How to sell on Amazon? Understanding e-commerce's unavoidable marketplace

For many brands, Amazon is one of the first platforms considered when marketplaces come up. But being on Amazon and succeeding on Amazon are two different things.

Why Amazon?

The platform combines several advantages: a considerable audience; strong purchase intent; a mature technology infrastructure; integrated logistics available to sellers; an international presence; a developed advertising environment.

Amazon can therefore allow a brand to quickly test and develop its online presence.

How to start?

The first step is to have a suitable structure and the information required for seller account verification.

Then comes the catalogue. Each reference must have clean, consistent data: EAN, brand, title, attributes, images, price, stock and the required regulatory information.

FBA or merchant fulfilment?

Two main approaches exist. With merchant-managed logistics, orders are prepared and shipped by your own organisation or provider. With FBA, part of the logistics is entrusted to Amazon.

The best model depends on the product, volumes, margin and your organisation.

Watch profitability

Amazon can generate a lot of revenue while producing insufficient margin. The calculation must include: purchase price + freight + storage + commission + logistics + advertising + returns + VAT + other operating costs.

Management must therefore happen at SKU level, not only at overall revenue level.

Amazon must remain a channel

A company should not confuse its business with its Amazon account. Amazon is a powerful distribution channel. The long-term goal remains building a business able to exist across several channels.