Using Fulfillment by Amazon for International Orders

An alternative way to fulfill your international orders is to use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) in the country corresponding to the Amazon marketplace where you are listing your products. Using FBA will require importing your products into the country you want to sell them in and storing them in an Amazon fulfillment center in that marketplace. The one exception to this case is if you already sell in one of Amazon's European marketplaces and fulfill with FBA in that marketplace. In that case, you can fulfill your orders from other EU marketplaces using your current FBA account through the European Fulfillment Network or Multi-Country Inventory (see below).

The following chart summarizes instances where you will need to import your products when using FBA:

Seller is based	FBA fulfillment center location	Importation required?
Outside the United States	United States	Yes, products need to be imported into the U.S.
Outside Canada	Canada	Yes, products need to be imported into Canada.
Outside Europe	European marketplace countries: UK, Germany, France, Italy, or Spain	Yes, products need to be imported into Europe.
In Europe	European marketplace countries: UK, Germany, France, Italy, or Spain	No, goods don't need to be imported between EU member countries. If seller uses FBA, seller can use FBA international programs (see the Fulfillment options in Europe section below).
Outside Japan	Japan	Yes, products need to be imported into Japan.

The following section covers what you need to know in order to plan for the import process. As covered in Register and Launch, you will first need to create a seller account in the Amazon marketplace where you want to sell and then enroll in FBA in that marketplace.

For more information about selling internationally and using FBA, see Amazon Global Selling, and Program Policies to remind you about your obligations when using Fulfillment by Amazon.

Sending inventory to an Amazon fulfillment center

If your inventory is located in a different country than the fulfillment center, you need to export your products from the source country and import them into the destination country. You will act as the exporter of record in the source country and the importer of record in the destination country, and must comply with all laws and regulations of the source and destination countries. You may be subject to import taxes, customs duties, and fees levied by the destination country. Here is an overview of the process:

1. Create listings in Seller Central.
2. Prepare a commercial invoice indicating that you are the importer of record.
3. Choose a customs broker (this service may be offered by your carrier).
4. Ship the products from the factory or warehouse to the port.
5. Clear the products through customs for export.
6. Load products onto a carrier for transport to the destination port.
7. Ship products to the destination port and offload them.
8. Clear the products through customs for import.
9. Load products onto carrier for transport to the fulfillment center.

Fulfillment options in Europe

Selling in Europe allows you to leverage Amazon's fulfillment network. Not only is listing simplified with a single Amazon European marketplace account, but cross-border sales also can be easier to manage with Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). In Europe, FBA offers three international fulfillment programs: Pan-European FBA, the European Fulfillment Network, and Multi-Country Inventory.

Pan-European FBA

The Pan-European FBA program allows you to fulfill offers in all European marketplaces from one inventory pool without incurring per-unit cross-border Fulfillment Fees for the European Fulfillment Network. Amazon will distribute your inventory across the European fulfillment network at no additional cost. You can track your Pan-Europe FBA offers using all standard reports and tools in Seller Central.

Once you enable Pan-European FBA in your Fulfillment by Amazon settings, Pan-European FBA will become active for a product only after you create an active FBA offer in each of the Amazon European marketplaces (Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.it, and Amazon.es) from the same inventory pool and enroll the ASIN in Pan-European FBA.

Choose the country to which you wish to ship Pan-European FBA ASINs. Amazon may then move this inventory across European fulfillment centers at its discretion at no additional cost to you. This helps inventory be as close to customers as possible.

Learn more about Pan-European FBA.

European Fulfillment Network (EFN)

If you're just getting started selling in Europe, we recommend using the European Fulfillment Network (EFN). EFN is a simple way to store and ship your inventory across all five of Amazon's European marketplaces. Here's how it works:

1. You ship your inventory to fulfillment centers in your home or local marketplace in Europe-for example, in the UK.
2. You list the products in one or more of the Amazon European marketplaces, for example, on Amazon.de (German retail website).
3. Customers across Europe can order your products, and Amazon fulfills those orders from that single pool of inventory. For example, when a customer in Germany purchases your product on Amazon.de, the product is fulfilled by Amazon and shipped from your inventory pool in the U.K.
4. When customers track their orders, they can see where it is shipping from and the expected arrival time.

Selecting the European Fulfillment Network

If you are registered for Fulfillment by Amazon, you can use EFN with no additional registration or startup costs. Simply add your listings to each Amazon European marketplace where you want to sell. When those products sell, you pay a fee for each order shipped outside your home marketplace through EFN, in addition to your other FBA fees.

Learn more about EFN Fees.

Multi-Country Inventory (MCI)

You can reduce the time it takes for an order to get to your customer by using Multi-Country Inventory (MCI). MCI is an optional international fulfillment program offered through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) that helps you grow your international sales by making your offers more competitive. With MCI, you send your most popular inventory directly to the countries where customers are buying, so the products are close to your customers. When customers order your products, Amazon can ship and deliver them faster.

Even if you fulfill domestic orders yourself, you can gain a competitive edge in the international marketplaces where you sell by fulfilling locally with MCI. You can either choose to fulfill your entire listings or just your best-selling items locally through MCI -there are no minimum requirements.

Selecting Multi-Country Inventory

In order to take advantage of MCI, you can create offers in any Amazon European marketplaces with Amazon's Build International Listings tool. When you enable MCI, you will be able to select from the available countries to send inventory.