SFP · FBA Prep · FBM · AWD Amazon orders that skip FBA still need a warehouse. Vertex provides Amazon 3PL fulfillment for FBM, AWD and multi-channel sellers, pooling your Amazon stock with your Shopify and B2B volume on one WMS.
One hub, four programs
Our Amazon fulfillment services cover every Amazon order that is not pure SFP and not pure FBA prep. One hub, four programs: FBM, AWD, SFP and FBA prep, with a decision tool further down this page.
FBM carries most of the volume. Fulfilled by Merchant is Amazon's name for seller-fulfilled orders that ship without the Prime badge. Amazon hands each order to us through Seller Central over the SP-API, and it leaves your warehouse or ours on your handling time and your carrier accounts. That is Amazon FBM fulfillment on your settings. Your carriers, our floor.
Amazon Warehousing and Distribution is Amazon's upstream bulk storage program. AWD prices below FBA long-term storage and auto-replenishes Amazon fulfillment centers as your forward stock burns down. We coordinate AWD shipments at no separate fee on top of standard FBA prep. When Amazon MCF is the right tool, we coordinate that too. Hybrid setups work as well: the same SKU ships through different programs based on customer location and Prime eligibility.
FBA fees stack. Pick-and-pack fees, storage fees, referral fees and long-term storage escalators add up to a structure that crushes margins on certain SKU profiles. Heavy units, oversized items, hazmat, slow movers, custom packaging and B2B pallet builds all price better in our 3PL warehouse than through Amazon FBA. We model the breakeven for your catalog. Then we tell you which SKUs belong in FBA and which belong on our floor.
What Vertex does for Amazon fulfillment
When Amazon, Shopify and B2B orders all draw from one inventory pool, operational detail decides whether the numbers hold. These four mechanics matter most for a 3PL partner running Amazon volume.
Every Amazon Seller Central order reaches Vertex through Amazon's official SP-API, synced on a near-real-time cadence. Amazon, Shopify, BigCommerce and B2B orders then share one warehouse management system (WMS) queue. At picking, Amazon-only rules take over: ship-by dates, handling time, gift wrap flags and any buyer-seller messaging requirement attached to the order.
Overselling starts when two channels count the same stock twice. At Vertex, Amazon and DTC inventory live in one physical record, so an Amazon sale and a Shopify sale draw down the same on-hand number through our Shopify 3PL integration. Nothing is double-allocated. Nobody reconciles spreadsheets by hand. Each change goes back to Amazon as a real-time inventory feed over the SP-API.
Amazon's deadline for tracking upload is 24 hours. Vertex posts tracking as soon as the carrier scans the parcel. That early upload keeps seller account health intact and heads off "where is my order" messages, so your contact-rate metric in Seller Central stays low.
FBA returns go back to Amazon. Amazon grades them, then restocks them as used Amazon inventory or sends them to disposal. Our returns process runs at our own dock: each return is graded against your criteria, restocked as new where possible, or quarantined for disposition under your rules.
Returned units are your inventory, not Amazon's.
Share your Amazon fulfillment requirements with our team, and we’ll provide a tailored quote within 24 hours, covering storage, picking, packing, shipping, and scalable support designed for your business.
Reasons to fulfill outside FBA
These are the five most common reasons Amazon sellers move order volume out of FBA and into our warehouse. The math behind each one comes from real customer catalogs we have run.
We are not here to talk you out of FBA. We are here to show which SKUs pencil better on our floor.
Your unboxing experience disappears inside FBA. Amazon packs every order in its own branded box and turns down custom packaging requests, which hurts apparel, beauty, supplement and premium brands whose packaging carries the brand experience.
Vertex packs to your spec instead: custom boxes, tissue, insert cards, sample sachets, hand-written thank-you notes and gift wrap, with kitting and multi-pack assembly available on the same orders. The per-order pick and pack rate matches standard FBM. Branded packaging is the top reason sellers send Amazon orders our way.
Wholesale buyers on Amazon Business order in bulk, anywhere from 24-packs to 100-packs, and expect the goods on a pallet or by freight. FBA has no workflow for that: a 24-unit order cannot leave as one pallet with the buyer's own BOL. Vertex sends these orders down its B2B pick workflow instead. Each pallet gets shrink-wrap, dunnage, a customer-specific BOL and palletization to the carrier's rules. Same warehouse floor, B2B pack-out.
Stock inside FBA can only serve Amazon. Selling that SKU on Shopify as well means splitting inventory into a second 3PL or paying Amazon MCF per order, and MCF usually costs meaningfully more than the same order through a third-party fulfillment center. Past 500 DTC orders a month, pooled inventory at Vertex almost always wins. One stock record serves Amazon, Shopify and B2B, the model behind our omnichannel fulfillment.
Weight and size are where FBA fees climb fastest. Surcharges start above 1 lb and steepen past 5 lbs or 18 inches on the longest side. Hazmat is harder still: aerosols, products with a flash point under 200°F and lithium batteries above Amazon's FBA threshold are often refused outright.
Vertex keeps hazmat-eligible SKUs in DOT-compliant storage zones and weighs and dims every order at pack-out. Oversized orders travel by ground LTL instead of the FedEx Smartpost economy route FBA would push you into, all inside our big, heavy and bulky fulfillment service.
