Amazon Vendor Central Fulfillment: 3PL for 1P Purchase Orders
Amazon sends the purchase order; we get it to the fulfillment center the way Amazon measures it. AMZ Prep stores your master cases, builds every PO to the confirmed quantity, books the routing, sends the ASN and keeps the proof for every chargeback dispute. You keep the Vendor Central account, the pricing and the relationship with Amazon.
On this page
Key Takeaways
- AMZ Prep is the physical and data side of Amazon Vendor Central: receiving, PO builds, GS1-128 labels, routing, ASNs and chargeback evidence.
- The brand keeps the Vendor Central account, cost negotiation and invoicing. We only need access to orders, shipments and operational performance.
- Every PO is built to the quantity confirmed on the 855, because that is the number Amazon measures fill rate and chargebacks against.
- Both Vendor Central pathways are covered: PO fulfillment into Amazon FCs and Direct Fulfillment parcels to shoppers, including hybrid 1P and 3P by ASIN.
- US and Canadian vendors are covered from the same account, with weekly KPI reviews and a monthly chargeback root-cause review.
What is Amazon Vendor Central, and how is 1P different from 3P?
Amazon Vendor Central is the invite-only portal where a brand sells wholesale to Amazon as a vendor. That is Amazon 1P (first-party): Amazon issues purchase orders, owns the goods once its fulfillment center receives them, and sells them as "Ships from and sold by Amazon." In 3P (third-party), the brand sells on the marketplace through Seller Central and keeps control of price and stock. For the full trade-off, see our guide to Amazon 1P vs 3P.
Amazon buys wholesale
- Inventory ownerAmazon, from receipt
- Sold byAmazon
- Price set byAmazon
The brand sells direct
- Inventory ownerThe brand, until each unit sells
- Sold byYour brand
- Price set byYour brand
| 1P (vendor) | 3P (seller) | |
|---|---|---|
| Portal | Vendor Central, invite only | Seller Central |
| Order trigger | Amazon purchase orders, based on Amazon's forecast | The brand replenishes FBA or ships each order |
| Unit of shipment | Master cases and pallets against a PO | Units, kits and cases into FBA |
| How the brand is paid | Invoice against the PO, on payment terms | Sale proceeds, minus Amazon fees |
| Main compliance risk | Operational chargebacks | FBA inbound defects, fees and account health |
Which Amazon 1P setup does your brand run?
Amazon Vendor Central fulfillment runs on two pathways. Purchase order fulfillment ships master cases and pallets into Amazon's fulfillment centers against each PO. Direct Fulfillment keeps the stock in your warehouse and ships each shopper's order as a parcel. Brands combine them in four setups:
Vendor Central
The classic model. We build every PO to Amazon's compliance rules and ship master cases and pallets to its FCs.
Best for: Steady, high-volume ASINs
Seller Central 1P
Amazon Retail POs managed from Seller Central. Same PO build on our floor, different portal for the brand.
Best for: Brands that want one portal
1P plus some 3P
Split by ASIN. One stock pool, two outbound flows: PO freight to Amazon and FBA replenishment.
Best for: Hero SKUs on 1P, long tail on 3P
Amazon Direct Fulfillment
Amazon sells the item but doesn't stock it. We pick, pack and ship each order to the shopper on Amazon's order SLAs.
Best for: Bulky, slow-moving or long-tail ASINs
We confirm the exact setup at kickoff, because it changes the scope of work, the integration and how the work is billed.
How does Amazon Direct Fulfillment work with a 3PL?
Under Amazon Direct Fulfillment (DF), Amazon lists the item as "Ships from and sold by Amazon" but never stocks it. Each order comes to the vendor to ship, so the inventory sits in our warehouse instead of an Amazon FC, and Amazon measures every order on time and tracking.
Inventory feed 846
On-hand stock is shared with Amazon from our warehouse records, so Amazon only sells what we can ship and overselling is avoided.
Order received EDI or API
A shopper buys on Amazon and the order reaches us through Vendor Central, EDI or Amazon's Vendor Direct Fulfillment API.
Pick, pack and label
We pick and pack the single order and apply the shipping label Amazon provides for its assigned carrier, so the parcel ships as an Amazon order.
Ship by the expected ship date
Each order carries an expected ship date (ExSD). The carrier collects from our dock, and the shipment is confirmed with valid tracking.
