouses. As of 2021, sellers who have their items deposited in Amazon warehouses in Italy, the UK, Germany, France, Spain and the Netherlands no longer enjoy unlimited space.
This decision was also taken following Brexit, which caused the redistribution in European warehouses of the goods of sellers who did not comply with the new laws of the United Kingdom (the opening of a different VAT number in the UK).
The storage limit is based on the volume of the goods (quantified in cubic meters) and is set for each type of storage. You can check current and potential Amazon FBA storage thresholds by expanding the storage volume indicator located in the inventory performance dashboard and in the shipping queue section.
Individual sellers have a storage limit of 0.28 cubic meters and are not subject to volume increases.
Professional sellers of standard-sized, oversized, apparel, and footwear items do not have a storage limit as long as they maintain an Amazon FBA inventory performance index within the required threshold in one of two scoring checks.
New sellers that have been active for less than 26 weeks, and those without sufficient sales data to calculate an inventory performance index during both scoring weeks, will have no storage limits.
For professional sellers who have a storage limit set (for whatever reason) they will still have a minimum of 0.71 cubic feet for standard size, oversized, clothing or footwear inventory.
Professional account holders can monitor the inventory performance index in the inventory performance dashboard and get more information on this page.
The seller's storage limit on Amazon FBA is calculated based on sales volume, inventory performance index history, and the available capacity of the fulfillment center. Sellers with higher than average inventory performance will have a higher storage limit.
It should be noted that Amazon also takes into account recent and seasonal sales volume for the previous year.
The storage limit applies to standard size, oversized, clothing and footwear. To check which type of storage the products belong to and the volume occupied, sellers can consult the storage duration pages with Fulfillment by Amazon and the inventory duration report.
If there is no inventory type in the inventory level indicator in the seller's Seller Central, it means that it is unlimited for that category.
The storage limits of dangerous goods (flammable products and aerosols) are managed separately from other types of storage. Sellers can consult the Dangerous Goods Identification Guide.
Amazon determines the type of inventory storage of the seller based on the characteristics of the product. The storage type is not a seller-editable category.
Under the FBA inventory storage limit policy, the seller will not be able to send a new shipment to Amazon FBA for a particular type of storage until its inventory level is within the allowable limit.
If the seller sends more inventory than your stock limit allows, the excess inventory can be rejected by the fulfillment center. For more information, see Shipping and Tracking Requirements.
If your existing Amazon FBA inventory exceeds the storage limit for any type of product on any day of the month, you will be charged an overage inventory storage fee. For more information, visit the help page regarding the excess inventory storage fee.
To reduce the volume of products stocked in Amazon FBA warehouses, sellers can create a removal order to request inventory return.
For more information, sellers can refer to the Introduction to Inventory Removal. When submitting a removal order, the changes will only be visible in the inventory level indicator after your request has moved to pending status, usually the next day.
Restocking Limits and Storage Limits are two different capacity limits currently applied to FBA accounts. They are used to manage the volume of new inventory and the use of physical space in fulfillment centers.
The replenishment limits determine the number of inventory units that the seller can send to fulfillment centers and are set based on the type of storage. They are established based on sales history and forecasts. The replenishment limits apply regardless of the inventory performance index.
If the inventory performance index score that the seller has submitted to Amazon FBA is greater than 500, they will have no storage limit in addition to the replenishment limit. The storage limit represents the total amount of inventory that can be stored in Amazon fulfillment centers, and can be monitored through the appropriate indicators.
Almost all professional sellers have an inventory performance index. Some have not yet been assigned because Amazon does not have enough data to calculate an index, after receiving it for the first time, the seller will have no limit for two full storage limit cycles.
To view the date on which the seller received the first Amazon FBA performance index, they can click on show details in the inventory performance index bar. The performance index history will be displayed and above the graph you will be able to see the date of the first inventory performance index.
While the removal of ASIN limits has been welcomed, Amazon's new replenishment limits are challenging sellers, especially sellers with bulky products and seasonal items. Furthermore, this change was introduced without notice during the so-called Prime Day.
While replenishment limits vary based on sales history, this change causes complications for sellers with seasonal items. Previous data shows no need for higher quantities, this means Amazon FBA sellers may not be able to send as much inventory as they expect to sell.
In addition to this, there is also the situation of continuous pressure on the supply chain from China. It is impossible to modify orders that have already been shipped and production times can take several months. We had previously covered the subject with an article last May (you can read the article by clicking here).
Many Amazon FBA sellers expressed frustration in the forum, noting that early communication about this change would give them time to organize. Some were seriously concerned about the impact this change would have on product launch plans.
European consumers are very cautious when it comes to buying products online, they prefer to shop on popular e-commerce platforms that are able to guarantee them the best possible shopping experience. Amazon is the most popular marketplace in Europe mainly because it puts the customer first.
It can be difficult for small brands to succeed on platforms like these. Before starting, it is best to carry out a market survey, to understand the potential of the products to be sold on Amazon, defining a pricing and marketing strategy.
If you have a low budget and a brand not yet known in Europe, Amazon is certainly one of the best solutions to start selling your products and thus position the brand. It is up to the seller to decide whether to delegate the logistics to the platform (Amazon FBA) or manage it independently (Amazon FBM).
Tools like Noziroh Hub are essential for selling products in Europe and managing the seller's profile on Amazon. The risks of failure are around the corner in e-commerce and it is not easy to position products online. The choice of the partner is essential to sell on Amazon successfully.
With Noziroh Hub it is possible to manage all the marketing phases by counting on a single reference: market research, opening / management of stores in the main western e-commerce platforms, goods storage, Amazon FBA and FBM logistics management, order fulfillment, opening / management social, packaging and private label profiles.
Author: Alessandro Ave
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