How to ship from Alibaba to amazon FBA: A Step-by-Step Guide

Table of Contents

It seems to be a challenge for new sellers to ship products from Alibaba to Amazon FBA. Nevertheless, the role can be rather time-consuming unless one understands the process and knows how to make the best of it. Everything you need to know about buying products from Alibaba suppliers and getting your products to Amazon FBA ready warehouses will be explored and explained in this all-embracing guide.

What is Alibaba?

Alibaba is one of the biggest global wholesale market which helps sellers and buyers from around the globe to connect with each other. It provides an approximating selection of products that are fairly priced and thus a favorite among e-commerce merchants.

What is Amazon FBA?

Amazon FBA is a service where you store your products in Amazon’s fulfillment centers and the company helps in packing and shipping goods for the orders. Amazon relieves sellers of the responsibilities of inventory and storage, packaging and shipping, as well as handling customers’ complaints.

Step 1: Finding the Right Supplier on Alibaba supplier

Conduct a survey and determine possible suppliers.

Use the Search Function

To begin with be able to identify the product you want to sell do the following; Type the product on the search bar that is available at the top of the Alibaba homepage.

Filter Your Results

To the left of the search bar filters click on “Supplier Location” then, click on options like “verified Supplier” “Gold Supplier.”

Evaluate Suppliers

This looks into the ratings, previous transactions, and testimonies from other clients of the prospective supplier. It is advisable to look for suppliers who have at least a few years with them and comments attached to their stores.

Communicate with Suppliers

Initial Contact

Send out emails or calls to several suppliers with a specific request regarding their offered line, shipping cost, MOQs, and personalization.

Ask Questions

Some of the necessary questions to ask include; When is the product produced?, How can the product be shipped?, What measures are in place to ensure quality?, and Does the vendor have any accreditation?.

Request Samples

In most cases, sample orders should be placed before making a big order if in doubts regarding the quality of the products to be purchased.

Step 2: Negotiating Terms and Placing Your Order

Negotiating with Suppliers

Price Negotiation

They will also expect you to bargain for price especially when ordering in large quantities.

Terms of Payment method

Negotiate on payment. Some of the most often used ones are Trade Assurance, PayPal, and bank transfers.

Production Time

Check on the lead time for production and make sure that the time coincide with your time table.

Placing Your Order

Finalize Details: As soon as the Term sheets have been signed the next steps are to determine the specifics of product order such as quantity, characteristics, packaging and labeling.

Purchase Order: Prepare a purchase order to the supplier stating all the agreed terms of the particular transaction.

Payment: Pay as agreed when it comes to the payment of the agreed amount.

Step 3: Preparing Your Shipment for Amazon FBA warehouses

Understanding Amazon’s Requirements

Labeling Requirements: Generally, Amazon has laid down certain labeling policies for shipments that are in FBA program. Each product should be assigned a different FNSKU barcode number.

Packaging Requirements: So, it is necessary to adhere to the packaging guidelines provided by Amazon to avoid product damage during transportation.

Coordinating with Your Supplier

Provide FNSKU Labels

Proceed and send the FNSKU labels to your supplier and he will fix on the labels to your products.

Shipping Plan

Develop a shipping strategy in your account on Amazon’s seller central and get the shipping labels to your supplier.

Quality Control

Pre-Shipment Inspection

This maybe another good reason that you should hire a third-party inspection service to inspect your products before they leave the supplier’s premises.

Compliance

Make sure your products do not violate Amazon policies and/or laws in your country of operation.

Step 4: Choosing the Right Shipping Methods

Air Freight vs. Sea Freight forwarder

Air Freight

Faster but compared to what – more expensive. Suitable for small amount deliveries or when the order is urgently needed.

Sea Freight forwarder

It is cheaper direct shipping especially when many items are shipped at once but the time of delivery is longer.

Working with Freight Forwarders

Selecting a Freight Forwarder

Select your freight forwarder that has relevant experience in the transportation of Amazon FBA shipments.

Coordination

It is your freight forwarder who shall liaise with your supplier in order to co-ordinate the shipping process, including customs formalities to the FBA Amazon warehouse.

Step 5: Shipping to Amazon FBA warehouses

Creating a Shipping Plan in Amazon Seller Central account

Log In

Go to the website and then sign in into the amazon seller central account.

Inventory

Scroll down the warehouse interface to the “Manage Inventory” tab.

Create a Shipping Plan

The button you are looking for is called “Send/Replenish Inventory”, click on it to begin creating the shipping plan.

Ship From

Read the address of your supplier into the machine.

Prepare Products

It’s also good to check on the specifications of a certain product and the label issues.

Shipment Packing

Select if your supplier will send all individual products in one box or a number of boxes.

Shipping Labels

Print and make available the required shipping labels to your supplier or the freight forwarder.

