Amazon’s Seller Fulfilled Prime: what it entails and how it works

Have you started selling through Amazon? Then the Seller Fulfilled Prime option may be a good choice to scale up.

Seller Fulfilled Prime involves shipping your products from your own storage/warehouse to customers. However, you must then meet some set requirements.

In this article, we are going to discuss what exactly Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime is, how to get started with it and what are the requirements you need to meet as a seller.

What is Seller Fulfilled Prime?

Seller Fulfilled Prime, or (SFP), is Amazon’s Prime program where, as a seller, you remain responsible for the order fulfillment of products yourself while enjoying the benefits of Amazon Prime.

The SFP program was launched in 2015 as an extension of the FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) program. This enables sellers to take advantage of the benefits of the Prime program without having to outsource order fulfillment.

There are only 3 possible ways to take advantage of Prime benefits as a seller on Amazon. You can sign yourself up for the SFP or FBA program, or Amazon should approach you to become a supplier.

Why use the Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime Program?

If you use the Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime program, your products will be displayed with a Prime badge. Prime-badged products are always delivered within two business days at no additional cost to Prime members.

With as many as 200 million Prime members worldwide, you reach a larger audience in one fell swoop, which in all likelihood will increase sales volumes.

Another way to get a Prime badge is through Fulfillment by Amazon. However, you then hand over the entire order fulfillment process to Amazon.

Therefore, for vendors who already have a large logistics process in place, using the SFP program may be a better choice. This gives you complete control over the fulfillment process.

How does Seller Fulfilled Prime work?

With Seller Fulfilled Prime, you as a seller remain responsible for the entire order fulfillment process while your products on Amazon are tagged with a Prime badge.

This shows customers that you meet Amazon’s requirements for quality and speed of shipping and service.

Once you sign yourself up for the SFP program as a vendor, you need to make sure you have a tight and structured logistics process in place. Usually, automation is a must for speed of shipment.

Among other things, SFP sellers must offer customers free shipping and returns, and ensure that products always arrive at the customer’s doorstep within two business days.

How can you get started selling on Amazon through Seller Fulfilled Prime?

Signing up for the Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime program is relatively easy. However, there are some requirements you must meet as a seller (more on this later).

Below, we’ll walk you through the process of signing up so you know exactly how to get started selling products through the Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime program.

1. Register yourself as a seller on Amazon

The first step to becoming an SFP seller is to sign up as a seller on Amazon. For this, you need to have a valid Chamber of Commerce registration with a valid Chamber of Commerce number and VAT number.

Once you have entered all the data, it can take about two days for the data to be validated. Therefore, start creating a professional sales account on Amazon in time.

2. Sign up for the SFP program.

Once a sales account is created on Amazon, it is possible to sign up for the Seller Fulfilled Prime program in the Seller Central dashboard.

At the time of writing, Amazon is not accepting any new SFP registrations. However, it is possible to put yourself on the waiting list. Amazon will then contact you as soon as new subscriptions are accepted again.

3. Determine which of your products you want to sell through SFP

Once you have signed yourself up as a Seller Fulfilled Prime seller, you can choose which products you will sell through SFP from your product catalog. You do this easily through Seller Central.

By specifying which products you will sell through SFP, Amazon knows which products should come with a Prime badge. This indicates that the products in question will be delivered within two business days and meet Amazon’s quality standards.

4. Provide a structured logistics process

If you sign yourself up for the Seller Fulfilled Prime program, you must meet Amazon’s strict, stated requirements regarding speed and quality of shipping and service.

Large companies usually already have a large logistics process in place, making SFP the ideal choice to compete in Amazon’s Prime program. In doing so, such companies often like to stay in touch with customers themselves.

For small businesses, it is often more difficult to set up such a logistics operation. They may choose to hire outside logistics parties to automate the logistics process.

The SFP program puts additional pressure on product sales, but will bring many benefits in the case of a well-organized logistics process.

What are the requirements for Seller Fulfilled Prime?

The Seller Fulfilled Prime program offers many benefits for sellers on Amazon. However, you will have to meet some strict requirements to take advantage of its benefits.

Indeed, as a vendor, you will need to be able to create and maintain an infrastructure that allows you to meet delivery times and quality of shipment, among other requirements. Here are some of the key requirements in advance:

Use shipping methods that support weekend delivery and pickup, such as Saturday or Sunday.