Slow sellers are where FBA storage gets expensive. Once inventory ages past Amazon's threshold, long-term storage fees ratchet up, and the total can climb well beyond our ambient storage rate. Catalog SKUs, replacement parts and low-velocity accessories almost always cost less to hold at Vertex. We handle the exit through FBA Removal Orders.
FBA vs FBM decision tool
Some SKUs belong in FBA. Some belong in our warehouse. Most catalogs are a mix. Answer three questions on unit weight and dimensions, monthly Amazon order volume and packaging needs, and the tool returns a recommended path (FBA, FBM at Vertex or a hybrid) with a one-sentence rationale. It takes about 30 seconds.
Question 1 of 3
What is your typical unit weight and dim?
Question 2 of 3
What is your monthly Amazon order volume?
Question 3 of 3
Do your orders need custom packaging or inserts?
Seller Performance
Five Amazon-specific failure modes get FBM sellers flagged by Amazon Seller Performance. Here is how we catch each one first.
Late shipment rate above 4%. Measured against your handling time; repeat offenders lose buy-box eligibility on affected ASINs. We honor handling time to the day and run pre-flight stock checks before order acceptance.
Order Defect Rate above 1%. ODR combines A-to-z claims, negative feedback and chargebacks; above 1% brings warnings, above 2% can suspend the account. We process returns promptly, refund fast and flag tracking issues early.
Pre-fulfillment cancellations above 2.5%. Out-of-stock, prep failure and address issues trigger flags. We hold buffer stock on active FBM SKUs, validate addresses through the USPS API before pick, and confirm prep state before acceptance.
Valid tracking rate below 95%. Amazon expects a tracking number on every shipment within your handling time. We upload after carrier scan, inside the 24-hour window, and send a carrier exception report for failed scans.
Buyer messages past 24 hours. Amazon requires replies within 24 hours, weekends included, and scores slow ones. We route messages to your shared inbox, SLA flagged, and answer tracking, address and return RMA questions directly.
Amazon fulfillment pricing at Vertex
Here is what FBM, AWD and the shared inventory pool actually cost. No setup fees. No per-SKU charges. No annual contract. Every other line sits on the full Vertex pricing page.
FBM pick + pack
from $1.05
per order
Standard FBM fulfillment at the same rate as your DTC channel volume. SP-API integration included, tracking upload included, returns processed against Amazon RMAs.
Custom packaging
Add-on
scoped on call
Custom box, tissue, insert card, hand-written note, gift wrap. Applied at pack-out by SKU or by order-level rule. No setup fee.
B2B pallet build
Per pallet
scoped on call
Amazon Business and B2B pallet pack-outs with shrink-wrap, dunnage, customer BOL, carrier-specific palletization. Per pallet, not per unit.
AWD coordination
$0
on top of FBA prep
AWD-bound shipments coordinated at no separate fee on top of standard per-unit FBA prep pricing. You pay Amazon's AWD storage and replenishment fees directly to Amazon.
You only pay for the space and services you use, with no setup fees. Storage is charged based on how much shelf or pallet space your products take up. Receiving is charged per pallet when your shipment arrives.
For shipping, we use your own UPS, FedEx, USPS, or Amazon Shipping account, so you keep the carrier rates you have already negotiated. There are no extra long-term storage fees from us and no minimum monthly FBM order requirements.
Bring your Seller Central metrics and a current invoice. We map which SKUs belong in FBA and which belong on our floor.
Where we run Amazon fulfillment
The same fulfillment network that runs SFP and FBA prep also runs FBM and the multi-channel inventory pool. Pick the node closest to your customer geography, or split inventory across several nodes for wider ground coverage.
Northeast
Newark + New Jersey
Covers New York metro, New England, mid-Atlantic on 1-day ground.
Southeast
Atlanta
Covers Florida, Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia on 1-day ground.
Midwest
Chicago + Indianapolis
Covers the upper Midwest and Great Lakes on 1-day ground.
South Central
Dallas + Houston
Covers Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas on 1-day ground.
West
Los Angeles + Inland Empire
Covers California, Nevada, Arizona on 1-day ground.
Canada
Toronto + Vancouver
Covers Amazon.ca FBM and FBA Canada inbound. CUSMA-aware routing for Canadian-origin goods.
Ready when you are
Simplify Amazon fulfillment with a flexible 3PL partner built for growing brands. From unified inventory and SP-API connectivity to custom packaging and B2B support, our team helps keep your operations accurate, responsive, and ready to scale without long-term contracts.
FBM, FBA, AWD and multi-channel orders run on one inventory pool. SP-API integration syncs on a near-real-time cadence, tracking uploads promptly, and custom packaging and B2B pallet builds cover what FBA cannot. No annual contract.
Speak with our Amazon fulfillment specialists for tailored support, reliable solutions, and expert guidance designed around your order fulfillment needs.
Other Amazon services
Expand your Amazon operations with additional fulfillment support, including Seller Fulfilled Prime and FBA prep services designed to help you meet Amazon requirements, streamline workflows, and keep orders moving efficiently.
SFP
Seller Fulfilled Prime at Vertex is built to meet Amazon's SFP service-level requirements, including a same-day cutoff and weekend operations. Our Seller Fulfilled Prime services page covers the detail.
Read moreFBA Prep
Our Amazon FBA prep services run on an 8-station workflow built around Amazon's FBA spec, from FNSKU labeling to polybagging and bundling. Per-unit prep pricing is scoped on the discovery call.
Read more
