Manage Your Business with Amazon Seller App Android or Amazon Seller App IOS
It would be pointless if we never leveraged the expansive technological advancements and the internet to make our way of life a little easier.
Starting and operating a business has never been easier. eCommerce websites have provided a different dimension of operating businesses. Amazon epitomizes what this industry is capable of.
Thanks to this eCommerce giant, thousands of people can now start and run their businesses online, while millions benefit from the convenience of shopping on their electronic devices and having their orders delivered to their doorstep.
Admittedly, if you asked those with vending stores on Amazon, they will probably tell you how the journey is daunting and frustrating sometimes. Is it worth it? Well, the same seller will likely tell you if it wasn’t they would have closed their business and focused on other things.
Having said that, Amazon continues to develop handy tools to make tasks easier for sellers. One of those is the Amazon Seller App.
This article is particularly important for you if you wish to launch your business on Amazon but you’re unaware of how you’d properly make use of Amazon to make money.
What is Amazon Seller App?
Amazon Seller App is software that allows you to monitor, manage, and run your Amazon business from your mobile or cell phone.
It allows you to add listings, check sales, receive notifications when items are purchased, monitor earnings, plus much more as explained in detail below.
How To Use Amazon Seller App?
Easily Manage your Amazon Business with Amazon Seller App
Download and install the Amazon Seller App to help you run your business from the comfort of your fingers. You can get the App on both the iOS App Store and Android’s Google Play Store. The App helps you to:
Analyze your sales
You can drill down your sales numbers down to an individual product over a certain period. Go over to the Sales Chart and click on the bars. Now tap on an individual product and see the sales trends for it.
Fix critical issues
Get quick access and act on Amazon Selling Coach’s offers on growth and pricing opportunities and inventory alerts.
Manage your inventory
You have full access to your inventory, where you can see competitive offers, make pricing changes, view various fees, make MFN quantity changes, view FBA inbound status metrics, etc.
Access Sponsored Products
View and manage the performance of the Sponsored Products campaigns
Manage orders
Get prompt notifications when your product sells, view pending orders, and confirm product shipment.
Manage returns
Authorize, accept, and close returns, issue refunds, and modify returns settings.
View payment balance
Monitor the balance owed by Amazon, how much it is, and when it shall be deposited.
Respond to customer inquiries
Quickly know how many customer inquiries you need to reply to and use a quickly customized email template to reply promptly to common inquiries.
Capture and edit product photos
Use the Photo Studio to capture and edit professional product images to add to product listings.
Create and catalog products
You can create new offers for existing products to sell on Amazon.
Find products
Easily use visual image match, text search, or scanning barcodes to find new products to sell on Amazon. The view among other things, current prices, sales rank, competing offers, estimated profitability, and customer reviews. To do this, proceed as follows:
- Find the product Barcode
- Open the Seller Central App and tap on the Amazon Seller icon
- Click SCAN and point your camera at the product barcode
- The application automatically loads results, which show FBA fees and potential product profitability.
Use Amazon in Two Different Ways
Amazon vendor and Amazon seller are the two ways you can enroll your business on the platform. If you put these categories into perspective, they could be meaning the same thing. In fact, they are mostly used interchangeably; but certainly not by Amazon. Essentially, they are two distinguishable categories of businesses on Amazon with different benefits and challenges. Let us detail the two below;
1. Amazon Vendor (Vendor Central)
An Amazon Vendor is a producer, manufacturer, or distributor who supplies their produce directly to Amazon. The eCommerce giant then gets to market and sell these goods under its brand name and image. Additionally, Amazon obtains the rights that come with some of these products such as royalties, modifications, derivatives, etc.
Typically, you will see these products described as Ships from and sold by Amazon on the listing. The vendor program, which is run on the Vendor Central platform is an invite-only arrangement. Therefore, for now, you have your options limited to this end. However, when invited, an Amazon vendor is essentially a business partner, where Amazon pays for products upfront. You don’t have to worry about supply chain, logistics, marketing, branding, etc.
2. Amazon Seller (Seller Central)
Amazon Seller Central is by far the most used and known method of doing business on Amazon. An Amazon seller gets all the freedom to create, run, and employ necessary strategies to market their products on Amazon. The seller sets the prices of their products, arranges for shipping channels, or sometimes enrolls in the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). Amazon FBA essentially, means that the company gets to take care of your order requirements for you at a small fee.
This means that in exchange for helping you to pick, sort, package, ship, and process returns, you only need to pay a standard operational fee for a measure of your goods. As a seller, you get to focus on other things like sourcing and marketing your goods. Not all sellers are allowed into the Amazon FBA program. You can check your qualification and apply for enrolment. Alternatively, you can choose not to use Amazon FBA, and instead employ the services of a third-party shipping company to take care of your logistic requirements.
The challenge, however, is that you are responsible for your performances including late deliveries, and bounce rates. If not careful, your ratings could dink, which brings unwanted repercussions. By huge contrast, the Amazon FBA is your best option by far offering reliable services – with exception of the fees part.
