Automating

Amazon Vendor Central

 Contents
Amazon Vendor Central – By 3
Invitation only
Order Types -VC 4

Order Types – DC orders 5

Order Types – DropShip
6
Orders
Order Confirmation – Step 1 7
Routing Request – Step 2 8

Ship Orders – Step 3 9

Invoicing the Orders – Step 4 10
Amazon Chargebacks 11

PO Related Chargebacks 12
Transportation Related
Chargebacks 13

Automating Amazon VC 16
Process
2

EDI Basics
 Amazon Vendor Central – By
Invitation only
Amazon vendor Central is used for Amazon’s
procurement process from its vendors. Unlike Seller
Central, where vendors decide their listing price, in
Vendor Central , Amazon has the full control of the price

Becoming a Vendor Central vendor is by invitation only.

Amazon will select vendors based on the business volume
and invite them to become vendors in the Vendor central
system.

Vendors have to accept the invitation and start using

the vendor central for processing orders.

EDI Basics 3
 Order Types -VC

Amazon VC is used for two different order types

DC Orders – These orders are shipping to Amazon’s

Distribution Center.

Direct Fulfillment Orders – These orders shipping to end

user customer.

Not all vendors will be enrolled for Direct Fulfillment.

Only some vendors will have both DC orders and Direct
Ship orders

EDI Basics 4
 Order Process – DC orders

What to expect in DC Orders. What

vendors need to process these orders
Order Frequency

Amazon generally releases DC orders once in a week.

Typically on Monday Morning

Steps in Order Processing

Below are the steps vendors need to process for fulfilling

Amazon orders.
• Confirm/Reject/Back order the orders
• Create Routing (Carrier) request
• Ship the orders
• Invoice Amazon for the orders

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 Order Process – DropShip Orders

What to expect in DropShip Orders. What

vendors need to process these orders
Order Frequency
• Amazon will release these orders throughout the week
including weekends. As these are back to back orders, when
someone orders in Amazon website, Amazon in turn will place
this order to vendor.
Steps in Order Processing
Below are the steps vendors need to process for fulfilling
Amazon orders.
• Confirm/Reject/Back order the orders
• Create Routing (Carrier) request
• Ship the orders
• Invoice Amazon for the orders

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 Order Confirmation – Step 1

Vendors are expected to say yes or no to

the new orders within 24 hours

Vendors have three options when Amazon sends them the

purchase order.

Accept – This means the items will be shipped as per

delivery date requested by Amazon

Reject – Vendor will not ship the items. May be the items
are not sold anymore

Change – Vendor will ship some of the items but not full.

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 Routing Request – Step 2

Routing Requests are also called as Carrier Requests.

Most of the vendors will get Collect freight orders from
Amazon. That means Amazon pays for the freight.
So, vendor should ask Amazon, how to ship the orders. This
is called Routing Request.

Vendors need to provide the below information so that

Amazon will assign the correct carrier to pick up the
freight.
• Freight Ready Date
• Freight Ready Time
• Number of Packages
• Number of Pallets
• Total weight of the shipment
• Total volume of shipment
• Freight Class Code

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 Ship the orders– Step 3

When Amazon assigns the carrier, they will send routing

confirmation. Freight carrier will come and pick up the
delivery on the appointed date.

As soon as the material is shipped, vendors need to create

shipment confirmations. These shipment confirmations will
have the exact quantity shipped, Carrier tracking number
or Pro number information. It will also have the lot number
and expiration dates in case of perishable items.

Shipment confirmation is to be created in the vendor

central as soon as the material leaves the factory and
before it arrives at Amazon’s warehouses.

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 Invoice the orders– Step 4

Suppliers to create invoice in the vendor central for the

shipments completed.

Invoices can be created by uploading the pdf copies of the

invoices.

