If you are an online business and you use Fulfilment by Amazon to sell products to any of the major marketplaces in Europe (such as UK, Germany and France), you may be wondering if there are any cheaper and more efficient alternatives when selling cross-border.
You will be pleased to know that the answer is yes – there is a way to save money and increase your cross-border presence, and that is by registering to use Amazon’s Pan-European FBA service. Not only does using Pan-European FBA cut fulfilment costs, it also presents a number of extra advantages for sellers using Fulfilment by Amazon.
In this article, we discuss how registering for Pan-European FBA can save you money, simplify the distribution process and ultimately help your business to grow and attract more customers.
What is Pan-European Amazon FBA?
Pan-European Amazon FBA is a free service by Amazon for those who already use Amazon’s fulfilment network. It is a tool designed to make distribution and sales across Europe easier for sellers. Instead of sellers storing their stock in one fulfilment centre and shipping it out to European marketplaces themselves, Amazon distributes the stock across fulfilment warehouses in all five of the European marketplaces on behalf of the sellers. The five Amazon European marketplaces are:
- UK
- Germany
- France
- Spain
- Italy
Why register for Pan-European Amazon FBA?
Fulfilment Fees are lower
If you ship products to Amazon warehouses in Europe using FBA, you will be aware that you need to pay a cross-border fee for each order that is shipped across the European Fulfilment Network (EFN). This fee is the same for any country you are selling in which has an Amazon fulfilment centre.
However, once you register for Pan-European FBA, the EFN fulfilment fees are taken out of the equation, and instead you only have to pay the local fulfilment fee according to the marketplace where the order was placed. As shown in the table below, available on the Amazon Services website, you can save up to 55% on fulfilment fees by using the Pan-European FBA service.
Quicker deliveries, higher effectiveness
Amazon distributes your products across Amazon European fulfilment centres, the result of which is a speedy delivery for customers living in those countries, which definitely is a plus in a fast paced environment and your business will be able to meet the demands of your customers more effectively.
Extend your reach to Prime customers
With Pan-European FBA, your products instantly gain full Prime eligibility across all five Amazon European marketplaces. This can greatly extend the reach of your business, as you will have access to Amazon’s most loyal customers – also, some customers only purchase Prime products.
Customer service is provided for you
Amazon provides support to your customers across each of the five EU Amazon marketplaces, and this support is also given in the native languages of these countries, which again gives you value for free as you don’t have to pull out the old dictionary and search for that phrase in French or Spanish. Another headache is also solved as Amazon’s customer service handles enquiries including returns and refunds on your behalf.
Amazon does the hard work – so you don’t have to
With Pan-EU Amazon FBA, Amazon handles the stock inventory, logistics, distribution and customer service operations – so you can take time to focus on growing your business and watch it skyrocket to success!
What happens next?
If this article has convinced you that registering for Pan-EU Fulfilment is the right move for your business, you will be wondering how exactly you register for Pan-EU Fulfilment and whether this will mean registering for VAT in the European marketplaces where your inventory will be stored. Stay tuned, as this will be explained further in our upcoming article Registering for Pan-European FBA: The VAT Implications You Need to Be Aware Of.
If you have any more questions in relation to selling to EU countries using Amazon fulfilment, please do not hesitate to call us on 0161 637 1080 or send an e-mail to enquiries@jpaccountant.com. Follow our social media channels for regular updates on Amazon fulfilment regulations and changes to VAT laws across Europe.
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