One of the reasons why Amazon created FBA was to help small businesses benefit from Amazon’s top-notch customer service and unrivaled fulfillment capabilities. 

The in-house fulfillment service by Amazon is geared towards the benefit of both sellers and shoppers alike.  

What is Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA)? 

Fulfillment is defined as an eCommerce business process that involves warehousing, packing, shipping, and processing of orders, including returns and exchanges. This is an instantaneous process that begins after an online shopper checks out the purchased item. 

The tech giant offers several options for fulfillment regarding your Amazon business, including Amazon FBA. This fulfillment method is popular among most successful sellers because it allows convenient management of customer orders, timely sending of shipments, and easy access to product information. 

Therefore, making restocking, promotion, inventory management, and sales of your items much more manageable than other fulfillment methods. All you have to do is ensure that your inventory items reach Amazon’s fulfillment centers, and Amazon will perform the rest of the fulfillment process. 

To simplify the concept of FBA, it means that the seller finds items to sell on the platform, and Amazon will take care of the picking, packing, and shipping of orders on behalf of the seller.

Using FBA the Right Way 

Fulfillment by Amazon will only work if you use it properly. It would serve you best to know the right way of utilizing this kind of service at the onset of your business.

Think Big, Start Small

In the Amazon business, endurance is one of the keys to success. In order to endure costly expenses, penalties, and abrupt market changes, you should avoid selling everything you see from suppliers’ catalogs.

Start small and try to limit your portfolio to in-demand items. Remember that the more items you sell online, the higher the storage and warehousing fees.

Try AI repricing today to maximize your profit and avoid Amazon price wars.

No set-up is required, simply turn repricing on and let the AI do all the work

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Perform Product Research

Try to consider a few items first before you ramp up your inventory. The thorough product research will help you narrow down your options. 

With the help of a product research tool, you will get to know the highly competitive niches and profitable items while avoiding stagnant and/or dead inventory. 

Product research is never random; there are checklists to consider. Here are some of the essential things you should check when performing Amazon product research:

• There is a sufficient profit margin.
• There is moderate competition. 
• There is a good demand for the item.
• The item is licensed and not restricted
• The item must not be bulky and complex.
• The item belongs to a popular market niche.

Trial The Use Of Amazon Ads 

Amazon Ads is a convenient way of increasing product and brand visibility in the Amazon marketplace. If you are considering advertising campaigns for your Amazon business, it is best to check the onsite ads on Amazon.

Amazon advertising solutions such as Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands offer a quick and effective way of advertising on the Amazon website. Amazon Sponsored Products promote individual product listings, while Amazon Sponsored helps showcase brands and product catalogs through creative ads appearing in relevant shopping results. 

Leveraging Influencers

If you wish to increase brand or product visibility, you can also contact Amazon Influencers for help. Amazon influencers are those individuals or groups who have established themselves as an authority in a particular niche or social media platform. Thus, giving them the ability to influence the purchasing behavior of consumers. 

One of the things to consider when venturing into an influencer marketing campaign is the conversion rate. Accordingly, a commonly agreed-upon good conversion is 3% and above. Amazon FBA sellers should focus on the following campaign goals when leveraging Amazon influencers: 

• Increase brand awareness
• Increase of engagement
• Lead generation
• Website traffic boost

Get More Reviews

Reviews or feedback from Amazon shoppers play a crucial role in your Amazon business. It is estimated that around 93% of shoppers read reviews before purchasing online. Hence, you should strive to obtain more positive reviews for your Amazon FBA listings. 

Amazon product reviews can help increase consumer trust and interaction. Amazon reviews from previous shoppers who have bought, tested, and examined the products can increase the likelihood of prospective customers purchasing your product.

Besides influencing consumers’ purchasing behavior, Amazon reviews likewise affect product ranking. The more positive reviews you obtain for your listings, the higher the chance they will appear on top of Amazon search result pages. 

Furthermore, good reviews also affect your Buy Box win rate. Since customer review is one of the factors evaluated by Amazon for awarding the Buy Box, you should always strive to provide the best products and customer service to gain more positive reviews on your listings. 