Invoiced and paid
The brand invoices Amazon for shipped orders; late shipments, cancellations and invalid tracking count against the vendor's DF scorecard.
| PO fulfillment | Direct Fulfillment | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the inventory sits | In Amazon's fulfillment centers, after receipt | In our warehouse until each order ships |
| What ships | Master cases and pallets against a PO | Single parcels to shoppers |
| Who owns the stock | Amazon, from receipt | The brand, until the parcel ships |
| Main risk | Operational chargebacks and shortages | Late shipments, cancellations, invalid tracking |
| Best for | Steady, high-volume ASINs | Bulky, heavy, slow-moving or test ASINs |
What does a Vendor Central 3PL actually do?
We are the brand's 1P fulfillment arm. The brand keeps the commercial relationship with Amazon; we handle the physical and data work that gets each PO to Amazon compliant and on time.
Receive and hold
Master cases come in, are counted against the packing list and stored, so confirmations are made against real stock.
Build to the PO
Picked to the confirmed quantity, GS1-128 labeled, palletized and routed to the destination FC.
Prove compliance
ASN sent, BOL signed, POD filed, so every shipment has the evidence a chargeback dispute needs.
- Receive, count and store master cases
- Build shipments to the confirmed quantity
- Print and apply GS1-128 carton and pallet labels
- Submit routing requests or book carriers
- Transmit ASNs and keep BOLs and PODs
- Pull evidence for chargeback disputes
- Own the Vendor Central account
- Negotiate cost and terms with Amazon
- Confirm POs, or delegate it to us in writing
- Keep enough stock at our warehouse
- Keep item data accurate (GTIN, case pack, dims)
- Submit invoices and reconcile payments
- Weekly open-PO and KPI review
- Monthly chargeback review
- Root-cause fixes when a defect repeats
- Forecast and inbound planning
Need help beyond fulfillment, such as catalog or account work? See Amazon account management.
How does an Amazon purchase order move from 850 to payment?
PO received 850
Amazon issues the purchase order with ASINs, quantities, cost, the destination FC, freight terms and the ship window, in Vendor Central or over EDI.
Quantities confirmed 855
Each line is accepted, partly accepted or rejected against stock at our warehouse. The confirmed quantity is the number Amazon measures everything against.
Picked, labeled and palletized Floor
Master cases are picked to the confirmed quantity, every carton gets a GS1-128 SSCC label, pallets are built and every carton is scanned.
Routed and booked 753 / 754
Collect POs go through a routing request and Amazon assigns the carrier and ARN. On prepaid POs we book the carrier and the FC appointment.
Shipped with the ASN 856
The freight leaves on the assigned carrier with a signed BOL, and the ASN goes out at departure with SSCCs that match the scan log.
Received at the FC FC
Amazon scans each SSCC against the ASN. A mismatch in units, labels, contents or timing is what turns into a chargeback.
Invoiced and paid 810
The brand invoices the shipped quantity on the ASN. Amazon pays for what it received, on terms, minus any deductions.
What does a typical 1P week look like at our dock?
The rhythm
POs land Sunday or Monday. Routing is requested as soon as the build gives real carton and pallet counts, and freight usually leaves Wednesday or Thursday on Amazon's assigned carrier.
On collect POs Amazon picks the carrier and the slot, and trucks sometimes miss it. Your freight stays staged and wrapped, we record the miss with timestamps and photos, request a new pickup, and keep that evidence for any on-time chargeback the miss causes. Your account manager tells you the same day.
Collect or prepaid: who books freight to Amazon?
We build first, then submit the routing request as small parcel (SPD) or pallet freight (LTL or FTL) with real counts and a freight-ready date inside the ship window, load only on the assigned carrier, and write the ARN and PO on the BOL.
We book the carrier on the agreed rates, the carrier takes an FC appointment in Carrier Central inside the delivery window, and the ASN goes out with the PRO number. See our LTL freight options.
Routing misses we design out
- Shipping a collect PO without a routing request
- Loading on a carrier other than the one Amazon assigned
- A freight-ready date outside the ship window
- Estimated weights or pallet counts that don't match the load
- Missed pickups that never get rescheduled
Which Amazon EDI documents do we handle?
