Send to Amazon simplifies shipments for Fulfillment by Amazon sellers

Illustration of a woman wearing a pink dress holding a clipboard, while a man wearing a grey hat and outfit pushes four boxes on a dolly

Send to Amazon improves shipment efficiency for FBA sellers

The Send to Amazon workflow streamlines the shipping process, helping sellers who use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) or Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) get products to the Amazon fulfillment network more efficiently.

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How to use the Send to Amazon tool
Understand the benefits of Amazon FBA’s shipment-creation workflow, Send to Amazon, and when you should try it.

Since 2014, Buttonsmith, an American manufacturer that makes buttons, magnets, lanyards, t-shirts, and badge reels, has sent shipments of its products to Amazon warehouses a few times a week. That all changed when the Buttonsmith team tried the Send to Amazon shipment creation workflow.

“It has become much easier, much faster, and much more frequent since we started using Send to Amazon because it makes it easier for us to start a shipment, finish it, and get it sent without having to fuss with it,” says Darcy Burner, CEO of Buttonsmith. “It used to be that preparing our shipments for Amazon would take us most of a day and multiple people, because we had to figure out how to sort all of the thousands of products we were sending into the appropriate boxes. Now it’s easy as: the products are ready to ship, we put them into the box, and check them in. And as soon as the box is full, we ship it. Piece of cake.”

What is Send to Amazon?

Send to Amazon is a shipment creation workflow for sellers who use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) or Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF). It saves time and helps get products to customers more efficiently. Developed with seller feedback, the workflow provides a single destination for replenishing inventory and guides sellers step-by-step through the shipment creation process.

Log in to Seller Central to get started with Send to Amazon.

It used to be that preparing our shipments for Amazon would take us most of a day and multiple people…now it’s easy as: the products are ready to ship, we put them into the box, and check them in. And as soon as the box is full, we ship it. Piece of cake.
Darcy Burner
CEO, Buttonsmith

Three benefits of using Send to Amazon

1. Save time by creating reusable case pack templates

Single-SKU boxes, or case packs, contain one or more units of the same SKU. When shipping single-SKU boxes to the Amazon fulfillment network, you can save time by creating and reusing case pack templates. The templates include box content information, box weight and dimensions, and prep and labeling details. Providing accurate box content information allows Amazon to move your inventory rapidly through its network, making it available for sale sooner. Once you’ve created a template, you no longer have to re-enter this information every time you replenish inventory.

Learn the lingo
SKU
SKUs (stock keeping units) track and differentiate inventory for your business. Typically eight digits long, this number can be based on price, manufacturer, color, style, type, or size.

2. Pack single- and mixed-SKU boxes before you create shipments

Send to Amazon allows you to pack your box to your own specifications, update quantities as you pack, and finalize box content information prior to confirming a shipment’s destination. This helps minimize the need to repack boxes.

For Darcy of Buttonsmith, this experience is invaluable:

We actually manufacture products on site in response to customer demand. So as people buy things, we make more of them to ship up to Amazon. And over the course of a week, it means we might be making 150 or 200 different SKUs to ship to Amazon. And with the [Send] to Amazon process, it becomes possible for us, as we make things, to stick them in the box and know that we’re not going to have to pull them out again later and recount them to divvy them up. We can just put things in the box as we complete them. And then as soon as we get to the point in the day where we want to ship it, we close it up and send it. And that’s a huge, huge labor savings for us.
Did you know?
You can spend less with FBA
Shipping with Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) costs 70% less per unit than comparable premium options offered by other US fulfillment services.

3. Easily select the best shipping option and access discounted rates

You can choose to ship products as small parcel delivery or in pallets with less than truckload delivery. You can also use both these shipping modes via multi-mode shipping.

You can compare estimated carrier fees to help you choose which shipping method you’d like to use. This includes the option to select an Amazon partnered carrier, which offers discounted shipping rates, automated tracking, and the convenience of purchasing and printing shipping labels within the Send to Amazon workflow.

Get started with the Send to Amazon workflow

There are five steps in the Send to Amazon workflow. These steps vary according to your shipment type—boxes or pallets—and your choice of carrier.

