The living space of cross-border e-commerce companies is closely related to goods, so sellers pay special attention to inventory, and FBA sellers are no exception.

Amazon FBA sellers will view and analyze data related to goods such as inventory and turnover rate through the inventory report provided by the platform, identify risks as early as possible, and provide reliable suggestions for decision-making such as product selection and replenishment.

However, Amazon's inventory report is very difficult to manage and analyze due to its large quantity and complex data. What should be done?

Understanding Amazon Inventory Report Types

Amazon has been operating a global business for many years and has a mature solution for inventory management. To meet the needs of sellers, there are 20 different types of inventory reports, including:

Logistics Inventory Report, Inventory Age Report, Monthly Storage Fee Report, Inventory Report Without Information on Sale, "Batch Repair Inventory Without Information on Sale" Report, Reserved Inventory Report, Replenishment Report, Inventory Adjustment Report, Distribution Inventory Report, Daily Inventory Report, Monthly Inventory Report, Received Inventory Report, Inventory Action Detail Report, Inventory Report, Inventory Status Report, Manage Amazon Inventory Report, Manage Amazon Inventory Report Archive, Inbound Issues Report, Multi-Country /Regional Inventory Report, Inventory Ledger Report.

Among them, the reports that Amazon sellers focus on are as follows:

(1) Inventory ledger report

The data is updated the next day, showing all the historical records of inventory movements over the past 18 months, including initial inventory, received inventory, buyer orders, buyer returns, inventory, removal, and ending inventory.

It can analyze the inventory operation in and out of Amazon's warehouse, and easily optimize and adjust inventory.

This report will replace the following 6 reports:

Daily Inventory Report, Monthly Inventory Report, Inventory Action Detail Report, Inventory Adjustment Report, Inventory Report, Received Inventory Report.

Download portal

In Amazon Seller Central, select [Reports] > [Fulfillment] > [Inventory LedgerInventory Adjustments] to download successfully.

Report Field Parsing

(2) Inventory adjustment report

The report shows inventory details for a specific time period (up to 18 months), including items sold, returned, removed/disposed, damaged, lost, and recovered.

It can analyze the inventory operation in and out of Amazon's warehouse and check the inventory balance. This month's data can only be obtained after the 5th of the following month.

This report, which will be retired on September 30, 2022, will be replaced by the Inventory Ledger Report.

Download portal

In Amazon's seller center, select [Reports] > [Fulfillment] > [Inventory Adjustment] to download successfully.

Report Field Parsing

(3) Inventory report

Displays a history of inventory counts for issues such as inventory attribute changes, misplacements, repossessions, and ownership corrections. This month's data can only be obtained after the 5th of the following month.

This report, which will be retired on September 30, 2022, will be replaced by the Inventory Ledger Report.

Download portal

In Amazon Seller Central, select [Reports] > [Fulfillment] > [Inventory Adjustments] to download successfully.

Report Field Parsing

(4) Logistics inventory report

Updated daily, showing estimated monthly storage fees and over-age inventory surcharges to be paid, /90-day sales and shipments, supply days, redundant products, published market prices of products, suggestions for over-age and redundant inventory, The number of shipments in process/shipping/receiving.

Sellers can use this report to check inventory indicators in a unified way, analyze whether there are inventory backlogs and other problems, and take timely measures to deal with them.

Download portal

In Amazon Seller Central, select [Reports] > [Fulfillment] > [Amazon-Fulfilled Inventory] to download successfully.

Report Field Parsing

Amazon inventory report key analysis direction

For Amazon sellers, FBA inventory is an important asset. Whether it is good or not affects the business operation of the company.

In addition to routinely viewing report data and checking inventory, it is also necessary to focus on the following key analysis directions to assist the boss in the decision-making of the inventory direction.

(1) Pre-judgment of cargo risk

If the seller does not fill the inventory vacancy in time, and the buyer is delayed in receiving the product after placing the order, his satisfaction will decrease, the return rate will increase, and the store performance will be affected as a result.