Tracking Your Shipment

Monitor Progress

An effective way of tracking their shipment is through the tracking mechanism provided by the freight forwarding company.

Receive Notifications

Amazon will send you an email once your shipment gets to their fulfillment center and is packaged.

Step 6: Ensuring a Smooth FBA Process

Inventory Management

Stock Levels

In the same Seller tab, be sure to check for inventory supplies to prevent any deficiency in the products.

Reorder

It is advisable to plan for the reorders in advance so that you get fresh products when they are required.

Dealing with Issues

Damaged Goods

When there are damaged products; immediately engage both Amazon and the supplier in order to address the problem.

Returns

Return customers’ products in a professional manner to ensure favorable ratings on the part of the sellers.

Why is Alibaba so cheap?

Alibaba’s prices are considered relatively low because the site operates on the business to business (B2B) premise and therefore, avoids the excessively expensive retail middlemen. This model displaces the middlemen so that business people can be sourcing their products directly from the producers. Besides, the market place of Alibaba involves so many suppliers that further intensify the competitive nature among the sellers in order to capture as many buyers as they can by providing the best prices possible. This competition, coupled with the increase in scale that many of the manufacturers that work from the platform have settled to, explain why the prices of goods offered in this market are comparatively cheaper.

Moreover, Alibaba’s sources of products are derived from places with cheap production and labor including China. This geographical prerogative means these suppliers are able to manufacture goods at a cheaper cost as compared to the manufacturers in the higher-cost zones. Also, the platform’s efficiency in terms of the delivery of a product also contribute to the cause of pulling down shipping costs further. By providing bulk shipping and the accordant standardized routes, Alibaba can already afford cheaper shipping rates, and consequently – sell products at even more affordable prices to its clients. Altogether, these conditions ensure that Alibaba is a good choice for procurement of goods that will attract reasonable prices from consumers.

What types of products is Alibaba good for?

It particularly suited with almost all types of products and all products that can be procured and produced in large quantities. Some of the key product categories that Alibaba excels in include:

Electronics and Gadgets: Alibaba is one of the logistics and online marketplaces where you can find different types of Electronics including Smartphones, Tablets, Laptops, and Consumer Electronics Accessories. Most of the manufacturers that are located on Alibaba’s platform are involved in the manufacture of high tech products affordable to consumers.

Clothing and Apparel: It stocks a wide range of fashion related items for both male and female customers as well as children wears, shoes, and bags. The segments range from apparels worn during informal occasions up to the business clothes, and most are provided with branding and private label services.

Home and Garden Products: Alibaba has a vast variety of home furnishing and decorations, kitchen utensils, gardening implementation, and outdoor furniture. Concerning the style and cost, these products come in multiple configurations, which creates the possibility of satisfying the market’s needs.

Machinery and Industrial Equipment: What can be bought on Alibaba for businesses include heavy machinery, manufacturing equipment, and industrial tools. This covers the small power tools used in a workshop to the manufacturing equipment used in an industry.

Beauty and Personal Care: It is important to note that Alibaba is well known for the sales of beauty products, cosmetics, skincare items and personal care appliances. A very expansive list of products like cosmetics, hair care articles, and tools that are used in beautifying the face are sold to willing buyers.

Toys and Games: It has a large number of toys, games, and learning products for children and the products are diverse. This could range from soft toys, jigsaw and other forms of puzzles, electronic learning aids, to the outdoor toys and gadgets.

Automotive Parts and Accessories: In car accessories and auto parts, maintenance equipment and other car related items, Alibaba website is also useful. In general, the variety for buyers is truly enormous and it covers a wide range of products for various types of vehicles.

Health and Medical Supplies: They offer a range of products in health and medical niche, which include; medical equipment, protective wear, health and wellness, and nutrition supplements.

Altogether, Alibaba is useful as a go-to platform for the acquisition of a wide range of goods across different sectors, mainly aimed at buyers who need to order products in large quantities at low prices.

Is Alibaba legit?

Yes, Alibaba is a legal and globally acknowledged site for carrying out business around the world. This one targets businesses, where it links the potential buyers and sellers across the globe for business to business selling. Alibaba is one of the largest e-commerce company established in the year 1999 by Jack Ma which showcases a number of product categories and services. The platform has integrated various tools that make it legitimate and safe, for instance, the supplier accounts’ verification, trade assurance and a sound payment system. However, one must not forget that the situ is an enormous marketplace, and therefore buyers should remain wary. This entails identifying with suppliers, evaluation of those suppliers in relation to other users’ comments as well as use of other services that are available from Alibaba that guard against risk factors that are present within the purchase context.

Alibaba payment methods

Alibaba offers several payment methods to facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers on its platform:

Alibaba Secure Payment (Escrow Service)

This is the most popular payment method in Alibaba.to develop this payment system, special attention is paid to Alibaba. It operates by ensuring that the payment is locked up by the intermediary or the market until the consumers confirm receipt of the goods and satisfaction. Typically, after the receipt of the order by the buyer and he assures satisfaction the payment is made to the seller.

