Commingled Inventory with the Manufacturer Barcode

By default, your seller account is set to use the manufacturer barcode for eligible items. Items in your inventory that are identified using manufacturer barcodes can be commingled with the exact same products from other sellers who also use manufacturer barcodes for those items.

When you allow Amazon to commingle your inventory and a customer purchases a product from you, Amazon can send an exact same product from another seller to ensure the customer delivery promise is honored.

Upon commingling, you sell that unit as usual to the customer and get the credit for the sale. At that moment, we swap an exact product between you and the other seller whose inventory was used to fulfil the order.

• Eliminating the need of additional label allows faster inventory replenishment, less likelihood of labelling error, and lower fulfillment cost.
• Strategic placement of the inventory by Amazon allows your product to reach customers faster.
• Amazon’s internal tracking tools ensure that customer feedback is accounted to you even though you were not the seller of record.
• In an event of inventory problem, Amazon’s fulfillment systems are capable to trace the source of the inventory throughout the fulfillment process for applicable resolution.

Not all products are eligible for commingling. To qualify, products must meet the following requirements*, at a minimum:

• Condition - New
• Single readable UPC, EAN, or ISBN barcode matching single ASIN in Amazon catalog
• Not expiration dated product
• Not consumable or topical products (Shampoo, soaps, etc.)
• Not Dangerous Good

*Additional category restrictions may apply.

Although your default account level setting is manufacturer barcode (your products are eligible for commingling), you can change your preference at any time (section a). In addition, you have the option to change your barcode preference for each new FBA offer you create (section b).

a) Change your default account level barcode preference

There are two options available for you to choose under barcode preference:

1. Manufacturer: If you choose this as your preference, all the eligible offers created thereafter will have the default option to be sent in with the Manufacturer barcode.
2. Amazon: If you choose this as your preference, all the offers created thereafter will display Amazon barcode as the default option and require you to affix an additional label on individual units and will not be commingled.

The alternate option to your default barcode setting will still be available in the drop down when creating new offers.

To change your default barcode preference:

1. In your seller account, under Settings, click on Fulfillment by Amazon.
2. Locate FBA Product Barcode Preference and click Edit.
3. Select Enable to use the Manufacturer barcode or Disable to use an Amazon barcode. Click Save.

Please allow 24 hours for the changes to be fully processed before creating new offers for your eligible inventory.

b) Change the offer level settings

You have an option to select the barcode preference while creating new offers. All the eligible new offers created will have an option to be sent with manufacturer or Amazon barcode. If you offer is not eligible to be commingled, only the Amazon barcode option will be available. If you choose to send the eligible inventory with the manufacturer barcode, you will not be prompted to affix additional label on each individual unit and your inventory CAN BE commingled with other sellers or Amazon Retail.

In case you were commingling and you do not wish to participate in the program any longer, you can only change your barcode preferences for future offers. The barcode settings remain unchanged for your existing inventory in the fulfillment centers. You can choose to either place a removal order for the existing products or continue with the offer until your inventory depletes.

In case you would like to remove your inventory with manufacturer barcode, you should initiate a removal order. Please be informed that the units you receive may not be the exact same as the ones originally sent to Amazon.

Every time you create a shipment, a notification on the Set Quantity page will show which of your offers qualify for the manufacturer barcode. To begin switching from the Amazon barcode to the manufacturer barcode, click Convert. You can also replace your current offer with the offer just created.

You can convert to the manufacturer barcode in one of two ways:

1. Convert an existing offer. Your existing offer can be converted from the Amazon barcode. Offers qualify for conversion unless inventory for the item is on the way to a fulfillment center, already at a fulfillment center, or both.
2. Create a new offer. When inventory for the item is on the way to a fulfillment center, already at a fulfillment center, or both, a new merchant SKU is required. The new merchant SKU must be no longer than 40 characters. Creating a new offer takes 15 minutes or less.

Eligible offers can also be converted to the manufacturer barcode when you go to Manufacturer barcode: Convert eligible offers. You can generate an Excel file with eligibility details for your existing inventory, along with instructions on how to update and upload the file to convert your eligible offers.

When you create a new offer after switching to the Manufacturer barcode or Amazon barcode, information from the old merchant SKU usually won’t apply. Read the following to see where action is required for your new SKU:

• Inventory recommendations. The new SKU will have its own recommendations. To avoid confusion, consider closing the old SKU’s offer and placing a removal order to have units returned to you.
• Pricing recommendations. Recommendations will not be available for the new SKU. That’s because certain nudges will show when a product has sold in the past 60 days but not in the past seven days, despite glance views. We recommend using the past pricing recommendation for the new SKU.
• Advertising recommendations. Recommendations will not be shown on the new SKU until a certain number of customers has viewed them. If you received a nudge on the old SKU and want to use available promotions, apply them to the new SKU.
• Business prices and quantity discounts.If you are an Amazon Business seller, you receive these recommendations. Because past recommendations will be not be immediately available for the new SKU, consider applying them to that SKU.
• Inventory planning.Your new and old SKUs will have separate entries under Manage Excess Inventory, FBA Inventory Age, and Stranded Inventory.
• Targeted advertising. If you want to continue targeted advertising such as Sponsored Products, launch them separately on the new SKU.
• ASINs in programs.Converted ASINs may no longer be eligible for Seller Fulfilled Prime and FBA Small and Light.
• Selling globally. The new SKU will be created only for the US marketplace. If you want to sell it globally, relist it in every desired marketplace.
• Lightning Deals. If you want to create a Lightning Deal for the new SKU, send inventory for it to a fulfillment center. The inventory will be eligible only after it arrives there. Also, we recommend that you track the ASIN to make sure it remains eligible for Lightning Deals.