80/20 of E-commerce: September 15, 2023

Hi Everyone,

We’ll dive into the buzz around Amazon Accelerate, highlighting the latest updates on Amazon’s New Supply Chain and Amazon’s FBA Removal Policy. Also, TikTok Shop has just recently launched in the US and partnered with Flowspace for its fulfillment. 

If you’ve missed Chris McCabe’s live webinar on “Top 3 Competitor Attacks to Watch Out for in Q4” now is your chance to watch the replay. Plus, don’t miss our upcoming webinar next week, “We’ve SOLVED Amazon’s Ranking Algorithm,” featuring 8-figure seller and industry expert Brandon Young. Mark your calendars for Thursday, Sept 21, at 9 pm EST.

And for our friends in Thailand, check out the Cross Border Summit—you won’t want to miss it!

Amazon Accelerate 

Jeff Cohen, Chief Evangelist at Amazon, just dropped a treasure trove of insights from the #AmazonAccelerate event, and it’s got the seller community buzzing. The event kicked off with a powerful stat – over 60% of Amazon’s sales now come from third-party sellers, showcasing a significant shift in the e-commerce landscape over the last decade.

The event revolved around five core themes: empowering success, fostering an inclusive community, creating a platform for brand success, supporting sellers at every stage of their journey, and making a positive impact in local communities. But what really stole the show were the exciting tools and innovations unveiled.

The two biggest announcements were around Amazon Logistics and Gen AI. Both of these, as well as everything else discussed, are focused on lowering costs and improving the seller experience. 

These updates demonstrate Amazon’s drive to support these sellers and improve the customer experience. The new shipping announcement provides an end-to-end solution for shipping while Gen AI provides a much-needed service to improve listings.

For more details, check out Jeff Cohen’s LinkedIn post.

TAKEAWAY: Amazon Accelerate is set to reshape e-commerce. Dive in and explore these opportunities—it’s a game-changer for sellers!

Amazon’s New Supply Chain Service: A Game Changer for Sellers

Amazon’s latest offering, “Supply Chain by Amazon” (SCA), has just hit the market, and it’s poised to revolutionize the way entrepreneurs and e-commerce sellers handle their supply chain operations. This game-changing service is designed to streamline your inventory management, ensuring your products stay in stock, and get shipped faster, and at a lower cost than ever before.

SCA offers the full gamut of services including:

• Collecting inventory worldwide
• Handling customs clearance, and efficient ground transportation to bulk inventory storage, seamless replenishment across various sales channels, and direct-to-customer deliveries.

For entrepreneurs and Amazon sellers, SCA claims to streamline the whole process – With SCA, you can maintain the right inventory levels across diverse sales channels, whether you’re selling online or through physical stores. 

Plus, you get access to Amazon’s massive investment in distribution networks and cutting-edge technology, paving the way for scalable growth and a stronger bottom line.

TAKEAWAY: Amazon’s Supply Chain is a new player in the supply chain game.  It remains to be seen how effective it will be but if AGL is any indication, Amazon has the economies of scale to keep costs down and potentially pass the savings onto sellers.  It’s worth a test if you want to try to optimize your supply chain (who doesn’t?!). 

Amazon’s FBA Removals Policy Update

Amazon has recently announced an update to its FBA Removals Policy, which will take effect on November 1, 2023. The change will affect sellers who set their preferred removal option for unfillable inventory to “Dispose.” 

Amazon will schedule the removal order at its discretion based on capacity. Sellers who haven’t selected a removal option before November 1, 2023, will have their selection default to Immediate Disposal. To maintain a weekly or biweekly removal schedule, sellers must go to Automated unfulfillable settings, select the return option, and input a valid return address. They’ll then have the ability to place manual removal orders on their inventory at any time prior to their selected automated removal schedule.

Now, why should you care? As ecom sellers, this policy shift directly affects your inventory management and storage expenses. Who wants to rack up unnecessary fees, right? By staying up-to-date with Amazon’s FBA Removals Policy, you’ll sidestep those unexpected charges and keep your inventory running like clockwork.

