Amazon Fulfillment Services

FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant) means you or a 3PL ships each order directly to the buyer. FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) means your stock goes to Amazon's warehouses and Amazon ships it. FBM gives you control over costs and packaging; FBA gets you the Prime badge. Most sellers run both: FBM through a 3PL for cost-sensitive SKUs, FBA for high-velocity Prime items.

A 3PL (third-party logistics provider) for Amazon sellers is a company that stores your inventory and handles picking, packing, and shipping on your behalf. For Amazon specifically, a 3PL can fulfill orders in a few ways: ship Merchant-Fulfilled (FBM) orders directly to your customers, prep inventory for Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) so it meets Amazon's inbound requirements before it reaches a fulfillment center, and route the same inventory to other sales channels from one stock pool. Instead of running a warehouse yourself, you send inventory to the 3PL and they ship your Amazon orders same-day.

Yes, we maintain 99.99% order accuracy through barcode scanning, quality control checks, and process verification. In the rare case of an error, we cover all costs to correct it including return shipping and re-fulfillment - no questions asked.

Every client gets a dedicated account manager: a real person who knows you by name and works directly with you on day-to-day questions. You reach them by email, and replies come the same business day, often faster. Business hours are Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM CT.

These are three ways to fulfill Amazon orders.

FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) — you send inventory to Amazon's fulfillment centers, and Amazon stores it and ships each order.

FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant) — you keep inventory yourself (or with a 3PL) and ship each order directly to the customer. You control packaging and carrier.

Seller-Fulfilled Prime (SFP) — a program where you fulfill orders from your own (or a 3PL's) warehouse but still show the Prime badge, which requires meeting Amazon's Prime delivery speed and reliability standards.

The trade-off is control versus convenience. FBA hands storage and shipping to Amazon. FBM and SFP keep fulfillment in your hands (or your 3PL's) while you still sell on Amazon.

Orders received by 12 PM CST ship the same day. Orders received after 12 PM ship the next business day. During peak seasons (Black Friday, holiday rushes), we maintain this standard through expanded staffing and extended hours - no slowdowns when you need us most.

Yes. Simpl preps FBA-bound inventory (FNSKU labeling, poly-bagging, bundle prep) and ships it to Amazon's fulfillment centers, and Simpl also fulfills FBM orders by shipping them directly to your customers from Austin, TX. Many brands use both: FBA prep for their Amazon-stored inventory and FBM for orders they'd rather fulfill themselves. Both run from the same warehouse and the same inventory system.

The entire platform is included at no extra cost - inventory management system, returns portal, automation tools, real-time order tracking, and detailed reporting. Everything you need to run efficient operations is built into our service with no hidden software fees.

Simpl's order fulfillment starts at $7/order — a flat rate that covers picking, packing, postage, and packaging in one number, with no separate pick fees or surcharge stack. There's a $750/month account minimum, billed pay-the-difference: if a month's order billing comes in under $750, you're charged only the gap, not a flat fee on top. Amazon FBA prep is billed separately as a flat fee per unit, since prep work is priced by the unit rather than the order.

No. Setup and onboarding are free, and you're live in 5–7 days. Receiving is free as well, apart from a charge for inbound shipments that don't meet our receiving requirements, as our terms of service spell out. If we prep inventory for FBA, Amazon's own inbound fees are separate. Your bill is the flat per-order rate, storage by the space you use, and returns, plus carrier surcharges when they apply. Standard ecommerce fulfillment accounts also have a $750 monthly minimum: if a month's order charges come in under $750, we bill the difference on top. For comparison, 55% of providers in The Fulfillment Advisor's 2026 survey charge a one-time setup fee, averaging $373.06, and connecting a shopping cart averages another $316.56.

Yes. Amazon is one of the marketplaces Simpl connects to, alongside Walmart, eBay, Etsy, and TikTok Shop. Once Seller Central is connected, your merchant-fulfilled orders come straight in through the integration, we pick, pack, and ship them from our Austin warehouse, and the tracking number syncs back to the order on Amazon. Seller Fulfilled Prime is supported if your account is eligible for it. You get real-time visibility into the inventory we hold. Shopify, Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Squarespace stores connect natively too, and stock kept at Simpl is one pool across every connected channel, so selling on Amazon alongside your own store doesn't mean splitting inventory. Stock you send into FBA stays in Amazon's fulfillment centers and isn't part of that pool. Need something custom? Ask us about API integrations.

Yes. Standard packaging is included in the flat per-order rate, so you don't need to send us boxes or mailers. Our stock is recycled mailers, recycled bubble and standard boxes, and we can source a specific eco material on request. If you want branded boxes, inserts or your own packing slip, raise it when you ask for a quote; we add client-supplied inserts and packing slips on request, subject to our approval.

No, as long as the shipment meets our receiving requirements. Every client gets free receiving: when your inventory arrives at our Austin warehouse we check it for compliance, count pallets and cases against your packing list, and shelve it, with a 1–3 day turnaround. The requirements are one SKU per master carton, a barcode on each unit you sell, a packing list, and standard four-way pallets. Shipments that don't meet them are billed at $45 per person-hour for the extra labor, as our terms of service spell out. That covers receiving at our warehouse. If we prep inventory for FBA, Amazon's own inbound fees are separate. If you're comparing 3PL quotes, our pricing guide shows what receiving costs at providers that charge for it, by pallet, carton or hour.

