The last two weeks have been chaotic for brands using Amazon Vendor Central. While the only constant with Amazon is change, there are a few clear takeaways from the Vendor Central confusion:
1. Amazon wants to move away from buying and owning inventory.
Amazon has the leverage to offload inventory management to brands and third party sellers on its marketplace, and it doesn't need their permission to do so at a moment's notice. Whether or not purchase orders were reinstated for a particular Vendor account, brands using Vendor Central should be concerned about the long-term viability of their Amazon strategy.
2. Amazon is no longer willing to lose money on products just to gain market share.
While being the "everything store" has served Amazon well, its renewed emphasis on the marketplace indicates a shift toward profitability. Amazon is able to capitalize on selling, shipping, and storage fees charged to marketplace sellers and decrease their own investment and risk.
3. Amazon will always do what is best for Amazon.
While products are the lifeblood of the marketplace, Amazon will continue to prioritize the interests of its end customers and its bottom line. If this means making things more difficult and costly for a brand or manufacturer, they are willing to make that choice.
Based on these factors, we are confident that the best long-term Amazon strategy is to transition to Seller Central with an exclusive, trusted third party seller such as SupplyKick.
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