Through inventory analysis, sellers can predict the risk of goods in advance, so as to replenish the goods in time and avoid the risk of out-of-stock.

How to predict cargo risk?

In the "Fulfillment by Amazon Inventory Report", it will display the current saleable inventory of the product in Amazon's warehouse, as well as the sales volume and shipment quantity of /90 days, which can estimate the sales time of FBA's existing inventory. Then use the estimated inventory sales time and deduct the local first-way delivery time. If the value obtained is less than 0, there will be a risk of out-of-stock.

Leader Tip

Leadstar ERP opens up the interface with Amazon, automatically integrates various data of Amazon's inventory report, and combines /90 and sales in the same period of previous years, as well as the seller's pre-set stocking time based on experience.

The estimated out-of-stock time is more accurate, and the error with the actual situation is small. The seller does not need to calculate manually, saving time and effort.

Sellers can also add inventory warnings on Linkstar ERP based on their previous replenishment experience, and set a minimum value of inventory to be replenished.

(2) Identify the inventory backlog

Some commodities sell very slowly, or even unsalable for a long time, resulting in a backlog of inventory, bringing a lot of storage and management costs such as over-age inventory surcharges, and the commodities may exceed the shelf life, making it difficult for corporate funds to form a virtuous circle.

Through analysis, we can find the backlog of inventory and take timely measures such as destruction and promotion to deal with it.

How to identify overstock?

In the Amazon inventory report, the SKU dimension will display the number of saleable products stored in the FBA warehouse for 0-90 days, 91-180, 181-270, 271-365, and more than 365 days.

Among them, the inventory with a storage age of more than 270 days will be subject to an additional over-age inventory surcharge on the basis of the monthly storage fee.

If the product has not been sold within dozens of days, it is undoubtedly unsalable or out of season.

Leader Tip

Sellers often operate multiple products and sites. If you verify the inventory time and sales volume of each product one by one, and analyze whether it is unsalable, it will be a waste of time and statistics will be difficult.

In this regard, it is recommended to use Lingxing ERP to unlock the lazy method, check the real-time pull of the products from the Amazon backend / 30-day sales volume from the Lingxing ERP, and the inventory sales days predicted by combining with data such as inventory age.

If the sales volume in the past 30 days is low or even zero, and the sales time is expected to be long, then the product has a high probability of being unsalable, and it is recommended to deal with it in time.

(3) Inventory of abnormal inventory

Amazon inventory is hosted by FBA staff, and sellers can't do it themselves.

Therefore, sometimes the inventory management is chaotic, such as the wrong statistics of the inbound quantity, the loss of the inventory, the destruction of the inventory, etc., but it is not detected in time.

Not only will it affect delivery efficiency and sales, but it may also miss out on revenue such as Amazon’s compensation fees.

How to take inventory of abnormal inventory?

In Amazon's inventory ledger, inventory, inventory adjustment, etc., the number of goods in the warehouse is clearly displayed, and the seller can compare the number of first shipments to determine whether the number of FBA inbound is counted incorrectly.

Inventory loss and damage can also be found in the inventory ledger report in time, so that Amazon can be claimed in a timely manner.

Leader Tip

Amazon's inventory adjustment, inventory and other reports will not have this month's data until the 5th of the following month.

If you check Amazon's inventory accordingly, once there is a problem, the seller may incur huge losses. For example, if the inventory is insufficient after the item is lost, the buyer may not receive the item after placing an order.

Linkstar ERP has opened up the interface with Amazon, took inventory of FBA's inventory at each station, generated real-time inventory reports, and displayed data about inventory adjustments, removals, and differences visually, making it easier for sellers to check whether there is any abnormality in the inventory.

Inventory management is the hard part of running Amazon, but also the key.

In order to ensure the orderly operation of the business, it is necessary to do a good job of inventory analysis with high efficiency and effort, and find inventory problems in time. With the help of external forces such as Lingxing ERP, it is safe to know the data.