There are some exciting updates around the Amazon Remote Fulfillment with FBA Auto Enrollment in NARF (North America Remote Fulfillment) program. Before we get into the details, you might be wondering, “What is Amazon Remote Fulfillment?” Amazon Remote Fulfillment is a Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service that is an option for Amazon sellers to create offers on Amazon Canada and Amazon Mexico using their Amazon US FBA inventory. This program is a simple way to reach Amazon customers across North America without requiring to have a physical presence and inventory warehoused in each country. Amazon customers benefit from Amazon Remote Fulfillment because they get access to a wider range of products to choose from. Amazon announced in May 2022 that US sellers would be automatically opted in to this program between July 1st - September 15th, unless opting out of the program. This post will cover more details on the Remote Fulfillment with FBA program including more on the auto enrollment, benefits, costs and considerations for utilizing the North America fulfillment program.
Remote Fulfillment With FBA
Remote fulfillment with FBA allows sellers to sell products in Canada and Mexico by fulfilling the orders with inventory that is placed in Amazon’s US fulfillment centers. Offers are created in the Amazon Canada and Amazon Mexico marketplaces, and Amazon uses the US based inventory to fulfill orders. Amazon Canada and Amazon Mexico prime customers receive free shipping for these orders. Remote Fulfillment with FBA is also sometimes referred to as North America Remote Fulfillment (NARF). The only difference is that NARF is specifically referring to the United States, Canada, and Mexico, where Remote Fulfillment with FBA will be for the global expansion as Amazon rolls out the program throughout other regions.
Automatic Enrollment to Remote Fulfillment With FBA
Amazon sellers in May 2022 received an update from Amazon with a subject, “You’ll soon be enrolled in Remote Fulfillment with FBA /您即将加入亚马逊物流远程配送计划”, which notified sellers will be enrolled in the program between July 1 and September 15, unless opted out. If sellers are ready to start using Remote Fulfillment with FBA, they can enroll immediately and not have to wait for the auto enrollment period. Sellers that do not want to enroll in this program have the option to opt-out by navigating to the North American Remote Fulfillment page and unselecting Canada and Mexico. Failing to opt-out will allow Amazon to build out US listings and offers on the Canada and Mexico marketplaces.
Benefits of Amazon Remote Fulfillment
Sellers might be asking, “Should I enroll in Amazon Remote Fulfillment/NARF?”. This section will review some of the benefits for enrolling in the program. The greatest advantage of this option is that it allows sellers to easily reach Amazon customers in Canada and Mexico. Sellers that have considered selling on Amazon Canada or Mexico before but have not gone forward yet, this is an easy way to test the market to see if there is any demand for the product. Amazon handles many of the key tasks required for selling abroad.
Product Listing Creation - Listing and offer creation is handled by Amazon through the synchronization with the Build International Listings tool.
Warehousing, Shipping, Returns and Fulfillment - These inventory management tasks are taken care of by Amazon using inventory currently stored in Amazon’s US warehouses. Amazon Prime customers will receive free shipping and estimated 5-9 day shipping for Mexico and 7-12 day shipping for Canada.
Pricing and Exchange Rates - US prices are synchronized to Canada or Mexico, or both, and are adjusted for estimated differences in fulfillment fees, referral fees, surcharges, exchange rates, and costs that you may incur when converting proceeds back to US dollars.
Import Duties and Fees - Amazon customers that make the purchase are responsible for the costs associated with the import duties and fees with each purchase
Costs and Considerations for Amazon Remote Fulfillment
The customer reach and operational benefits of Amazon Remote Fulfillment need to be weighed against the costs and other considerations before proceeding.
Program Fees - Sellers need to consider the FBA fees for using Remote Fulfillment, which have a different fee structure than a traditional US FBA purchase. Remote fulfillment with FBA fees generally are adjusted on an annual basis and a new change is set to go into effect June 30, 2022. It is important to analyze at an ASIN level the profitability of each product to ensure adequate profitability.
Product Eligibility - Not all products are eligible to be a part of the Amazon Remote Fulfillment program. Products must be enabled for FBA in the US with valid offers in Canada and Mexico and meet all trade compliance and destination-country conditions. Restricted, prohibited, and dangerous goods are not eligible to be fulfilled to Canada or Mexico.
Off Amazon Distribution Agreements - If sellers have territory specific agreements with distribution of products, sellers may need to opt out of the Canada and Mexico territories to ensure there is no violation of distribution agreements.
Translation - Selling on a global perspective requires local consideration. Words in one language do not translate exactly to the meaning of another language, which may cause confusion or customer dissatisfaction. Amazon does offer a marketplace for translation service for localized product listings.
Customer Service - Sellers are still required to handle customer service through Buyer-Seller messaging. The FBA program does offer most customer service inquiries but there are times where sellers need to message buyers. Language barriers are hurdles that need to be overcome when selling to other countries.
Amazon Remote Fulfillment with FBA is a great opportunity for sellers to reach customers in Canada and Mexico. The ease of listing creation and the operational services provided by Amazon make it easy for sellers to operationally make selling in other countries an option. The benefits of this program must be weighed against the costs and risks to see if it is a worthwhile program. If you have any questions or interest in the program, reach out to Goat Consulting and we can assist in strategizing if this worthwhile and implement the program if you wish to pursue it.