TAKEAWAY: Stay informed about Amazon’s policies and make necessary adjustments to your inventory management strategy to avoid unnecessary fees and ensure efficient management of their inventory.

TikTok Shop Launches in the US: A New Era of Social Commerce?

TikTok, the popular social media app, has officially launched its e-commerce platform, TikTok Shop, in the US. The platform will allow sellers to conduct in-feed video and live shopping on the app. With over 150 million users in the US alone, TikTok Shop is poised to become a major player in the social commerce space.

TikTok Shop offers a seamless shopping experience by combining the power of community, creativity, and commerce. Creators can tag products in their videos to make it easier for users to buy things from in-feed videos and live videos. Brands can also make their own product portfolios, which can be accessible from their profile pages.

In addition to this exciting news, Flowspace has partnered with TikTok to provide fulfillment services for TikTok Shop sellers in the U.S. Flowspace is a software platform and distribution network that powers independent fulfillment. It is directly integrated with TikTok Shop, enabling merchants to manage inventory and ensure consistently efficient, reliable product fulfillment. Merchants partnering with Flowspace and TikTok Shop can take advantage of direct integration, a nationwide network, established SLAs, omnichannel fulfillment, and key account resources.

TAKEAWAY: TikTok Shop is a new and exciting way for e-commerce sellers to connect with highly engaged customers based on their interests. With its user-friendly interface and vast user base, TikTok Shop is a platform that e-commerce sellers should definitely consider using. With Flowspace’s partnership with TikTok Shop, merchants can now take advantage of efficient and reliable product fulfillment.

WEBINAR REPLAY: “Top 3 Competitor Attacks to Watch Out for in Q4”

In case you missed our recent live webinar, “Top 3 Competitor Attacks to Watch Out for in Q4,” featuring Chris McCabe, here’s the replay

📺 Watch the Replay Now: https://youtu.be/E2Jx5CzUhH8

In this webinar you will learn:

🛡️ Defend Your Brand: Discover the three powerful attacks competitors use during the critical Q4 season and how to defend your brand like a pro.

🚀 Proven Strategies: Acquire actionable strategies to prepare for and counteract these attacks in real time.

📢 Effective Reporting: Learn how to report abuse incidents as they occur, ensuring your brand’s integrity remains intact.

🔍 Deep Dive into Abuse Types: Gain a comprehensive understanding of the four different types of abuse.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 –  Introduction

02:45 –  Why this webinar is important and who is it for

05:55 –  Top 4 Competitor Attacks to Watch Out for in Q4

14:19 –  Other types of abuse

17:20 –  How to defend yourself right away from these types of abuse

18:38 –  PDP Abuse

21:35 –  Reports of IP Claim Abuse

25:27 –  Don’t give Amazon a reason to ignore you

28:34 –  Things to keep in mind regarding Abuse Report 

32:55 –  Hiring the wrong people can cost you more than just their fee

37:25 –  Escalating your Abuse Report

42:05 –  Seller Velocity Conference in NY this October 11 – 12 

48:06 –  What’s the best way to connect with Chris McCabe?

49:00 – Is there any way to protect others to modify or create unauthorized listings for my brand?

51:35 –  How to get Brand Gating in Amazon?

53:00 –  How can you show Amazon a competitor’s attack on your account when there’s no clear proof or evidence and fix the suppression without outside help?

55:00 –  Can I attack back?

56:20 –  How can we compete with brands that use blackhat tactics on Amazon when we follow the rules and Amazon doesn’t take action against them?

58:15 –  Wrap up and big takeaways

Chris McCabe, Founder of EcommerceChris, is a former Amazon Seller Performance Investigator and insider within Amazon’s Seller Performance and Executive Seller Relations teams, he knows the platform inside and out.

Want to learn more? 