Offer Competitive Pricing

Apart from checking previous customer reviews, Amazon shoppers also base their purchases on the product price. After they have decided on what item to purchase online, price is a top consideration for shoppers. 

It is a must, therefore, for Amazon FBA sellers to offer competitive prices. In most cases, Amazon sellers provide the best price possible by using AI repricers. Automated repricing can help sellers offer a competitive price based on various market conditions, including competitors’ pricing behavior. 

Use High-Quality Images

Uploading high-quality product images for your listings can help improve the conversion rate of your business. Product images attract shoppers to your listing page. It also allows shoppers to evaluate your product.

The high-quality images you upload, accurate product descriptions, and previous customer reviews can increase the likelihood of your FBA products being purchased by Amazon shoppers. 

How to Start Fulfillment By Amazon in 2023

Starting your own FBA business need not be complicated. Here are some steps to help you begin your Amazon seller journey. 

• Choose a product niche and engage in product research.

• Create an Amazon seller account, and set up FBA. 

• After creating a professional seller account, choose reliable product sources, either locally or overseas.

• Package products for shipment to an Amazon fulfillment center. Make sure that packing and shipping guidelines are followed.

• Create your product listing and establish your brand.

• Optimize your listing and listing price. Make use of Amazon seller tools, including a repricing software, for maximum output. 

Advantages of Amazon Fulfillment Service in 2023

Sellers usually ask what fulfillment by Amazon is and what are the benefits. To answer this for new and would-be Amazon sellers, here are some of the reasons why you should sign up for Fulfillment by Amazon in 2023: 

• Trusted Reputation

One of the reasons why many sellers subscribe to the FBA program is its reputation. You can quickly gain the trust of customers when your products are associated with Amazon FBA, thanks to Amazon’s solid reputation in the industry. 

• Free Delivery Offers

With Amazon FBA, sellers can offer free delivery for customers with Amazon Prime subscriptions. Offering free shipping increases the likelihood of online shoppers choosing your product while decreasing instances of cart abandonment.

• Increase Amazon Buy Box Win Rate

Another known advantage of using fulfillment by Amazon is the increased chances of winning the Amazon Buy Box. It is a known fact among sellers that the Amazon algorithm favors FBA sellers when awarding a spot in the Buy Box. 

• Quick Order Processing

Since Amazon FBA operates on a unique ordering system, it can provide faster processing and dispatching of customer orders. Since Amazon has an established relationship with shipping companies, ordered items are shipped faster.

• Impeccable Customer Service Management

Amazon is known as a leader when it comes to customer service. When enrolled in the Amazon FBA program, you can take advantage of Amazon’s customer service management. The customer service team of Amazon will answer queries concerning items ordered, including questions about refunds and returns. 

• Reduced Overhead Expenses

Fulfillment by Amazon is the best option if you are trying to minimize your expenses. Since you will simply be sending inventory items to Amazon’s fulfillment centers, you will drastically reduce warehouse rental fees, operating expenses, and other overhead costs related to the FBM process.  

• Multi-Channel Fulfillment Center

With multiple fulfillment centers scattered around the globe, shipping can be faster. Handling the shipping of products sold on multiple channels is more convenient with FBA. 

• Low Startup Cost

Even though starting an FBA business with a substantial investment can be advantageous, it is optional. For those with a capital of less than $1000, there is still an opportunity to start your business. You may refer to our guide on How to Start an Amazon FBA Business With Little Money to learn more. 

Disadvantages of Using Fulfillment By Amazon 

• Product Guidelines

One of the observed challenges when dealing with fulfillment by Amazon is the precise product guidelines. Since these guidelines are mandatory, observance of the guidelines can be demanding on some sellers, especially the new ones. 

• Amazon Fees

Amazon FBA costs money. Sellers have to pay fees to use Amazon’s services, such as referral fees, storage fees, and even product return fees. These Amazon FBA fees can be burdensome for sellers.