To get started, click Inventory, then Shipments from the main menu in Seller Central. From your Shipping Queue, click the Shipments menu, then click Send to Amazon. Next, follow the steps in the workflow to create your shipment.

Step 1: Choose inventory to send

You start the Send to Amazon workflow with the Choose inventory to send step. Select a ship-from address, marketplace destination, SKUs that you’ve already converted to FBA, and then complete your packing details. In this step, you also have the option to create time-saving case pack templates.

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Send to Amazon – Step 1: Choose inventory to send
Get step-by-step instructions for the second SKU-selection method in Step 1 of the Send to Amazon workflow. Learn how to use this method to add FBA inventory in bulk. Find out how to upload SKUs as both individual units and as single-SKU boxes containing multiple units, also called case packs.

Step 1b: Pack individual units

If you’re shipping individual units, you’ll see the Pack individual units step. You might see this step if you’re shipping mixed-SKU boxes or single-SKU boxes that change from shipment to shipment. The Send to Amazon workflow will tell you what SKUs can be packed together, and you can choose whether to ship them in one or multiple boxes.

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Send your Amazon FBA shipment: Step 1b- Pack individual units
Learn step-by-step instructions for step 1b of the Send to Amazon workflow. This steps applies if you chose to ship inventory as individual units in step 1. Learn how individual units are grouped for packaging by Amazon and how to provide box-content information.

Step 2: Confirm shipping

In the Confirm shipping step, you provide the estimated ship date that lets Amazon plan for the arrival of your inventory. You also choose your shipping mode—small parcel or pallet—and you select a carrier for small parcel delivery. You’ll see estimated shipping costs after making selections.

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Send your Amazon FBA shipment: Step 2- Confirm shipping
Learn step-by-step instructions for Step 2 of the Send to Amazon workflow. Learn how to review shipment details for the FBA inventory you chose to send in Step 1. Then find out how to confirm those details by setting your Ship date and choosing small parcel or pallet as your Shipping mode.

Step 3: Print box labels

The Print box labels step is what it sounds like—you review box detail information and print box labels. This is the last step for all small parcel delivery.

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Send to Amazon- Step 3: Print box labels
Learn step-by-step instructions for step 3 of the Send to Amazon workflow. Learn how to print and apply box labels for the small-parcel or pallet FBA shipments you confirmed in step 2.

Step 4: Confirm carrier and pallet information (pallet shipments only)

You’ll only complete the Confirm carrier and pallet information step if you’re shipping pallets. In this step, you provide the number of pallets you’re shipping and your carrier information. If you’re shipping with a non-partnered Amazon carrier, you’ll also print pallet labels in this step and won’t need to proceed to step 5.

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Send to Amazon FBA: Step 4 - Confirm carrier and pallet information (step-by-step)
Learn step-by-step instructions for Step 4 of the Send to Amazon workflow, which you’ll see if you chose Less than truckload as your Shipping mode in Step 2 for an FBA pallet shipment. Lean how to select Amazon-partnered and non-partnered carriers.

Step 5: Print pallet labels (pallet shipments with an Amazon partnered carrier only)

You’ll only complete the Print pallet labels step if you’re shipping pallets with an Amazon partnered carrier. In this step, you print labels and affix them to your boxes. Once you complete the workflow and the carrier picks up your shipment, tracking will automatically update.

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Send your Amazon FBA shipment: Step 5- Print pallet labels
Learn step-by-step instructions for step 5 of the Send to Amazon workflow. This step will be available if you chose an Amazon-partnered carrier for an FBA pallet shipment in step 4. Learn how to print and apply pallet labels, view carrier pick-up details, and print your bill of lading (BOL).

Want to learn more and get started with Send to Amazon?

To learn more about FBA and Send to Amazon, visit Seller Central or watch the Send products to Amazon FBA training series on YouTube. You can also watch tutorials within each step of the Send to Amazon workflow.

Get started with Send to Amazon

Lola Okusami
Lola Okusami
Sr. Creative Writer
Katelynn Gonzalez
Katelynn Gonzalez
Katelynn is an Editor who creates educational content for Amazon sellers. She previously hosted webinars within Amazon Ads and knows there is always more to learn about selling in Amazon’s store. Outside of work, she loves to golf, cook, and teach pilates.