eCommerce companies that sell on Amazon must always know where their products are. Are they in the warehouse, waiting to be shipped? Have they arrived at the customer? Are there any bottlenecks causing delays? Your Amazon FBA reserved inventory is a critical metric for tracking this. Understanding and tracking reserved inventory are vital for fine-tuning your company strategy.
Reserved inventory on Amazon refers to products in a seller's inventory that are unavailable for fulfillment due to a recent customer order, pending investigation, or other reason. While still available for purchase, delivery of these items may be delayed.
When you list an item for sale on Amazon, the company reserves a certain amount of inventory as part of its quality assurance process. This ensures customers don't receive damaged or incorrectly described items. The amount reserved depends on your seller account and product.
When Amazon processes customer orders, the system first checks if the reserved units can fill the order. If not, it looks to merchant-fulfilled and FBA inventory to find more stock. If none is available, the order goes into an unfulfilled state and becomes a backorder until more stock is available.
If you notice a discrepancy between what was sold and what arrived in your Amazon shipment, check the Reserved Item report to see how much was selected from your account. Knowing this information helps with successfully managing your Amazon Marketplace inventory.
Related: Popular Amazon Inventory Management Tools You Can Use For eCommerce Business
There are several potential reasons your inventory may be placed on reserve, including:
When a customer orders an item, it's added to your Amazon FBA reserved inventory. You cannot resell these units since they have already been purchased. An "out of stock" message will appear if you've depleted that item's stock until you replenish it.
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) Transfer is a service where Amazon stores and ships items from sellers. This FC (facilities center) transfer process helps businesses save time and focus on other priorities.
The status of an FC transfer can include:
Related: Amazon Carrier Facility Updates: Know What They Mean!
Here's how to check your Amazon reserved inventory:
Understanding Amazon FBA reserved inventory is key for business success. With the right strategies, you can effectively manage products and grow your business. Consider learning more FBA topics like order fulfillment automation. For assistance fulfilling Amazon orders efficiently, contact experts like Simpl. Now that you know how to manage reserved items, use this knowledge to build a thriving Amazon business!
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Amazon reserved inventory refers to products that are unavailable for fulfillment due to a recent order, pending investigation, or other reason. While still purchasable, delivery may be delayed.
Amazon reserves inventory as part of its quality assurance process to prevent sending damaged/incorrect items to customers. The amount depends on your seller account and product.
Reasons can include recent customer orders that take units off the market, FC transfers still in progress, or shipping delays on Amazon's end.
In your Seller Central account, go to Inventory > Reserved Quantity > View Details. You can also click on SKUs to see specifics.
FC transfer is Amazon storing/shipping seller items. Statuses include Pick-Up Requested, In Transit, Received at Warehouse, Ready For Sale, and Shipping Delay.
Enable auto-restock features to automatically send more units from reserved inventory when supply runs low due to demand.
Consider learning other FBA topics like automation and efficient order fulfillment. Experts like Simpl Fulfillment can also help manage the process.