• Change in Control 

Sending your inventory items to the Amazon warehouse means giving up complete control of your inventory. Amazon will ship and pack the items their way.

• Danger of Returns

The product return policy of Amazon can be detrimental to your business if you frequently experience it. Product return fees can dramatically impact your Amazon business. 

Getting to Know Primary FBA Fees in 2023

Amazon sellers and would-be sellers need to know the primary fees involved in the FBA service. 

• Referral Fees

A referral fee is what Amazon charges for every item sold from your inventory. The fee is taken from the total sale price, and the percentage of the deduction or the referral fee varies depending on the product category. 

• Fulfillment Fees

This refers to the fees Amazon charges per unit. It is a flat fee and is based on the size and weight of the inventory item. 

• Inventory Storage Fees

You will also incur inventory storage fees for the items sent and stored in the fulfillment centers. The storage fees vary depending on the product size tier and the duration of the unit’s stay in the warehouse. 

• Other FBA Fees

Product Return Fees: For items eligible for free returns, especially via Amazon Prime, sellers will be charged for the FBA returns.

Inventory Removal Fees: When removing items from the Amazon warehouse, sellers will incur charges in the form of inventory removal fees.

Amazon Seller Tools for Increased FBA Sales

There are many methods and suggestions concerning increasing your Amazon sales. However, regardless of what approach you follow, you must consider using Amazon seller tools to increase the profitability of your business.

Here are some of the Amazon seller tools you can use to increase FBA sales in 2023.

Amazon Repricer: An Amazon repricer, particularly the more advanced AI repricers like Seller Snap, can help in creating an effective pricing strategy. Repricers will help you avoid Amazon price wars while maintaining a competitive listing price.

Product Research Tools: As emphasized in the preceding paragraphs, product research tools will help you find a product that provides better value for your business. This tool will also help you avoid slow-moving products. 

Amazon FBA Calculator: Another must-use seller tool is the Amazon FBA calculator. With the help of the FBA calculator, you can have insight into the potential revenue and the possible margin impact of an item’s price change. 

Feedback Tools: Reviews or customer feedback matter for Amazon. If you wish to increase store credibility and customer rating, you should approach customer reviews proactively with the help of feedback tools. A feedback tool will automatically send review request emails to Amazon customers. 

What is Fulfillment By Merchant (FBM)? 

The good thing about Amazon is that they allow multiple fulfillment services for third-party merchants. If you need to customize the packaging, you have a very large-scale operation, or the weight and size of your products are large, then Amazon FBM is the best alternative. 

Amazon FBM is a method that gives sellers control over the entire handling and shipping process. This means that sellers will not incur all the fees associated with FBA.

Let Amazon FBA Improve Your Business

Since its inception, numerous online sellers have realized the benefits of Amazon fulfillment to their retail business. Despite having other channels to dispose of their items, Amazon FBA remains the top destination for online sellers.

What attracts sellers to engage in Amazon FBA is the convenience it brings to the table. Instead of focusing on the whole process of picking, packing, and shipping, you have Amazon as your reliable proxy to handle those things for you. 

If you want to stay competitive in the eCommerce industry, Amazon FBA  might be the fulfillment service you need in 2023. 

In this article, we’ll cover a few tips for outsourcing efficiently online with a focus on Amazon and the tried and tested FreeeUp process, that Nathan and I have used for over a decade, to experience a smooth hiring process every single time.

Notes on Outsourcing for Amazon

Amazon is a closed ecosystem – it doesn’t rely on anything outside of itself to run properly. The marketplace was designed this way on purpose. Everything within its systems is focused on and specific to Amazon’s goals and functions, like providing top customer service and the rules and tools that support that. And it’s a really big ecosystem.

So, what does this mean for you as a seller looking to do Amazon outsourcing online?

You need to hone in on freelancers who are supremely familiar with this vast ecosystem. The more niched they are in terms of Amazon tasks, the better.

