How to Create an FBA Shipment Plan (Step by Step)

Sending inventory to Amazon FBA is straightforward once you've done it a few times, but first-timers often make mistakes that cost time and money. Incorrect labels delay receiving by 1-2 weeks. Wrong box dimensions trigger additional handling fees. Non-compliant packaging gets shipments rejected entirely. Here's the step-by-step guide to creating shipment plans that go smoothly.

This guide covers the complete process from deciding how much to ship through to tracking your shipment's receiving status — including the optimization strategies (shipment splitting, Inventory Placement Service, carrier selection) that experienced sellers use to minimize costs and maximize receiving speed.

Before You Start

Before creating your first FBA shipment, ensure you have:

• FNSKU labels: Every unit needs a scannable FNSKU barcode. Generate these from your Seller Central inventory page (Manage Inventory → Print Item Labels). Print on adhesive label sheets (Avery 5160 or equivalent). Alternatively, use Amazon's FBA Label Service ($0.55/unit) and they'll label for you.
• Compliant packaging: Products must be individually packaged (poly bag, box, or shrink wrap depending on your product type). Amazon has specific packaging requirements by product category — check the FBA packaging and prep requirements page in Seller Central for your category.
• Shipping supplies: Standard corrugated shipping boxes (not product boxes), packing material (bubble wrap, air pillows, or kraft paper), clear packaging tape, and a printer for shipping labels.
• Prep center (optional but recommended for first-timers): If you're sourcing from overseas, a US-based prep center receives your goods, applies FNSKU labels, repackages if needed, and ships to FBA. Costs $1-3 per unit but saves significant time and reduces errors.

Deciding How Much to Ship

Don't just send everything. Calculate the optimal quantity based on three factors:

Days of supply target: Aim for 60-90 days of supply after the shipment arrives. Too little and you'll stockout before your next shipment can arrive. Too much and you'll incur aged inventory surcharges (penalty fees after 181 days) and tie up capital in slow-moving stock. For the complete restocking formula, see our automated restocking guide.

Seasonal velocity: If you're shipping in September, factor in the Q4 velocity increase. Your product might sell 5 units/day now but 8 units/day in November. Send enough to cover the peak, not just the current velocity. Check last year's data for seasonal patterns.

IPI and storage limits: If your IPI score is below 400, Amazon limits your storage volume. Check your current storage utilization in the Inventory Performance dashboard before planning large shipments. You may need to prioritize high-velocity products and send smaller quantities of slower-moving items. See our IPI guide.

Creating the Shipment Plan

1. Navigate to Inventory → Shipments → 'Send to Amazon' in Seller Central. This launches the new shipment workflow (Amazon periodically updates the interface, so the exact navigation may change slightly).
2. Set your shipping origin: The address you're shipping from (your warehouse, prep center, or home). This determines which fulfillment center(s) Amazon assigns your shipment to.
3. Add SKUs and quantities: Select the products you're shipping and enter the quantity for each. You can ship multiple products in the same shipment — Amazon will sort them into the appropriate fulfillment centers.
4. Choose labeling method: 'Merchant' (you label products with FNSKU barcodes) or 'Amazon' (Amazon labels for $0.55/unit). Self-labeling saves money but requires accuracy — a mislabeled unit gets sent to the wrong customer.
5. Set pack type: 'Individual products' (each unit sells separately) or 'Case-packed' (multiple identical units per case, sold individually). Case-packed is faster for Amazon to receive because they only need to scan one unit per case.
6. Enter box contents: Declare how many units are in each box. This is critical — discrepancies between your declared contents and actual contents trigger manual verification, which delays receiving by days or weeks.
7. Select shipping method: Amazon Partnered Carrier (recommended — discounted rates) or your own carrier. For small parcel: Amazon partners with UPS. For pallets: Amazon partners with various freight carriers.
8. Review and confirm: Double-check quantities, addresses, and shipping method. Once confirmed, print your shipping labels and schedule pickup or drop-off.

Labeling Your Products

Every unit sent to FBA needs a scannable FNSKU barcode. The FNSKU is unique to your seller account — it tells Amazon that this specific unit belongs to you (as opposed to the same product from another seller).

Self-labeling (recommended for cost savings): Print FNSKU labels from Seller Central (Manage Inventory → select products → Print Item Labels). Use adhesive labels that cover the manufacturer's barcode completely — if Amazon scans the manufacturer's barcode instead of the FNSKU, commingling can occur. Avery 5160 labels or equivalent work well. Cost: ~$0.02 per label.

Amazon labeling service ($0.55/unit): Amazon labels the units at the fulfillment center. Convenient but expensive at scale. For 500 units, that's $275 in labeling fees. Best for sellers without a prep center or labeling setup.

Stickerless commingled inventory (not recommended): Amazon uses the manufacturer's barcode and commingles your inventory with other sellers' identical products. Risk: if another seller sends counterfeit or low-quality units, Amazon may ship those to YOUR customers. Always use FNSKU labels to keep your inventory separate.