Credit Cards

Alibaba presently uses certain payment methods, including the major credit cards like Visa, MasterCard as well as American Express. This helps the buyers to have varieties in payments since they can use their credit cards when making payments.

Telegraphic Transfer (T/T)

Bank transfer sometimes referred to as telegraphic transfer is another mode of payment that is available to the buyers. This method involves the use of banks through which the buyer’s account is debited, and the seller’s account credited with the amount of the purchase.

Alibaba Trade Assurance

This service supports payment protection to its buyers hence improving the security of its payments. It acts as a guarantee that the suppliers will comply with contractual requirements on the supply of the quality products and goods and on the agreed time of delivery express shipping. If any problem appears, customers have the right to demand refunds with the help of Trade Assurance.

Alipay

Being Alibaba’s own payment facility Alipay it is extensively used in the transactions across the China. P2P also provides safe payment options and can be applied to transactions on the Alibaba’s Global site.

These payment methods focus on consumer choice and, Security thus give buyers choices on how to make secure and safe payments on Alibaba.

Alibaba to Amazon FBA: How to find products to sell on Amazon

To find products to sell on Amazon from Alibaba, follow these steps:

  1. Market Research: Start off with market research on what is currently selling and trending on Amazon and possibly, the most profitable niches. Some of the best tools you can use to make a research include Jungle Scout, Helium 10, or Amazon’s own tools available in the seller central.
  2. Product Selection: The last step regarding each defined potential product category is to look for relevant products on Alibaba.com. Look for items that align with Amazon’s best-selling criteria: non heavy and small sized products that are not fragile are easy to handle and transport through FBA in Amazon.
  3. Supplier Verification: When selecting suppliers on Alibaba, ensure that suppliers you select are well reputable, are rated well by their past clients, and are fairly price in their exploration. Assure their genuineness by inspecting their business permits, accreditations, and comprehensive communicating to make sure that they can deliver your agreed quality.
  4. Samples and Testing: Dangerous products are also very liable to faulty production, so it is best to order samples of the chosen products so that the quality can be checked personally. Assess and determine their viability to the market with a focus on demand by testing its market through small-scale marketers or through pre-selling campaigns.
  5. Logistics and Fulfillment: Logistics: make your decisions about how to move your goods to market efficiently and while minimizing costs on items such as transportation fees and time chinese suppliers. If possible, work with your Alibaba supplier to drop-ship directly to Amazon FBA fulfillment centers for efficient.
  6. Listing and Optimization: Proper product listing with Abernat in terms of product images, title, bullets and descriptions. Optimizing the page through the use of relevant keywords will enable it to be seen easily in the search results and new traffic sources that can be used include the Amazon PPC.

Simply, with the means of Alibaba’s great supplier list and Amazon’s strong marketplace, one can efficiently obtain supplementary products to meet consumers’ needs at the same time, can efficiently manage operations by utilizing the functions of Amazon FBA such as shipment and returns.

Conclusion

The process of shipping directly from Alibaba to Amazon FBA may not be easy at first but once in a while, the process is quite easy manageable if well endowed with the right structures. It is advisable to start with a comprehensive analysis of suppliers to Alibaba that enables one to determine the suppliers that offer genuine products, this translates to better product quality. Communication and negotiating with such suppliers open up some desirable conditions for the company and a smooth transaction. The subsequent steps of labeling, packaging and preparing Amazon transportation plan guarantees that your products meet Amazon’s standard to avoid being delayed or rejected.

Hence, deciding on the appropriate shipping method and strategy to use is significant since it will take into account the total expense as well as duration taken for shipment. The air transportation is ideal for emergency and less quantity consignments whereas the sea transportation is cheaper for large consignments. Working with an experienced freight forwarder makes the process easier, he clears customs on your behalf and make sure your products reach the Amazon FBA warehouse smoothly. Overseeing your shipment also has a great significance in determining if the shipment has a problem that may hinder the time at which it is supposed to get to the intended destination chinese supplier.

Amazon retains control of the inventory as soon as your products are shipped to their fulfillment centers, thus, efficient inventory control is crucial to sustain sales. Maintaining the stock, having an idea when to restock and how to handle damaged products or returns will also contribute to the high ratings of your product samples the sellers and customer satisfaction china to amazon fba. It is the consistent process of constant scrutiny to be on the safe side and focus more on the customers’ needs.

If you have to analyze each step, you have to do it properly and apply the best practice to manage shipping difficulties from Alibaba to Amazon FBA. Such a strategy helps to avoid possible risks, cut expenses and increase productivity, ensuring the continuous development of an e-commerce venture and the reaching out for more customers.

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