That being said, if you’re a multi-channel seller, you will also want to find freelancers from your Amazon outsourcing expedition who are familiar with the other platforms you’re using. If you use FBA for products that you sell outside of Amazon, you’ll need Amazon FBA outsourcing to find freelancers with a slight overlap in skills, so that they can coordinate smoothly and still guarantee Amazon-level customer satisfaction. That is one of the keys to outsourcing efficiently for Amazon.

So let’s dive into the actual process.

1.  Identify Tasks to Outsource

The first step to outsourcing efficiently is to be prepared before you begin the actual hiring process. It’s all about knowing exactly what you’re going to hire for, and why.

Pro Tip:  This step is the longest of them all, but don’t rush through it. Pay it due attention as the foundation for every single part of each of the following steps for outsourcing efficiently online.

First, the why.

Ability

If you’re good at absolutely every single task that needs to get done for your Amazon business to run, grow and thrive, then you’re one in a gazillion. Everyone is good at some things, but rarely will you find someone who’s good at everything. Moreover, you want greatness if you want to build and keep a strong business. Finding someone who is great at everything is nearly impossible.

The smart thing to do is to recognize what you are good at, what anyone else working on the business is good at, and then identify the gaps.

Time

You’re probably looking into hiring people right now because you’re doing too many things and you want some time for yourself. Some business owners feel ashamed of this, but it’s not actually a selfish idea. It’s a smart move to give yourself a breather.

As the business owner, you need to value your time because it equates to your health, which equates to your productivity, which then equates to the value that you are bringing to your business. Finally, this equates to the health of your business and its potential for success.

Reviewing your ability, money and time, you will see what is of value to you and your business and get an overview of what tasks you need to outsource. You’ll see and use these three words to keep you focused throughout this process.

Money

It may be the right time for you to outsource tasks, but you may hesitate because of how much you project you’re going to spend. The great thing about outsourcing, including Amazon FBA outsourcing, though, is that it can be done whether you have a large or small hiring budget. So put that fear aside right now.

Looking at it from a different perspective, you need greatness for your business to be great. This means that being willing to properly invest in the different areas of your business is an important part of outsourcing efficiently.

Now on to the actual identification of the tasks you’re going to get off your plate.

Take out a pen and some paper, or open up a spreadsheet if you’re more comfortable taking the digital route. You can use this TATMA Sheet that’s already prepped for this task, you can keep it in Google Docs or download it as a spreadsheet.

Make a List

First, under “Tasks,” list out all of the tasks that are currently being done by you or someone else in your business. Next, add in all other tasks that no one has gotten to yet because everyone’s just too busy.

It may help you to create sub-categories so you can better organize things, especially since there are many moving parts to an Amazon business. Feel free to format your TATMA sheet in whatever way makes sense for you and your business.

If you need some inspiration, here are a few compilations of the most common tasks Amazon businesses can outsource:

• 39 Tasks a Virtual Assistant for Amazon Can Do
• 17 Key Freelancers for Amazon to Outsource Your Private Label Business
• 10 Key Freelancers for Amazon Business Tasks
• 10 E-Commerce Freelancers You Need on Your Amazon Team
• What You Should Outsource to a VA for Amazon Tasks
• 100 Most Common Tasks to Outsource eBook

Rate the Different Tasks

Ability

Now it’s time to mark the tasks that you and everyone else are least qualified for. Be objective. Never mind the why and just be honest about what’s getting done well and what isn’t. Under “Ability” next to each task, rate from 1-10 how they are being performed based on the results you’re getting. For tasks that no one’s doing or that are getting done sporadically at best, use 0.

Time

Next, move to the “Time” column. Rate each task from 1-10 based on how much time it requires. A score of 1 means it’s too time-intensive and 10 means it’s perfectly under control. Think about what doing this task also means for other tasks that need to get done, and lower or raise your rating based on how much it affects their proper accomplishment.

Money

The “Money” column is a bit more complex and will take a few rounds of rating. First, rate each task from 1-10 based on how much you’re currently spending to get it done. This could be how much you pay someone, or how much of your own time it eats up. 10 is a little, 1 is a lot. Use 0 for tasks that have no time being spent, because they’re not getting done. Don’t worry about exact numbers, an estimated average will do.