Our flat per-order rate covers picking (up to three picks per order), packing, standard packaging materials such as boxes, mailers, and padding, and the postage to ship the order. It applies to orders we pick, pack, and ship to your customers. Amazon FBA prep is a separate service. The rate varies with package weight and shipping service. There are no setup or onboarding fees, and receiving is free, apart from a charge for inbound shipments that don't follow our receiving guidelines. Storage is billed separately by the space you use (small bin, large bin, shelf, or pallet), and carrier surcharges, such as peak-season, residential, or oversize fees, are billed per our terms when they apply. Every fee is disclosed, so there are no hidden fees.

Amazon fulfillment services handle the storage, picking, packing, and shipping of orders sold on Amazon. You can use Amazon's own program, FBA, or a third-party 3PL that preps and ships your Amazon inventory. Simpl offers Amazon FBA prep and integrates with Amazon to fulfill your orders, with pricing that starts at $7/order.

We can have you up and running in 5-7 days, not weeks. Our streamlined onboarding adapts to your timeline - whether you need to move quickly or prefer a gradual transition. We handle inventory receiving, system integration, and testing to ensure everything works perfectly before going live.

If you're spending more than a few hours daily on fulfillment, or if packing orders is keeping you from growing your business, it's time to consider outsourcing. The right 3PL partner will save you time and often reduce shipping costs while improving delivery speeds for your customers.

Absolutely. We fulfill everything from individual retail orders to full pallet shipments, including EDI compliance, custom labeling, and freight shipping. Our flexible system handles both your direct-to-consumer and wholesale fulfillment needs under one roof with the same dedicated account manager.

Yes! From subscription boxes to promotional bundles, we handle all types of kitting and light assembly. Our team can build custom kits as orders come in or pre-assemble items for faster shipping. We also offer product bundling, promotional inserts, and gift wrapping services.

Returns are handled for every fulfillment client, at any volume, and billed per return at the rate in your quote. Each return is inspected and graded against rules you set: sellable as-is, sellable after rework, or not sellable. Sellable units are re-bagged, re-barcoded and put back into available stock, and anything we mark damaged is photographed so you can see why. Your dashboard shows each return's status, the customer's reason, the photos and restock counts, and your customers get a branded returns portal. Unsellable items are sent back to you, disposed of, donated or liquidated, whichever you choose. Most returns are back in sellable stock within 5 business days of arriving at our warehouse, and brands with more volume can get turnaround as fast as 2 business days. Our returns processing page lays out each step in more detail.

Yes. Most of our clients are founder-led brands with one to three people on the team, so a new or small brand is a normal fit here. Standard ecommerce fulfillment accounts have a $750 monthly minimum, billed pay-the-difference: if a month's order charges come in under $750, we bill the shortfall so order charges reach $750, and storage, returns and any carrier surcharges are billed on top. For light packages on standard shipping, that works out to roughly 90–100 orders a month; heavier, larger or faster shipments reach it with fewer orders. If you're shipping well under that, keeping fulfillment in-house for now is often the honest answer. FBA-prep-only accounts have a different minimum of 1,000 units a month. Whatever your volume, you get a dedicated account manager, a real person reachable by email. Full details are on our pricing page.

Yes! We handle everything under one roof - Amazon FBA prep, direct-to-consumer fulfillment, kitting services, custom assembly, and specialized prep requirements. Our flexible approach means you can consolidate all fulfillment needs with one partner instead of managing multiple vendors.

The entire platform is included at no extra cost. This includes our inventory management system, returns portal, automation tools, and real-time order tracking - everything you need to run your operations efficiently.

Yes! Our new system can print custom gift messages unique to each order, giving you complete control over the unboxing experience. We also offer handwritten notes - just ask your account manager for details.

Yes - we provide worldwide shipping through established carrier networks. We'll work with you to find the most reliable and cost-effective international shipping solutions for your business.

With Amazon FBA you send inventory into Amazon's fulfillment centers, and Amazon stores it and ships your Amazon orders, subject to Amazon's storage fees and inbound prep rules. Through Multi-Channel Fulfillment, that same FBA inventory can also fill orders from your own site and other channels, so the split isn't Amazon orders versus everything else. The difference is who runs the warehouse: with third-party fulfillment, an independent 3PL holds your inventory in its own warehouse and ships your Amazon, store and marketplace orders under its own pricing and packing rules. Simpl does this from one warehouse in Austin, TX at a flat per-order rate starting at $7/order, and the two can work together, with FBA covering Amazon orders while a 3PL handles your other channels or preps inventory before it goes into FBA.

It makes sense when you sell on more than just Amazon, want to avoid Amazon's long-term storage fees, or need more control over branding and packaging. FBA works well for Amazon-only sellers, but it gets expensive for slow-moving inventory and limits how your shipments look. A third-party service like Simpl fulfills your Amazon, Shopify, and other channel orders from one inventory pool, with same-day shipping before 12pm CT.

They prep your inventory to Amazon's exact specifications before it ships to an Amazon fulfillment center, including FNSKU labeling, poly bagging, bundling, and packaging that meets Amazon's standards. This keeps your shipments from being rejected or hit with non-compliance fees at the FBA receiving dock. Simpl handles FBA prep so your inventory arrives at Amazon ready to sell.

Third-party Amazon fulfillment with Simpl starts at $7/order, with the pick, packaging, and postage included in that flat rate. FBA prep and storage are priced based on the work and the space involved, and storage is billed by the type of space your inventory uses. The per-order rate holds whether you ship 50 orders a month or 5,000.