• Offers high-quality shipping options;
• Ensure that more than 99% of orders are delivered on time;
• Deliver orders using supported carriers from Seller Fulfilled Prime;
• Ensure delivery promises are met within 1 to 2 days;
• Keep the cancellation rate below 0.5%;
• Use Amazon Buy Shipping Services for at least 99% of orders;
• Provide national supply coverage for all standard-sized products;
• Agree to Amazon’s return policy as a seller;
• Make sure all customer service inquiries are handled by Amazon.

Order Processing

With respect to order fulfillment, as an SFP salesperson you will need to look for ways to automate product management, inventory management and order fulfillment.

In addition, you will need to have a watertight pick-and-pack system to meet shipping quality requirements.

Hiring or hiring is often a requirement to meet such demands. In fact, increasing sales volumes will put additional strain on your business, but with an organized system, this will only bring benefits.

Shipping

For shipping, there are various requirements based on delivery times and quality of shipping. For example, as a Seller Fulfilled Prime, you must be able to meet delivery times of up to 2 days.

In addition to delivery time, you should offer Prime members free shipping and returns. Therefore, it may be wise to store your inventory as close to the customer as possible to reduce shipping costs.

This will require multiple warehouses with structured and automated systems. For some parties, therefore, it may be wise to outsource this part to an external logistics partner.

Service

With Seller Fulfilled Prime, you as a seller remain responsible for a piece of service. After all, you have to be able to offer Prime members the service that Amazon promises to these customers.

As an SFP vendor, one of the requirements is that you issue refunds to the customer within two business days of a return request. In doing so, you are also responsible for return shipping costs.

However, customer questions, complaints or comments are handled by Amazon. This ensures that customers are always helped in the same way in case of complaints, questions or comments.

Sign up soon, you won’t regret it. Receive weekly blogs in your inbox

E-mail *

Submit

Keep in mind the trial period

Before you register yourself as a Seller Fulfilled Prime seller, you will first have to go through a trial period. In this you will have to show that you can meet the set delivery times and additional customer satisfaction. This is not a bad thing, as it increases your position in the Amazon Buy box.

During the trial period, products will not yet carry a Prime badge. You only get this one when you have proven that you can meet Amazon’s requirements.

Once you successfully complete the trial period, you will automatically become a Seller Fulfilled Prime seller. Registered products will therefore automatically receive a Prime badge.

Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime Program in the Netherlands

As a Dutch seller, it is unfortunately not possible at this time to sign up for the Seller Fulfilled Prime Program. However, if you still want to be able to take advantage of the benefits of the Prime program, you will want to take a look at the Fulfillment by Amazon option.

With Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), you outsource the entire process of order fulfillment and customer service to Amazon. As a result, both you and Amazon know that your products meet the requirements for delivery time and quality.

In return, your products will bear the Prime badge. This will increase sales volumes, allowing you to sell more on Amazon.

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) as an alternative to SFP

In addition to the Seller Fulfilled Prime program, as a seller it is also possible to opt for Fulfillment by Amazon. In that case, you ship your inventory to an Amazon department store where the entire order fulfillment process will take place.

The advantage of this is that you can be sure that all orders are processed and shipped correctly. As a seller, you then no longer have to worry about whether you are complying.

If you want to start selling internationally on Amazon, FBA is a good choice, as local customer service is then also taken over by Amazon. Learn more about Fulfillment by Amazon to make a good consideration between FBA and SFP.

Sell products through multiple marketplaces with e-tailize

Unfortunately, it is not (yet) possible to sign up for Seller Fulfilled Prime as a Dutch seller. Once this does become a possibility, e-tailize’s platform can help you fully automate and centralize product management, inventory management and order processing.

Thanks to more than 100 integrations, you can link all known marketplaces in one clear dashboard. Allows you to manage all products across sales channels from one place and fully automated.

Also use the innovative advertize and analyze module to create and manage ads for all marketplaces simultaneously. Receive helpful insights about ad performance and adjust as needed.

With e-tailize, selling products through various sales channels (such as bol.com, Shopify, Amazon and many more) becomes child’s play. Automation capabilities allow you to grow your business in a short period of time.