Pro Tip:  If you haven’t got a dollar figure for your own time, use this formula to get an idea of what each of your hours is worth. Remember to use the same base time period for both money and time, whether it’s a week, a month, or a year:

($ you want to earn) / (# of hours you want to spend working)

Second, think about the value that each task brings to your business. Lower the rating for tasks that are truly value-adding; i.e. where the investment is worth it. Lower the rating as well for tasks that are getting very little or no budget because there’s not enough time for them. Don’t forget to include the tasks you’ve given a 0 to.

Third, raise the score for tasks that require little investment because they’re not important. Then lower the scores for tasks that a lot of money goes into but aren’t yielding great results.

Choose Tasks to Outsource

Here you need to filter each column in turn so that the data gets sorted from lowest to highest to see what tasks need immediate attention.

Ability

Look at each task with a rating of 1 and think about how vital it is. In this column, highlight in red the most crucial ones, then in orange the important ones, then in yellow the ones that aren’t urgent. Then look at each task with a rating of 0 and do the same.

Time

Look at each task with a rating of 1 and think about how much value it brings to the business. This is in terms of how vital the task itself is and in terms of your time. Tasks that are vital but don’t require you to get them done get highlighted in red in this column. Then go on to orange and yellow as their importance decreases and/or they’re more worth your time.

Money

Look at each task with a rating of 1. These are the truly value-adding tasks that you’ve invested well in. Mark these red in the Money column because you can either outsource them to lower your costs or to get better results. As above, use orange for the next ones, 2s and possibly 3s, then yellow for others that are still valuable but not supremely so.

Now, look at each task with a rating of 10. This is where your budget is being wasted. Make notes in the Action column next to each task for what can be moved from these tasks up to the priority tasks. Start with the 1s depending on what needs more investment and move down as far as your budget allows.

Pro Tip:  If you’re not sure of the going rates for outsourcing to freelancers, do some research on all the red tasks before working out your new task-level budgets.

Out of all these tasks, single out the ones that show the most red over the three columns. These are the ones that you will consider for immediate outsourcing. To see these more clearly, you can filter them again so they’re ranked accordingly from the top down.

The key to outsourcing efficiently in this step is to start with just one task. Don’t be rattled by all the red marks. Yes, you need to do something about these tasks. But not just yet. Take it slow or you’ll get overwhelmed.

Write out a Task Description

Starting with the most urgent task you’ve chosen, write out a clear and detailed description of what the task entails. Keep in mind:

• Your budget based on industry standards for freelancers
• Where you are willing to hire from – an important part of outsourcing efficiently online is being open to hires from anywhere in the world, but knowing what factors, whether personal or business, will limit your choices

2.  Identify the Right Freelancers

This step is all about knowing exactly who you need to hire to get your chosen task done properly.

Pro Tip:  If you’ve paid close attention to your TATMA sheet, this part will be a breeze because you’ll be super focused and can now fix your attention on spotting the right fit and looking for red flags. If not, you’ll have to be extra careful, and know that you’re already running the high risk of not being able to either identify the right freelancer or know when an applicant isn’t that person.

Remove Preconceptions

You may have managed your store all on your own in the beginning. By now, you may have already hired some people to help you manage your hundreds and thousands of products. And you may have hired them based on how you handled the various tasks for your business.

Don’t let this history mislead you into thinking that one person can do a bunch of different tasks – or that this situation is a good idea. And don’t stick to hiring people because they’re like you. Another key to outsourcing efficiently is diversifying. Here’s why:

• Hiring different people for different tasks means that you can find highly experienced people for each area.
• If anything happens and your working relationship must come to an end, you can more quickly and easily replace that person.
• Hiring people with different skills and talents from yours means that you can add the value that this brings to your business.

Basic Freelancer Traits

In this step, remember that you are looking for someone who:

• Has specific skills in that task area of the vast Amazon marketplace that you don’t
• Has the experience to get things done right
• Charges a rate that fits within your budget without compromising on quality
• Can give you the hours you need consistently put in for the task

From all the above information, create a persona of the ideal person to handle the task.