Amazon EDI carries the PO, the confirmation, the routing and the advance ship notice, and Direct Fulfillment orders can also come through Amazon's Vendor APIs. We connect through your EDI provider or ours, so documents flow between Amazon, your ERP and our warehouse without manual entry. The ASN tells Amazon exactly what is on the truck, so we generate it from pack-out scans, never by hand. EDI and routing-guide compliance is the same discipline we run for every major retailer through B2B retail fulfillment.
| EDI | Document | What it does | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 850 | Purchase order | Amazon orders units by ASIN with cost, FC and window | Amazon to vendor |
| 855 | PO acknowledgment | Vendor confirms, changes or rejects each line | Vendor to Amazon |
| 753 | Routing request | Requests routing for a collect shipment | Vendor to Amazon |
| 754 | Routing instructions | Carrier, ARN and pickup details from Amazon | Amazon to vendor |
| 856 | Advance ship notice (ASN) | Exactly what shipped: cartons, SSCCs, quantities, carrier | Vendor to Amazon |
| 810 | Invoice | Bills Amazon for the quantities shipped on the ASN | Vendor to Amazon |
| 846 | Inventory advice | Shares on-hand stock with Amazon; required for Direct Fulfillment | Vendor to Amazon |
Before any ASN leaves the dock
- Every carton was scanned at pack-out
- Scanned SSCC count = labels printed = ASN cartons
- Units per ASIN match the confirmed PO quantity
- One PO per carton
- Ship date is the actual departure, not the planned one
How do we prevent Amazon vendor chargebacks?
Every Vendor Central chargeback traces back to a gap in data, timing or physical prep. The rates below are Amazon's typical US rates as a share of product cost; Amazon changes them, so confirm current values in Vendor Central.
What one $10,000 PO could cost
If every unit on the PO were affected
Three kinds of chargeback
- DataASN missing, late or not matching what arrived
- TimingOutside the window, or not the confirmed quantity
- PhysicalLabels, prep, carton contents, weight, pallets
| Chargeback | Typical Amazon rate | Triggered when | How we prevent it |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASN accuracy | 2%, 4% or 6% of cost, by compliance tier | The ASN is missing data or doesn't match what arrived | ASNs generated from the pack-out scan log |
| Not on time | 3% of cost, waived above a 90% trailing 4-week on-time rate | Freight not ready (collect) or not delivered (prepaid) inside the window | Build ahead, request routing as soon as counts are final |
| Not filled | 10% of cost | Confirmed units never arrive and Amazon cancels them | Stage ahead of the window, escalate before the cancel date |
| Down-confirmed | 3% of cost on the units cut | Confirmations reduced more than 5 days into the window | Confirm only stock on hand, change early |
| Carton label and content | Per unit or per carton | Missing or unreadable GS1-128 label, or contents that differ from the ASN | One PO per carton, scan-test every label |
| Shortage claim | Full cost of the short units | Amazon pays for fewer units than were invoiced | Keep the POD and scan log, reconcile receipts weekly |
Our dispute playbook
- 1. Pull the chargebacks report every week, because dispute windows are limited
- 2. Match each chargeback to the PO, the ASN and our shipment record
- 3. Gather evidence: scan log, carton photos, signed BOL, POD and the ASN timestamp
- 4. The brand, or AMZ Prep if delegated, files the dispute in Vendor Central
- 5. Log the outcome and the root cause so the defect doesn't repeat
How a 1P brand avoided six figures in chargebacks
A CPG brand on Amazon 1P was losing margin to readiness and ASN data chargebacks. The brand is not named because its data is confidential.
in chargebacks avoided
The challenge
- POs weren't ready inside the ship window, driving on-time and routing chargebacks
- ASNs were built from planned quantities, not carton scans
- Labor wasn't planned against Amazon's forecast, so PO spikes caught the floor short
What we did
- Built and staged POs ahead of the window, with routing requested as soon as freight was ready
- Shared SSCC-level carton contents and generated every ASN from pack-out scans
- Planned capacity against the P70 to P90 forecast tiers Amazon shared
The result
Six figures in chargebacks avoided, with order readiness and ASN data compliance resolved.
Moving from Amazon 1P to 3P, or back?
- 1. Agree which ASINs move, and when
- 2. Set up Seller Central, Brand Registry, listings and pricing
- 3. Fill every open PO, then reject new POs for the moving ASINs
- 4. Build FBA shipment plans, or Seller Fulfilled Prime where it fits
- 5. We convert case-pack stock into FBA-ready units or kits
- 6. Expect Amazon's remaining 1P stock to share the buy box until it sells through
- 1. Amazon Retail invitation, with cost and terms agreed
- 2. Vendor Central access for AMZ Prep users
- 3. EDI mapped and tested (850, 855, 856, 810)
- 4. 1P item setup: case packs, GTINs, dims, pallet configuration
- 5. Decide which ASINs stay 3P (hybrid)
- 6. Sell down or remove FBA stock, then run the first PO with your account manager watching
Going the FBA route for some ASINs? Our FBA prep services run from the same stock.
