Amazon Remote Fulfillment vs Marketplace Expansion

Many sellers wonder what the difference is between remote fulfillment vs marketplace expansion, so we took on the task of creating a quick guide to solve this common question.

Borders are no issue for online sellers, but international expansion is not easy. Luckily, Amazon’s got your back.

Today, global selling on Amazon is easier than ever. Brands can expand their sales reach via two key programs: 

• Remote Fulfillment with FBA
• Amazon Global Selling

In today’s post, we’ll review both the Remote Fulfillment and Global Selling programs in detail.

Let’s dive right in.

Remote Fulfillment vs Marketplace Expansion on Amazon

BeezUp states that Amazon has over 300 million customers around the world.

To keep up with so many users, the marketplace covers delivery to over 180 countries.

This is made possible with Amazon’s unique infrastructure. Its supply and logistics machine makes them the go-to option for millions of sellers.

Amazon’s global reach encourages many sellers to expand their reach overseas. This is due to a few reasons.

Imagine for example, that you can tackle seasonal fluctuations for specific products. If a specific item is not selling well in the US, you could find better success in countries overseas.

You are now one of the many sellers that’s benefited from Amazon’s reach. You have a great Amazon sales record and established an online store in the US.

But now, you want to keep growing and exploring new territories. So, where should you begin?

International sales are no easy feat. Even selling across the US alone is hard enough for many sellers. Plus, you’ll also need to deal with tax and legal hurdles for each new territory.

Luckily, Amazon is happy to help out! The marketplace offers many tools for those brands who want to delight customers overseas.

As we said above, there are two main programs you should look into. The first is Amazon remote fulfillment with FBA. The second option is the Amazon global selling program.

Now, let’s see how each option can help you become a global seller on Amazon.

Related content: How the Amazon Supply Chain Works

Amazon Global Selling – The Science Behind International Marketplace Expanison

The Amazon Global Selling program  opens up the possibility to sell beyond Europe and North America. As of 2022, there are 16 available marketplaces to start up Global Selling on Amazon:

• Europe. UK, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Netherlands
• Asia-Pacific. Australia, Singapore, India, Japan
• North Africa, and the Middle East. Turkey, Middle East
• America. Mexico, US, Canada, Brazil

Amazon Global Selling is for any seller looking to expand internationally. Some merchants won’t enjoy FBA benefits, but brands can still rely on Amazon’s tools to make it big overseas. For example:

• Product listing creation tools.
• Access to the Amazon Currency Converter to collect profits in your local currency.
• International Fulfillment By Amazon carriers.
• Usage of the Seller Central Language Switcher to manage foreign transactions in your own language.
• Assistance with navigating duties and customs challenges.
• The ability to offer Amazon customer service in the local language you need.

One of the key Amazon global selling benefits is that you won’t need to create a new store for each country. You can only create a hub for each region that you wish to sell in. Then, ship your products to the proper Amazon warehouses. From then on, Amazon will ship and deliver orders for you.

Related content: Australia Ecommerce in 2022

FBA Export

This program is a default perk for FBA sellers. It supports your Amazon US store expansion into over 100 countries.

Note that FBA Export is exclusive for Standard-size items. Here’s a table with the average fees per unit:

You can review the full requirements of FBA Export here.

What is Amazon Remote Fulfillment?

Remote fulfillment lets professional FBA brands sell their stock in Mexico and Canada. Since it’s part of Amazon FBA, sellers still enjoy the benefits of the program.  

The program allows you to create new Amazon stores in Canada or Mexico, and sell products on those marketplaces. And since it’s a perk for FBA sellers, Amazon will take care of storage and shipping for you.

Plus, you won’t deal with customs or country taxes! Purchases incur import fees, but they still enjoy free shipping! That’s why Amazon calls it Remote Fulfillment with FBA.

Here’s what you need to enroll in the service:

• Register for FBA sales in the new territories that you’ll sell in.
• Set up a North American Unified Account. This is an automatic enrollment for all sellers, as of July 2022.
• Enable FBA Export. This perk sets up your Amazon US store to make worldwide sales.

That’s it! We also recommend using Amazon’s Build International Listings tool. This perk will duplicate ASIN fees, currency, and language. From then on, you’ll be ready to start selling in Mexico and Canada.

You can review the full benefits and requisites of Remote Fulfillment with FBA here.

Amazon Remote Fulfillment Fees

Your pending remote fulfillment fees will be different for Canadian and Mexican marketplaces.  They’re a bit higher to compensate for cross-border shipping. Plus, each fare is based on package size and weight.

There’s also a slight price difference between standard-size and oversize tiers. Here is a quick rate table for your reference:

Source: Amazon Seller Central

Check out this page to learn more about Amazon Remote Fulfillment fees.

What is NARF?

Here’s another way to tackle international sales: the Amazon North America Remote Fulfillment (NARF) program.

Amazon NARF allows merchants to display their US-stored inventory across Mexico and Canada.

The key of Amazon NARF is that it uses a global SKU to showcase your products across North America. So, you won’t need an active store on each marketplace.

In short, the Amazon NARF program centralizes your store. At the same time, you still enjoy all FBA benefits. And you also open yourself to a wide new customer base, north and south of the border.

Related content: How to Sell on Amazon in Mexico

What is EFN?

This is the European counterpart to Remote Fulfillment with FBA. The Amazon European Fulfillment Network Program (or EFN) allows FBA sellers to sell their stock in different stores across Europe.

Amazon EFN is available in Germany, the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Poland, and the Netherlands.

So, if you’re an Italian seller, you can rely on the Amazon EFN program to showcase your items in Spain. Then, you can fulfill an order for a Spanish customer, from your local Amazon warehouse.

As with Remote Fulfillment, any Europe-based FBA seller is eligible for Amazon EFN. You only need to set up an Amazon Europe Stores account. Then, open a local store in the countries they wish to sell.

Your account will link all cross-border orders to your main inventory. From here on, you can list your products in each store, and start selling to customers.

Go to Amazon Seller Central to learn more about the EFN program.

Related Content: Selling on Amazon Germany in 2022

Final Thoughts

We hope we have resolved your doubts about Remote Fulfillment vs Marketplace Expansion.

At the end of the day, Amazon benefits from increasing seller success. So, it’s no wonder that it wants to promote your international eCommerce expansion.

FBA sellers will reap more benefits from Remote Fulfillment. This is doubly true if you wish to boost sales in Canada or Mexico, or Amazon Europe.

Now, the Amazon global selling program also features some great perks. You can expand into Africa, Asia, South America, or the Middle East. Plus, there’s a bit more interaction with end users.

Regardless of your choice, know that Amazon’s got your back. And with some patience, you’ll become a full-time Amazon global seller in no time!

Author

Esteban Muñoz is a content writer at AMZ Advisers, with several years’ experience in digital marketing and e-commerce. Esteban and the AMZ Advisers team have been able to achieve incredible growth on Amazon for their clients by optimizing and managing their accounts, and creating in-depth content marketing strategies.

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