3.  Find the Right Platform

One thing that makes outsourcing efficiently easy is all the available hiring platforms online. You will definitely need to use one to quickly find the right fit without spending too much money. The key here is to find a platform that you can rely on to help you find the people you need without further draining your time, money and energy.

The platform you want will have the four Ps:

Pools the best – only true professionals with the right skills and experience for the task you are hiring for and great attitudes towards work, you and the business.

Provides support – quality assistance throughout the entire hiring process regardless of how much you’re spending with them.

People first – both you and the person you’re hiring are well cared for, ensuring mutual satisfaction that encourages the best results all around.

PDQ connections – gets you in touch with the right freelancers ASAP so you can get to work.

4.  Interview Candidates

If you’ve been careful and attentive thus far, you’ll have no trouble at all spotting the perfect candidate for your task. You know what you want done and who you need to do it. This will already help you a great deal by narrowing down applicants to a handful of the best prospects on paper.

The last step before making a selection is to interview these finalists to confirm that they are the right fit. The focus here is to know without a doubt whether they:

• Are who they say and who you think they are
• Are passionate about your business and how they will be contributing to it

To achieve the above, you will need to prepare pointed questions about each candidate’s skills, attitude, and experience, and share some information about your business goals and how everything is run.

Set Clear Expectations

To conduct a proper interview, you also need to know if they will fit in with your business culture. To determine if they can work well with you and/or other people you’ve already hired, you need to make your expectations regarding the task very clear.

Create a document similar to your task description that outlines any important personal preferences you have for everything related to the task. This includes:

• What times you prefer it to be done and how many hours and days a week you need it to be worked on
• Your policies on vacation days and emergency leaves
• What kind of reporting you expect
• When you want to meet for updates and how that will go
• How independently you want them to work on the task
• How much initiative you want them to take with creating systems and processes or making suggestions to increase efficiency
• How and when you want them to communicate with you
• What your pet peeves are

Share that document with each freelancer after you’ve confirmed their hard skills so you can check on their soft skills as the final test of their suitability.

5.  Hire and Onboard

After these interviews, you should be able to tell which among the finalists is the absolute best of the best. All you need to do now is make the hire official and set the freelancer to work.

Proper Onboarding

You aren’t going to need to train this freelancer because you’ve already hired someone who’s skilled and experienced – that is if you didn’t lowball the applicants. You still need to properly introduce them to your business, however, so that they can get integrated. This is important because they need to get settled in to be able to perform at their peak.

Introduce the new hire to anyone they’ll be working with and give them time and space to get to know each other. Monitor how they interact over the next few weeks and be available to help smooth out any rough spots.

You’ve already introduced the new hire to your task systems and expectations, so now you’ll observe as they get hands-on with them. Make sure to let them know that you’re available for any questions they have, or point them to the manager you’ve delegated this area to.

Rinse and Repeat

For the first few weeks that someone works on a task, you need to be keenly observant. You’ll want to look out for any red flags that you weren’t able to spot early on. Decide whether they can be improved or if you’ve made a mistake hiring this person. If the former, give honest feedback and work with them. If the latter, be frank and let them go before they can cause more damage. Then go back to the first step and see where you went wrong so you can hire right this time.

As you get the first task down and everything’s running smoothly, you can move on to another high priority task on your TATMA sheet. Remember to take your time so you don’t miss anything important that will cause trouble for you later on, after you’ve invested time, money and energy into hiring someone. I assure you, you won’t make things better by hiring for more than one task at a time.

Hire slowly, being careful along the way and the chances are great that you’ll make only good hires every time. In the long run, this will save you so much time, money and effort, and prevent the damaging effects that bad hires will have on your business.

——

About the Author:

Connor Gillivan is the CMO and Owner of EcomBalance.com and OutsourceSchool.com. He has 10+ years of experience as an entrepreneur, is an active investor, and writes on his own personal blog, ConnorGillivan.com. He lives in Denver, CO.

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