There is no doubt that eCommerce is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. In most countries, eCommerce is on the top 10 fastest growing industries. This trend is expected to continue as people value the convenience, delivery time, selection, and time saved when their favourite product is at their door without any hassles.
When it comes to key channels, there are some that stand out. Amazon is known to be the most customer centric company in the world – it is literally a goal that is prioritized. Amazon is the top e-commerce channel in many countries and customers love, trust and believe in what it stands for.
In the current day and age, if your brand is not optimized or even offered on Amazon, you are missing out! More than 90 percent of product searches start on amazon – it is literally a search engine itself.
When it comes to Amazon, there are two main ways to offer your products: FBM and FBA.
FBM: You simply list your products on Amazon and once an order comes in, you are responsible for shipping the product to the customer and insuring it is delivered before or on the expected date. The carrier you use must be selected accordingly. When the customer needs any post purchase support, you are expected to communicate with the customer and resolve their concerns. This is ideal for smaller brands who don’t process many orders.
FBA: You send your products to an Amazon Fulfillment centre. You can opt for Small-parcel, Less-than-truckload, or Full truck load shipments. Once Amazon receives your products, they are checked in and available for sale online. When orders are placed by customers, Amazon will ship the product to the customer directly and you will receive the sale. Amazon also handles all customer inquires and return/refund requests. As long as your products are sent in and in-stock with Amazon, the sales are rolling in.
In both of the Amazon models, you are still responsible for your own infrastructure and any supporting functions you need. Most reputable Amazon FBA sellers have warehouses, staff, and even company assets such as trucks to ship to Amazon and providing the best services to their clients.
Lanstar is equipped to provide our customers with eCommerce and logistics infrastructure. We offer our brand partners and clients full service channel management for amazon.ca. Our procurement department places orders at the right time, at the correct quantities, and we handle importing, logistics and distribution of your product on time to the fulfillment centre. Most shipments to our warehouse are processed and on a truck to the fulfilment centre in as little as 2 business days