The Logistics of Logistics The New Reality of Amazon FBA with Ephraim Ausch
Ephraim Ausch and Joe Lynch discuss the new reality of Amazon FBA, also known as Fulfillment by Amazon. Ephraim is an expert in Amazon FBA and he works closely with Amazon sellers.
About Ephraim AuschEphraim Ausch is the Chief Logistics Officer at Tactical Logistics, an end-to-end provider of supply chain logistics services. Ephram is a trusted advisor to retailers, ecommerce companies, and Amazon sellers. Ephram is an expert in Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). Ephraim started his career at a bulk candy company that had retail locations in New York. Ephraim was given to opportunity to relaunch candy sales on Amazon and grew sales to over $1,000,000 per year. After his success with selling candy on Amazon, Ephraim launched a gift basket company and became a successful Amazon seller. Ephraim started and developed Tactical's Amazon FBA business into one of Tactical's biggest customer segments.
About Tactical Logistic SolutionsTactical is an end-to-end provider of supply chain logistics that specializes in freight forwarding, warehousing, distribution, and domestic transportation. Tactical boasts end-to-end logistics designed for maximum flexibility and cost efficiency, allowing clients to outsource all or specific parts of their supply chain requirements. Tactical has a highly experienced management team with decades of collective experience in the logistics industry, and the latest technology necessary to streamline the process. Tactical has warehouses in both Chino, California, and Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Key Takeaways: The New Reality of Amazon FBA- The COVID 19 pandemic resulted in a huge sales surge at Amazon. The sales increase pushed Amazon's operational capacity and capability. To manage the increased volumes, Amazon has implemented higher standards for Amazon sellers.
- The new reality of Amazon FBA:
- Carriers picking up and delivering to Amazon locations will now be measured on a carrier performance scorecard. The new performance metrics were a result of carriers arriving late and or missing appointments. If carriers fail to meet Amazon standards, they will be unable to schedule appointments with Amazon facilities.
- The Inventory Performance Index, (IPI) is a score Amazon assesses to determine how well sellers are managing their inventory. Sellers can score between 0 and 1000 on the IPI. If sellers fall below 500 (previously 350) on the IPI, they will have unit restrictions imposed on them. Amazon raised the bar and the IPI because their warehouses are overflowing with goods. There are four factors that affect a sellers IPI:
- Reducing excess inventory to increase profitability
- Increasing sell-through to balance your inventory weeks of cover
- Ensuring inventory is buyable by fixing listings that are stranded
- Increasing sales by keeping popular items in stock
- Amazon is limiting the amount of inventory that sellers can send to Amazon warehouses. The unit restrictions on sellers are in response to Amazon's warehouses having too much inventory.
White Paper: Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) Workflow SOP
5 Biggest Mistakes Sellers Make When Using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) with Ephraim Ausch
The Logistics of Logistics Podcast