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 Amazon Chargebacks

Chargebacks are penalties. Amazon imposes many

penalties to the vendors when they do not meet the
requirements. These penalties will be deducted as credits
from the amount payable to the vendors. Also this will
affect the vendor rating so that new orders may get
reduced.

For a complete list of penalties and chargebacks please

refer the vendor central support pages. The following
information is only indicative and not complete reference
for managing chargebacks and operational performances.

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 PO Related Chargebacks

1. Unconfirmed PO :- Vendors who do not confirm

the purchase orders with in 24 hours may loose
10% of their revenue as this chargeback.
2. Overage PO : - Shipping more than what they
confirmed
3. PO On time :- Excessive backordering and leaving
the orders open by cancel date is also bad. It will
attract chargebacks
4. Rejected PO Rate – Suppliers can not reject more
than 20% of the order volume in a month.
Otherwise they will be hit with this chargeback

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 Transportation Related
Chargebacks
1. No show :- This is for Pre paid shipments. If the
carriers do not create delivery appointment in time
or do not deliver as per appointment, the vendor will
be hit with this chargeback.
2. No Routing : - All collect orders should be approved
by Amazon first for shipment. As Amazon will try to
optimize the freight charges, it will allocate the
carrier based on the charges. So , create the routing
request as mentioned before and wait for Amazon to
assign the carrier. If the vendor ships the orders
without getting prior approval from Amazon, this
penalty will be imposed
3. Packaging and Labelling :- Amazon has detailed
instructions on how different material need to
packaged and labelled. If the vendors do not follow
these instructions, they will get penalty imposed

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 Labelling Related Chargebacks

1. No carton content labels:- Each carton should have

a label pasted on the sides. This label should have
detailed information on what is inside. It should also
have a unique identifier number (SSCC code)
2. Non compliant Barcode: - All bar codes on the label
should be as per Amazon specification. Otherwise,
Amazon will impose this penalty.
3. Oversized and Overweight Cartons:- Each carton
should not weigh more than 50 pounds and larger
than 25 inches on any side. Any cartons with size
more than this should have the team lift label
pasted.
4. Carton content Not accurate :- When the contents
inside the carton does not match the outside label or
the Advance ship notice (ASN) , then this chargeback
will be hit

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 ASN Related Chargebacks

1. ASN On-Time Compliance:- Vendor did not create

the Advance ship notice in time. ASN should be
created within 6 hours the freight leaves the vendor’s
warehouse and 12 hours prior to it reaches Amazon’s
Fulfillment center.
2. ASN Accuracy : The physical contents of the
shipment should match the electronic version of the
data. Mainly PRO number or tracking number should
match to the electronic ASN. In addition, the below
details should be accurate
1. Product identifier code
2. Quantity
3. Unit of Measure
4. UCC code
5. Bar codes of PO

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 Automatic Amazon VC Process

As seen in the previous sections, doing business with

Amazon is like a double edged sword. While it gives lot
of business instantly, it also can have potential loss of
profit, if not done correctly.
Automating the entire process using an EDI system is
a good option to reduce manual work and also reduce
chances of error and chargebacks.
EDI (Electronic Data Integration) is used to automate
the process. Using an EDI system, the below tasks can be
done faster.

1. Order Confirmation
2. Routing Request creation
3. Shipment Confirmation and ASN submission
4. Invoice creation and Invoices submission

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 What to look for in an EDI
System

Selecting the right EDI system is important.

Look for the minimum features below.

1. Cloud based. No installation and maintenance

work .
2. Integrated to accounting systems – Should not
enter the data twice
3. Inventory management features – Inventory
tracking
4. Supports multiple warehouse locations
5. Customer SKU mapping to inhouse SKU
numbers
6. Partial shipping , Partial Invoicing
7. Shipping Labels printing
8. Bulk download, upload in Excel format

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 TPSynergy.com EDI Solutions

TPSynergy.com

11824 Jolly Ville Road , Suite #500

Austin – TX 78759

marketing@tpsynergy.com

Ph : 512-270-4965

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