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Amazon launched its FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) service in 2006, which allowed sellers to use the vast resources of Amazon and leave all shipping, packaging, and customer support to Amazon. The broad network of fulfillment centers has enabled Amazon to launch another Multi-Channel FBA service.
Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) is a Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program. Amazon uses MCF to store the products in fulfillment centers. Amazon picks, packs, and delivers goods to your customers when they sell them on Amazon, on your site, or another e-commerce site.
Use MCF tools in your seller account to create MCF shipping to Amazon, fill out Amazon’s orders, and manage customer service for those orders. Also, you can boost your business with Multi-Channel Fulfillment and successfully manage orders during peak seasons.
Sellers may also provide one- and two-day delivery options for customers. Manage FBA shipments gently. You may opt to have returns shipped to you, or Amazon fulfillment centers with MCF and returned to your stock. You can request that your inventory be returned to you at any time.
Using MCF, you can instantly fulfill your Amazon FBA inventory. You can list your multi-channel fulfillment inventory without having it available for sale on Amazon if you have a seller account.
This article explains Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment, including its benefits, pros and cons, and how it works.
What is Amazon Multi-channel Fulfillment?
Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) fulfills orders for your sales channels at the same delivery speed as Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). (Source: Amazon)
Amazon multi-channel fulfillment is short, “Amazon MCF.” Amazon multi-channel fulfillment (MCF) is a service provided by Amazon. MCF is an excellent fulfillment service to sellers outside the marketplace. You can deliver all or part of your inventory to MCF if you sell in your online store or another marketplace, such as eBay or Etsy. Amazon will take care of delivery, packaging, and handling.
How Does Multi-channel Fulfillment (MCF) Work?
Send your entire or some inventory directly to an Amazon fulfillment center. When customers order products from your website or another third-party sales channel (eBay, Shopify, etc.), Amazon picks your order and then directly ships them to your customers after packaging.
You can choose MCF with either FBA or without it. Suppose you use MCF with FBA to sell on Amazon. In that case, your available inventory will fulfill both Amazon customers and customers from your other selling platforms (other e-commerce sites).
Amazon Multi-channel Fulfillment vs Amazon FBA (MCF vs FBA)
Standard Amazon FBA is a fulfillment service to marketplace sellers. It is similar to Amazon MCF in that it is delivered and stored entirely in Amazon fulfillment centers. Additionally, the shipping price depends on product weight and size.
There are a few differences between Amazon MCF vs. FBA.
- MCF not only processes orders from Amazon but also from (eBay, Shopify, etc.). In contrast, FBA processes only Amazon FBA orders.
- In MCF, there is no compulsion to sell products on Amazon. In contrast, FBA requires Amazon FBA listings.
- MCF promotes chances of more sales and easy order delivery as comparatively FBA.
Amazon Multi-channel Fulfillment offers 3 types of shipping options:
- Standard shipping (3–5 business days);
- Expedited shipping (2 days);
- Priority shipping (next day).
Secondly, the price or fee for the service. MCF fees are generally higher than FBA fees.
Below is an example of MCF fees for Standard shipping of 3 to 5 business days.
Suppose, the FBA fee for 1 small standard unit is $5.85. So, MCF’s price is surely higher than FBA’s. Although, if you ship 5+ units in one MCF order, the multi-channel fulfillment will cost more reasonably — $2.20 per item. (Source: Sellercentral Amazon)
Benefits of Amazon Multi-channel Fulfillment (MCF)
With Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment, sellers can store inventory in Amazon’s fulfillment centers and process orders from Amazon and other sales channels. Businesses can effectively manage and scale their operations due to streamlined logistics, reduced shipping times and costs, and improved customer experience.
Having a resource like Amazon Multi-channel FBA in your inventory is great. Here’s what makes it unique and attractive to sellers.
Amazon Multi-channel Fulfillment: Pros
Convenience and Total Inventory Control
The biggest advantage of Multi-channel fulfillment is convenience, flexibility, and control over full inventory management. Because everything is delivered and handled from the same warehouse, keeping up-to-date stock numbers across all your sales channels is always easy. This helps prevent over-selling and maintain good customer service efficiency.
Fees
Specific fees are another beneficial part of MCF. How much it would cost you to use the service with fee tables for each item is easy to measure. Plus, when you order in the MCF program, Amazon gives you real-time estimates of the fees.
Performance and Reliability
Amazon’s performance and reliability are other major benefits of MCF. Amazon currently has more than 75 distribution centers in the US and more than 125,000 full-time workers. With numbers like that, you know that Amazon has all the resources to deliver quickly and efficiently on your order.
Trustworthy
It’s not to suggest that the multi-channel fulfillment of Amazon is completely trustworthy. Still, it’s a service you can rely on a wide scale. And by leaving Amazon to handle the fulfillment of your order, you can redirect your efforts to develop a new marketing strategy, scaling up your business or elsewhere.
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Amazon Multi-channel Fulfillment: Cons
MCF also has some disadvantages, with all of its convenience. And before choosing to use the service, each seller must consider taking these cons too.
High Fee
Multi-channel fulfillment service charges are higher than FBA fees and cover a relatively small number of services. Returns are not part of MCF. You need to manually process returns in your account as a seller.
Branding issues
Another drawback is the issue of branding. Amazon has no brand-specific packaging to sell. Therefore, unless you can ship the goods without packaging, they’ll be delivered in boxes with the Amazon logo. And it can cause a great deal of confusion for the customers who ordered an item in your online store but received a package from Amazon instead.
Limited Shipping options
Alternatively, you may limit your shipping choices by using MCF to deliver orders from other marketplaces. For example, by using Amazon’s multi-channel fulfillment, you won’t be able to add Walmart’s 2-day quick delivery on your items.
Long-term storage fees
While the rates for MCF are very high and clear, they can be less if you consider the long-term storage payments for Amazon. This only applies to items stored in Amazon centers for more than 365 days. Still, multi-channel fulfillment may not be good for merchants who sell slow-moving products.
Product categories restrictions
One limitation that could apply to some sellers is limitations on some categories of products that Amazon finds unsafe, such as lithium batteries or aerosols. There are some additional measures that sellers need to follow while starting an Amazon online business with these items through MCF, including higher storage fees.
Like any new service you think of bringing into your business, multi-channel fulfillment by Amazon needs a lot of tough work and calculations. As a seller, consider all the pros and cons before you agree to go with MCF.
We hope that this article helps you with making the right decision.
Conclusion
Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) helps you grow your business. It allows you access to Amazon’s world-class fulfillment service, operational expertise, and trusted shipping options for all your orders from wherever they are placed — both on Amazon and other sales channels.
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