How does Vendor Central onboarding work?
Kickoff and access
Scope, freight terms (collect or prepaid), who confirms POs, and Vendor Central users for orders and shipments.
EDI connection
850, 855, 856 and 810 mapped through your EDI provider or ours, with two to three test cycles before the first real PO.
Item setup
ASIN, GTIN, case pack, dims, weight, prep needs and lot or expiry controls for every item, plus your GS1 prefix for SSCC labels.
Forecast and stock
Amazon's mean, P70, P80 and P90 forecast by ASIN sizes the inbound, and the promo calendar sizes peak labor.
First PO
Confirm, build, route and ASN, run end to end and checked against the receipt in Vendor Central afterwards.
Steady state
Daily open-PO report, weekly KPI review, monthly chargeback review and a quarterly business review.
What do we report on, and who do you call?
| Metric | Definition | Reviewed |
|---|---|---|
| ASN accuracy | ASN compliance rate; above 95% keeps you in Amazon's lowest fee tier | Weekly |
| On-time shipping | Ready (collect) or delivered (prepaid) inside the PO window | Weekly |
| PO confirmation rate | Share of PO lines acknowledged on time, when confirmation is delegated to us | Weekly |
| Fill rate | Units shipped divided by units confirmed | Weekly |
| Chargeback rate | Chargeback dollars as a share of PO value shipped | Monthly |
| PO cycle time | Hours from PO received to freight departed | Monthly |
Ops manager
Same-day floor and shipment issues: receiving, picks, labels and pallets.
Account manager
Your named contact, reachable by phone and email in working hours: chargebacks, PO disputes and recurring defects.
Operations leadership
Account-level risk and contract questions.
Do we fulfill Vendor Central POs in the US and Canada?
We fulfill Vendor Central POs for Amazon US (Amazon.com) and Amazon Canada (Amazon.ca). US POs ship from our US centers, placed to suit your Amazon destination FCs and your other channels, and Canadian POs ship from our Canadian centers, run from our headquarters in Brampton, Ontario. Brands that are vendors in both countries keep one account, one account manager and one weekly review across both. See every country, state and city on locations served, or our US fulfillment centers and Canada fulfillment pages.
Amazon Vendor Central fulfillment questions
The brand, by default, because it owns the Vendor Central account. Some brands hand PO confirmation to us; that is agreed in writing, along with the rules for partial confirmations.
Confirm only what can ship inside the window. Confirming stock that isn't on hand leads to not-filled or down-confirm chargebacks, which cost far more than a partial confirmation made early.
It depends on the PO's freight terms. On collect POs Amazon pays and assigns the carrier through a routing request. On prepaid POs the vendor pays and we book the carrier.
Yes. Many brands run hybrid, deciding ASIN by ASIN. We ship 1P purchase orders and FBA replenishment from one stock pool, as long as the allocation between them is clear.
Yes. Under Direct Fulfillment Amazon sells the item and we ship each order to the shopper as a single parcel, measured on on-time shipping, cancellations and valid tracking.
Users for orders, shipments and operational performance, added by the brand. We never need banking details or access to cost negotiations; those stay with the brand.
Amazon sets a limited dispute window that changes over time, so check the current one in Vendor Central. We pull chargebacks every week so none age out before evidence is filed.
No. Check Amazon's weeks of supply against your own sell-through first. Accepting more than about two to three months of stock invites overstock and held-back payments.
Yes. Amazon.com POs ship from our US centers and Amazon.ca POs from our Canadian centers. Brands that are vendors in both countries split stock between them on one account.
Vendor Central is invite only: Amazon's retail team sends the invitation, usually to brands already selling well on Amazon or elsewhere. A 3PL can't arrange an invite, but we can be ready for your first PO.
Expected POs a month, case packs and pallet configuration, the share of collect versus prepaid freight, and whether Direct Fulfillment or FBA replenishment runs from the same stock.
You bring the purchase orders. We bring the rest.
Tell us your PO volume, case packs and freight terms, and we will map out how your 1P program runs from our dock.