🎟️ Register for Seller Velocity Conference held in New York City this October. and use code “AMZNYC” to get 30% off the tickets 🎟️

LIVE TRAINING: “We’ve SOLVED Amazon’s Ranking Algorithm: Step-by-step Instructions to Dominate your Niche” feat. Brandon Young on 9/21 at 9 pm EST

We are excited to invite you to our upcoming live training, “We’ve SOLVED Amazon’s Ranking Algorithm: Step-by-step Instructions to Dominate your Niche,” on Thursday, September 21 at 9pm EST.

Our speaker, Brandon Young, CEO of Seller Systems, is a winning Amazon seller and consultant, considered by many to be one of the leading experts in Amazon Private Label and Amazon SEO. His own brands sold more than $25 million just on Amazon in 2022 and are on target to achieve $30 million in 2023, making him one of the only coaches who is actually practicing what he teaches.

In this 60 min training you will:

• Discover the secrets of Amazon’s ranking algorithm and receive step-by-step instructions on how to increase your organic rank to dominate your niche. 
• Dive in and dissect the algorithm into a set of actionable components, empowering you to effectively influence your rankings.
• Learn how to maintain dominance once the top spot has been achieved.

We believe this webinar will be of great value to you and your business. 

To register, please click on this link: https://bit.ly/3Esehz9 

👉 RSVP NOW 👈

A Journey of Learning, Growth, and Connections at the Cross Border Summit 2023 – Nov 16 – 17, 2023 (Chiangmai, Thailand)

This November, the Cross Border Summit presents the E-commerce Back to School Promo, offering you the opportunity to GROW, LEARN, and CONNECT with fellow e-commerce enthusiasts.

Why the ‘Back to School’ theme?  Because in the dynamic world of e-commerce, staying competitive requires a commitment to continuous learning.

Prepare yourself for an AMAZING 2024 and beyond with fresh insights, cutting-edge strategies, and a GLOBAL network of industry leaders.

Join us and think of it as YOUR ‘Back to School’ for e-commerce – where knowledge is your greatest asset!

Register NOW and embrace this ‘back to school’ experience for e-commerce success!

Date and Time: November 16 – 17, 2023 at 8 am 

Location: Changmai Thailand

Learn more here: https://2023.crossbordersummit.com/ 

Shanghai Amazon Sellers Meetup – September 21st, at 6 pm

Last month, we held the Shanghai Amazon Seller Meetup after a four-year hiatus, and it was a resounding success! We had a fantastic turnout at Abbey Road, with both seasoned 7-figure sellers sharing their social media strategies and newcomers eager to kickstart their Amazon journey.

The good news? Part 2 is just around the corner, and we want you to be a part of it!

Here are the important details that you need to know: 

🛍️Event: Shanghai Amazon Sellers Meet Up 

🗓️ Date: September 21, 2023 (Thursday)

⏰ Time: 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM China

🏠 Location: Abbey Road

📍 Address: 3 Taojiang Lu, near Hengshan Lu, Lu Xuhui District

🌐 Google Maps:  Find Us Here

Don’t miss out! RSVP by clicking this link or scanning the QR code below: https://bit.ly/3Za4OWQ

Join us for a relaxed evening to make new connections, learn from fellow sellers, and chat about Amazon. See you there! 🚀🤝

RSVP NOW – See you there!

Finally, I met up with my friend Bradley Sutton, Chief Evangelist at Helium10, in Tokyo this week.  We had an amazing Tonkatsu lunch and caught up on some news happening in the ecom sphere.  

Meanwhile a quick shoutout to Helium10, one of the leading product research tools for Amazon sellers. If you haven’t checked them out we have a special offer for the 80/20 of Ecom newsletter readers.

Use the code 8020SOURCING6M20 to get 20% OFF for 6 Months with Helium10 or get 10% OFF Every Month by entering the 8020SOURCING10 at checkout. 

In case you missed it: 

• Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Alibaba Host Seller Events This Month
• Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit Files Lawsuits Against Bad Actors Attempting to Use Social Media to Knowingly Sell Counterfeit Luxury Items
• Etsy Rewards Sellers for Driving Traffic to Their Listings
• 🗓️ Join us on October 11 & 12 in NYC for 🚀 Seller Velocity Conference 2023!

Until next week! 

Gary

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