Resolving Amazon FC Processing Challenges

🚨 With #Amazon Fulfillment Centres reaching peak capacity and #BlackFriday, #CyberMonday, and #Christmas just around the corner, getting your inventory into Amazon is as important as ever! 🚨 One thread I've seen here is that it's just bad planning. "Send it earlier in Q3 and trade off the storage fees for increased sell through." But let’s consider another approach: 👉 Make it easier for Amazon to receive your goods 👈 Think about it: imagine working on Amazon's inbound team, processing millions of units daily across locations. To get your stock processed smoothly and avoid delays, make the #receiving process as simple as possible for Amazon. Here’s how: 1️⃣ Understand Amazon's Inbound Process – Take advantage of Amazon’s webinars, training, and FC tours. Knowing how things work on their side will pay off. 2️⃣ Label Your Boxes and Pallets Correctly – This is crucial! As I saw first hand on the tours, even single SKU pallets can get broken down, with each carton scanned through the PID tunnel individually. Incorrect or missing barcodes mean delays, shortages, and a trip to "Problem Solve" resulting in - you guessed it - shortages and charges. 3️⃣ Educate Your Warehouse Team – Explain why these details matter to Amazon. They’ll need to invest extra time, effort, and materials, but it’s worth it to streamline inbound processing and reduce shortage rates. 4️⃣ Bit of a strange one - if your products obviously require prep (Glass, liquids) try splitting pallets into prep and non-prep products. Prep products are *almost always* manually received as they are unable to go through the conveyor tunnels. A mixed pallet will mean all your goods (inc non prep) get manually received. This is a toss up on cost and practicality - if you have half a pallet of each type, then I'd just put it all together. But if you have 2 pallets of mixed, try to put all the glass etc. on one and keep the other pallet dry. 5️⃣Invest in Technology – EDI/API and WMS integration can make your team’s work easier and the process smoother for Amazon. 6️⃣Monitor Your Impact – Keep an eye on shortages and fees to track the difference these adjustments make. The Good news: ✅ 1P Vendors typically have an easier time getting shipments into FCs since it’s Amazon-initiated. Saying that you can still get refusals - just remember to request window #extensions and ask your carrier to reuse the booking reference to avoid late bookings. ✅ #LicensePlateReceive and #SSCCs can significantly reduce shortages and improve inbound speed. This can save you thousands. ✅ For warehouse optimisation, consider solutions like KhooCommerce (yes, shameless plug here 😉). ✅ If you use a hybrid approach, stay flexible with FBA by splitting shipments, reducing quantities, and making smaller shipments. Small parcel shipments often get through faster than pallets or full truckloads. How are you coping with the FC overstock and capacity issues? Let me know in the comments! 

Is your Amazon ASIN trapped in FC transfer limbo? You picture success on Amazon: inventory looks strong, your ASINs are listed as in-stock, but conversions are stalled. Why? Many sellers find that even when Amazon shows units available, inventory is stuck as 'future viable,' not actually ready for Prime shipping. That leads to longer delivery windows. According to Amazon data, missing that 2-day Prime promise can slash your buy box wins and tank your conversion rate for weeks. Imagine hundreds or thousands of units lost in transit limbo—just out of reach during major promos or sales spikes. The impact is silent, but massive. Marketplace research shows that FC transfer bottlenecks can cause up to a 30% dip in session-to-order conversions. It means your bestsellers aren’t out-of-stock, but they aren’t Prime-eligible either. This is something you’ll rarely catch on your surface-level KPIs. Many teams focus on ACoS and ad spend, missing the hidden cracks in their inventory that sabotage every other growth lever. If you’re not mapping FC transfer lags against sales declines, you’re missing a critical threat—Prime-fulfillable is the only metric that truly drives sustained Amazon growth. Here’s how to stay ahead: Make reviewing 'future' vs. 'Prime' units part of your weekly KPI review at the ASIN level. Use your Inventory Performance Index (IPI) dashboards, and implement an Emplicit Plan of Action that escalates stranded or slow-moving SKUs directly to your Amazon support team. At Emplicit, we set up tailored, automated inventory trackers that spot these gaps, trigger exception alerts, and help you escalate concerns before conversions drop. We also bake FC lag analysis right into your sales and advertising strategy, making sure every lever is aligned. Recently, we helped a brand reverse a 27% drop in Prime-powered conversions in just 14 days. They credited our inventory tracker and Action Plan with turning weeks of confusion into record Q2 sales. Their words: 'Emplicit’s approach was the difference-maker.' Amazon is only ramping up its push for Prime-first sellers. If you want to lead the pack—and make every launch, promo, or holiday blast count—Prime-fulfillable needs to be your non-negotiable. Fix these leaks now and get ready for a stronger Q3 and Q4. How do you surface the hidden inventory gaps that stifle your Amazon KPIs?

Imagine inventory units stuck in limbo—unsellable, unmovable, and bleeding revenue daily. That’s precisely what happened to one brand that came to us. This brand came to Online Seller Solutions and had $146,000 worth of inventory stranded in Amazon’s fulfillment centers for months of hitting dead ends investing in: ❌ Multiple agencies ❌ Repeated escalations - Seller Support, internal Amazon teams, you name it ❌ Even an Amazon account manager (SAS rep) ... Yet, the issue remained: ✔️ Their listing was active ✔️ The inventory had no actual issues ❌ But it was stuck in "Reserved - FC Processing" ❌ Revenue was bleeding daily, and nobody could pinpoint the actual root cause It turns out that Amazon quarantined the inventory, later reactivated it… and forgot to remove the quarantine flag. What does that mean? Quarantine inventory is stock that Amazon isolates due to safety or quality concerns. It may be held for testing or inspection or even permanently blocked if deemed unfit for sale. In this case? There was nothing wrong with the inventory—Amazon just forgot to release it. How We Solved It 👉 First, we diagnosed the issue and knew exactly where to look.  (Sellers often don’t realize their inventory is in quarantine because it’s not a common status.) 👉 We identified the right internal team  (which most don’t even know exists). 👉 Once we reached them, the issue was resolved— (months of frustration, fixed in a week.) How Did They Find Us? Usually, someone tells them we’re the people you go to when nobody else has the answer. 😏 Cases like this remind us that sometimes it’s not about trying harder but knowing where to knock. What’s the Lesson Here? Your inventory could be stuck right now, and you might not even know it. Amazon quarantines inventory for various reasons—compliance reviews, damage checks, and sometimes, simply by mistake. If your units are stuck in Reserved - FC Processing for too long, something is wrong. Have you ever been stuck in Amazon limbo with no clear way out? 👇 #AmazonSellers #CaseStudy #AmazonFBA #SellerSupport