Amazon is ..well.. Amazon. And their FBA service is in demand from the UK. In fact, too much demand. Amazon has reached inventory limits and delayed fulfillment centre receiving times. Shippers in the USA and Canada are exploring shipping individual online orders direct from Canada and the USA to UK (and European) consumers.
Some fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) sellers have been directed by Amazon UK to ship inventory to various Amazon receiving centres.
Amazon is outright refusing deliveries with literally thousands of deliveries being held by delivery companies across the UK. This is impacting sellers who rely solely on FBA.
Using FBA Amazon/ UK warehouses, sellers in North America can sell across the UK. Amazon picks, packs and ships orders items to meet strict shipping and delivery timelines. Amazon has a finite number of fulfillment centres and loading docks. The exponential growth of FBA has increased the timeline for receiving with these timelines being extended by weeks.
Shipment volume from businesses using FBA is outside their direct control with shippers focusing on what they can control.
Some sellers have complained of a lag time that can stretch from days to weeks for their inventory to be logged into the Amazon FBA system and ready to ship. This is in addition to delay in Amazon simply accepting your goods!
READ about prepayment of VAT to the UK
Sellers in the USA and Canada should focus a new logistics procurement of targeted goods with an acceptable margin to ship directly from North America. Send your products to an export gateway, pre-labeled for final delivery. Shipping direct has the benefit of not having to "double warehouse," and access to a more complete catalogue of goods,.
The first challenge is having enough volume to consolidate shipments to meet minimum waybill and handling costs. Added to that is the fact that no carrier can compete with the unit costs of Amazon. They simply have the scale that no single carrier can match - especially when you combine their warehouse/ pick and pack. With the right direct shipping solutions, online orders can quickly scale.
Before shipping from Canada to the UK it is important to verify the EORI number of the consignee. An EORI number is part of the data set required for customs entries to businesses in the UK
The ideal business model of making passive income from Amazon is becoming more challenging and continued growth requires more direct understanding and control of logistics processes. In fact, having more direct access can actually be a competitive advantage.
Jet Worldwide provides solutions for shippers to produce labels and the paperwork necessary for shipping. Goods are transited to an export gateway hub for direct shipping to the UK and delivery within days. Fully tracked and delivered by trusted carriers.
Part of the import process is getting registered to pay UK VAT. As is the case with Europe, value added tax must be paid at time of import (by the seller or marketplace). This process is actually a good thing as it clarifies the process of import and allows most orders to be imported duty free.
Read more: Payment of VAT to the UK.
Although the UK is usually the single biggest export market for most Canadian and American suppliers, the European Union is - collectively - a huge opportunity. The processes of shipping to the UK can be mirrored with the same API and labeling processes. And, as for the UK, registering for VAT (via IOSS) provides clarified rules for importing via a single point of entry for delivery across the entire EU.
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