Navigating the New FBA Capacity Limits: Tips for Amazon Sellers

As you may already know, Amazon has recently enforced new FBA capacity limits on their fulfillment centers. These limits are designed to help ensure that Amazon can continue providing high-quality fulfillment services to its customers while accommodating the growing number of sellers on its platform.

In a previous blog, we listed the quantity limitations that sellers should know before using Amazon Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). In addition, we talked about the four new FBA capacity management features.

1. A single, month-long FBA capacity limit.
2. Estimated capacity limits to help sellers plan three months in advance.
3. The opportunity to request a higher limit.
4. FBA capacity limits in volume to better reflect capacity usage.

Today, we will focus on what sellers can do now that the new FBA capacity limits have been enforced for professional accounts at least 39 weeks old. We have put together some steps that sellers can take to help mitigate the impact of these new FBA capacity limits:

1. Diversify Your Sales Channels: One of the best ways to reduce your reliance on FBA and avoid capacity limits is to diversify your sales channels. Consider listing your products on other marketplaces like eBay, Walmart, or Shopify. This will help you reach new customers while reducing your risk of being affected by capacity limits.

2. Optimize Your Inventory Management: Optimizing your inventory management is another way to reduce your risk of being impacted by capacity limits. This means accurately forecasting demand and ensuring you have enough inventory to meet that demand. Also, consider using Amazon’s inventory management tools to help you track your inventory levels and avoid stockouts.

3. Use Multi-Channel Fulfillment: Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) program allows you to fulfill orders from other sales channels using your FBA inventory. This means that you can still benefit from the fast shipping and reliable service provided by FBA, even if you’re selling on other marketplaces.

4. Consider Fulfilling Orders Yourself: If you cannot use FBA due to capacity limits, consider fulfilling orders yourself. This will require more work on your part, but it will give you more control over the fulfillment process and allow you to continue selling your products.

5. Monitor Your Inventory Performance: Finally, monitoring your inventory performance regularly is essential to ensure that you’re meeting Amazon’s standards. This includes keeping your inventory in stock and avoiding overstocking, which can lead to long-term storage fees. By maintaining good inventory performance, you’ll be less likely to be impacted by capacity limits.

In conclusion, while the new FBA capacity limits may present some challenges for sellers, there are still plenty of ways to continue growing your business on Amazon. By diversifying your sales channels, optimizing your inventory management, using MCF, fulfilling orders yourself, and monitoring your inventory performance, you can minimize the impact of these new capacity limits and continue selling successfully on Amazon.