Factors To Consider as A Seller on Amazon
Amazon provides the platform, but you go on to get the business done. In this case, as a seller, you need to consider a few factors before getting down to business.
- Products and product category.
- Price margins.
- Marketing strategies.
- Competition.
- User keyword research.
- Shipping, storage, and other logistics.
Amazon recognizes the hustle one has to go through to get their business up and running and keep it at the top. That is why some of these factors mentioned above can be mitigated on the Seller Central account. With these, you are bound to realize positive growth on Amazon. Additionally, your Amazon seller account allows you to monitor how your business is performing against the standard performance metrics established by Amazon. Among other things, you get access to reports, impressions, conversions, profits, etc.
Amazon Vendor Vs. Amazon Seller – Where to Start
In line with our detailed illustration above about Amazon vendors and sellers, these two provide the primary channels through which you can do business on Amazon. You either have to join their invite-only Vendor Central platform or apply for an account on the Seller Central platform. In either case, you are about to learn the pros and cons and how these distinctions help you to choose your starting point on Amazon.
- The Vendor Central platform is an invite-only kind of arrangement between manufacturers, producers, distributors, and Amazon. Meanwhile, anyone can apply and start selling through the Seller Central platform. This hence, implies that the quickest way to start trading on Amazon is through the Seller Central channel.
- The Vendor Central model is relatively simpler. As a vendor, you cannot wish for a more straightforward means of trading. Your primary goal is to honor the purchase orders placed from Amazon. Besides, you are only dealing with one client, with whom the terms of trade can be customized and automated for easier compliance. This is unlike the seller central model where you are dealing with thousands of people daily.
- Using Amazon Seller Central gives you several benefits you might want to consider; the ability to monitor your sales, advertising campaigns, inventory management, Amazon sales tax liabilities, shipping, and analyzing your performance metrics, etc.
- The Amazon Seller Central model has a prompt and efficient customer support system compared to the Vendor Central platform. A seller is likely to get an immediate reply from the customer support team when they contact them to solve a problem. A vendor’s issue is likely to take longer to get a solution. Of course, if the brand you supply is highly popular, then you can expect a comparatively faster reply.
- A seller has the freedom over pricing models. They can set a minimum price for their products, which could be higher and sufficient to improve their revenue. Vendors, on the other hand, have to constantly haggle over prices with Amazon. That means they can easily lose business to suppliers with lower prices than them.
How To Use Amazon – Seller App Note
You can benefit extensively with either method of subscription to Amazon. You are however limited to one if you are not invited to join their Vending clients. It is fairly easy to join as a seller. The hard part is starting to sell. The initial stages are tough. Other than selling products on Amazon, you can also enlist your professional services such as plumbing, electrical, cleaning, online tutoring, etc. to showcase on the website and attract customers in your area.
This is particularly suitable for those with established service companies. You not only get customers but also a platform to advertise your brand and create a reputation.
To become a service provider on Amazon, you need to submit an application, which the Amazon team verifies before approving. You can find your application forms from the Selling Services on the Amazon homepage. This is done to enhance customer security and to confirm the credibility of the service provider.
Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF)
This is another ingenious idea whereby those with existing businesses outside Amazon can use Amazon fulfillment centers to efficiently run their businesses. When you partner with Amazon on this front, you stand to benefit from Amazon’s infrastructure, logistics, and operational expertise, which further improves your market command and customer credibility by improving the customer experience.
Essentially, with Multi-Channel Fulfillment, you get to send your inventory to Amazon’s fulfillment centers. Amazon will then process an order you receive either online or through any other sales channel. Processing orders include; sorting, picking, packaging, and shipping to the customer. Meanwhile, you should realize that MCF fees are somewhat steeper compared to what you are charged if you are a seller on Amazon and enjoy FBA services.
You can opt to stick to your third-party shipping or drop shipping partner if the terms of service are favorable.
Amazon Customer Support
You can get your issue sorted easily by considering any of the following options;
- Contact the Amazon business representatives by logging onto their website and proceed to hit the Contact Us button. You will fill out a section with specific details on what your query is about and the program you are seeking support over. A customer care agent will reply to your inquiry in due time.
- Alternatively, you can visit the Amazon Frequently Asked Questions page for further assistance. This page covers the most important topics ranging from shipping, returns, advertising, etc. Also, you can head over to the seller central interaction page and interact with your fellow sellers on various topics and experiences.
Concluding Notes on Amazon Business Using the Amazon Seller App
Amazon has thousands of sellers on its platform dealing with different products. Thousands more still apply to list their businesses on Amazon despite the challenges start-ups on the platform experience.
Operating a business on Amazon be it as a vendor or a seller has its challenges and successes.
To overcome these challenges, Amazon has continually rolled out several programs such as the Fulfilment by Amazon – small and light, the Amazon Seller App, Amazon Seller Analytics, etc.
This is in a bid to take into account all the needs of the sellers on the platform.
To break even, you need performance data, friendly fees, a good advertisement campaign, and competitive pricing. Amazon has a hand in all of these which you have access to through the Amazon seller App.