Packing and Box Requirements

Amazon has specific box requirements. Violating these delays receiving or triggers additional handling fees:

• Maximum box weight: 50 lbs (no exceptions). Overweight boxes are rejected at receiving.
• Maximum box dimensions: 25" on any side for standard-size items. Oversize products have different limits — check FBA packaging requirements for your product's size tier.
• Box type: Standard corrugated cardboard. Minimum 200 lb/sq-inch burst strength. New or like-new condition (don't reuse beaten-up boxes).
• Packing material: Use dunnage (air pillows, kraft paper, bubble wrap) to prevent products from shifting during transit. No packing peanuts (they're prohibited by Amazon — they create a mess in fulfillment centers).
• Amazon shipping labels: Print from your shipment workflow. Apply to two sides of each box. Cover or remove any other shipping labels — old labels cause scanning confusion at receiving.
• No promotional materials: Don't include marketing inserts, coupons for external sites, or requests for positive reviews in the FBA shipment boxes. These are only permitted inside individual product packaging.

Choosing a Shipping Method

Amazon Partnered Carrier (recommended): Amazon has negotiated discounted rates with UPS (small parcel) and various LTL/FTL carriers (pallets). Rates are typically 50-70% below retail shipping rates. The trade-off: you must use specific carriers and follow their scheduling requirements. For most sellers, the cost savings make this the obvious choice.

Your own carrier: Use when you have negotiated rates that beat Amazon's partnered rates, when you need specific handling (temperature control, fragile items), or when you're shipping from a location not well-served by Amazon's partnered carriers. You're responsible for all carrier issues (damage, delays).

Small parcel vs palletized: Small parcel (individual boxes shipped via UPS): best for shipments under 15 boxes. Simple pickup, easy to manage. Palletized (LTL freight): best for large shipments (15+ boxes or heavy items). Lower per-unit shipping cost, but requires a loading dock or lift gate for pickup. Pallet shipments also receive faster at Amazon fulfillment centers than small parcel.

What Happens After You Ship

After your shipment leaves, Amazon's receiving process has several stages:

In transit: Track via the carrier's tracking number (linked in your Shipment Dashboard). Standard transit: 3-7 business days depending on distance.

Delivered: The carrier delivered your boxes to the fulfillment center. This doesn't mean your inventory is available to sell — receiving still needs to happen.

Checked in: Amazon has scanned your shipping labels and acknowledged receipt. Your shipment is in the receiving queue.

Receiving: Amazon is opening boxes, scanning FNSKUs, and adding units to your sellable inventory. This is the step that takes the most time — anywhere from 1-14 days depending on fulfillment center capacity and whether your shipment has any issues.

Closed: All units have been received and added to your inventory. Check the final received quantity against what you shipped — discrepancies should be filed as shipment shortage claims. See our reimbursement guide for filing shortage claims.

Common Mistakes That Delay Receiving

Box content mismatches: Your declared box contents don't match the actual contents. If you declared 25 units per box but packed 24 in one box and 26 in another, Amazon flags the discrepancy and routes the shipment to manual verification. This adds 5-10 business days to receiving. Count accurately.

Missing or damaged shipping labels: If Amazon's scanning system can't read your FBA shipping label, the box enters manual processing. Print labels in high quality, apply them flat (no wrinkles), and protect them from moisture during transit.

Old labels not removed: Amazon's scanners may pick up old shipping labels from reused boxes. This causes routing confusion. Always cover or remove old labels with opaque tape or new labels.

Exceeding box weight limits: Boxes over 50 lbs are rejected and must be repacked at the fulfillment center (with additional fees) or returned. Weigh your boxes before shipping.

Wrong FNSKU labels: If the FNSKU label doesn't match the product in the box, the unit is quarantined for investigation. Double-check that the correct FNSKU is on each unit — especially if you're labeling multiple products at the same time.

Optimizing Shipment Costs

Consolidate shipments: If you're restocking multiple products, combine them into one shipment (if they ship from the same origin). This reduces the number of pickups and can lower per-unit shipping costs.

Optimize box sizes: Use boxes that fit your products efficiently. Shipping half-empty boxes wastes money on dimensional weight charges. Choose box sizes that minimize empty space while staying under 50 lbs.

Consider Inventory Placement Service: For standard-size products under 3 lbs, the IPS fee ($0.30/unit) is often cheaper than the additional shipping costs of split shipments. For heavy or oversized products ($0.40/unit), do the math — split shipments may be cheaper.

Ship on off-peak days: Fulfillment centers process shipments faster during non-peak periods. If possible, time your shipments to avoid arriving during Q4 peak (November-December) when receiving can take 2-3 weeks instead of 3-7 days.

Plan Your Shipments with AI

Here's what AI-assisted shipment planning looks like — calculating optimal quantities, recommending split shipments, and analyzing whether to use Inventory Placement Service: