If you sell wholesale to Amazon, you gain access to Amazon Vendor Central. This allows you to access all of the important management features, and provides an overview of sales performance.
Even if Amazon buys your goods and sells them for you as part of its Vendor Program, you can’t just sit back and relax. You have to monitor how well your products are selling, and you have the option of placing advertisements on Amazon to increase your sales. Amazon has combined all of the functions that are available to you in Vendor Central.
What is Amazon Vendor Central?
If you want to sell your products on Amazon, you can do this in one of two ways: you either retain control of your sales as an Amazon Seller, or you use Amazon as a wholesale partner via the Amazon Vendor Program.
If you decide to sell your goods directly to Amazon, you are granted access to Amazon Vendor Central. This provides all of the functionality and data insights that will assist you in selling on Amazon.
Amazon sells your products independently and also sets the prices for them. But you still have to control and optimise all sorts of things, from annual price negotiations and weekly bulk orders to advertising.
What tools are available?
If you are acting as an Amazon Vendor, two tasks are particularly important for you: i) placing advertisements and optimising content, and ii) monitoring your products and prices.
For a long time, Amazon Vendor Central offered a number of significant advantages that were not available as part of the Seller program. Some important advertising formats were only open to vendors. This advantage is now less pronounced because sellers can now choose from a wider variety of advertising formats. Vendors now use essentially the same advertising tools as those on Amazon Seller Central.
When it comes to reporting, Amazon Vendor Central falls short in a number of ways. Many users have complained about the lack of transparency and reported finding the display very confusing when dealing with larger quantities of goods.
That’s why various third-party providers have developed tools that allow you to keep an eye on everything, from content optimisations and inventory problems to how your product prices have changed over time.
Are there any special requirements for registering with Vendor Central?
You must receive an invitation through the Amazon Vendor Programme in order to gain access to Amazon Vendor Central. To qualify, you must manufacture the products yourself. Well-known brands are often amongst the first to attract these invitations from Amazon.
How much does it cost to sell through Vendor Central?
You have to negotiate the prices for each of your products with Amazon Vendor Central. The shipping giant will propose a price for each item, and you then have to decide whether to accept their offer. Basically, you can assume that Amazon will want to buy large quantities of your product but at a low purchase price.
You also have to factor in advertising subsidies, which vary greatly depending on the product category and are used by Amazon to promote your products. Overstocking and returns may result in additional fees, which are also covered in the negotiations. You may also be subject to penalties for incorrect deliveries.
Can I switch from vendor to seller?
It is possible to switch from being a vendor to a seller, and you have the option of remaining as a vendor for some of your products if you so choose. You should discuss this step with your Vendor Manager in order to maintain a good relationship with Amazon. Sign up to the Amazon Brand Registry to better manage your brand on Amazon.
Conclusion: Amazon Vendor Central as an important interface
Amazon Vendor Central enables you to keep an eye on your relationship with Amazon. The company includes all of its important features and information in Vendor Central. However, the interface would benefit from being more transparent. This is why additional third-party tools have been very popular extensions.
