amazon Partnered Carrier Program User Guide

Amazon Partnered Carrier Program

Specifications

• Product Name : Amazon Partnered Carrier program
• Release Date : Fall 2023
• Supported Regions : North America, Japan, Europe, Brazil, and India
• Supported Shipping Modes : Small Parcel Delivery (SPD), Less than Truckload (LTL), Full Truckload (FTL)
• Supported Hazmat Products : Limited hazmat products such as lithium batteries

Overview

The Amazon Partnered Carrier program is an Amazon-managed inbound shipping solution for sellers. It aims to negotiate lower transportation rates on behalf of sellers and handles the bidding and carrier management process. The program provides an easy selection process and offers various shipping options.

How It Works

1. We estimate carrier and transportation costs, which are displayed during shipment creation.
2. Once you accept the charges, the shipment is tendered to the carrier.
3. We handle disruptions with the carrier or to fulfillment center delivery.
4. The carrier takes care of delivery appointment booking on your behalf.
5. We may redirect your shipment to another fulfillment center for faster receive times.
6. For Less than Truckload (LTL) and Full Truckload (FTL) freight, we assign a carrier based on the lowest cost available. An FTL carrier may be assigned once 12+ pallets are confirmed as the lowest cost option.
7. For Small Parcel Delivery (SPD), you can select a carrier from a list. In the U.S., this is primarily UPS, with Amazon Shipping available in select regions.

Product Usage Instructions

Building a Shipment

To build a shipment using the Amazon Partnered Carrier program, follow these steps:

1. Make sure both ASIN quantities and shipping box details are accurate when providing your shipment contents. Box weights and dimensions are used to estimate shipping fees. Inaccurate shipping details may result in additional fees.
2. Each product must be sent in a six-sided cardboard box. Pallets are not considered boxes, and pallet-sized boxes (gaylords) are prohibited.
3. In Step 2, provide the shipping mode for your workflow or individual shipments using the “Shipping mode will be same for all shipments” checkbox.
   • For Small Parcel Delivery (SPD) shipments, use individually labeled boxes with tracking. Partnered Carrier SPD shipments allow up to 200 total boxes per shipment.
   • For Less than Truckload (LTL) and Full Truckload (FTL) shipments, they are sent on a trailer. Shipments with fewer than 12 pallets are considered LTL, while more than 12 pallets are considered FTL.

How to Select Partnered Carrier

To select a Partnered Carrier for your shipment:

1. During the shipment creation process, the estimated carrier and transportation costs will be displayed.
2. Review the costs and select the option that suits your needs.
3. Accept the charges to tender the shipment to the carrier.

Print Box ID Labels

To print box ID labels for your shipment:

1. Follow the instructions provided in the user manual or refer to the “Create shipments with Send to Amazon” section in Seller Central Help.
2. Use the video tutorial links on each step to learn more about the Send to Amazon workflow.

Tracking for Partnered Carrier Small Parcel

To track your Partnered Carrier Small Parcel shipment:

1. Retrieve the tracking number provided by the carrier.
2. Visit the carrier’s website or use their tracking service to enter the tracking number and get real-time updates on your shipment.

Partnered Carrier LTL and FTL Shipping

For Partnered Carrier LTL and FTL shipping, follow these guidelines:

1. Ensure your shipment is properly staged and loaded on the trailer according to the carrier’s instructions.
2. For LTL shipments, make sure you have fewer than 12 pallets. For FTL shipments, make sure you have 12 or more pallets.

Inbounding Shipment Delays, Issues, and Additional Requirements

If you experience delays, issues, or have additional requirements with your inbound shipment, please refer to the user manual or contact our customer support for assistance.

How to Void or Request a Refund of Partnered Carrier Fees

If you need to void or request a refund of Partnered Carrier fees, follow these steps:

1. Contact our customer support and provide the necessary details about your shipment and the reason for the void or refund request.
2. Our customer support team will guide you through the process and assist you in voiding or refunding the fees, if applicable.

FAQ

• Q: What regions does the Partnered Carrier program support?
  • The Partnered Carrier program supports domestic shipments within North America, Japan, Europe, Brazil, and India. LTL and FTL shipping is also offered in the U.S. and United Kingdom.
• Q: What types of hazmat products are supported by the program?
  • The program currently supports shipments containing limited hazmat products, such as lithium batteries. However, it does not support other types of hazmat.

Overview

The Amazon Partnered Carrier program is an Amazon- managed inbound shipping solution for sellers. With Partnered Carrier, we negotiate for lower transportation rates on your behalf—billed directly to your seller account. We take care of bidding and manage carriers to create an easy selection on your behalf.

Here’s how it works

•  We estimate carrier and transportation costs, displayed during shipment creation.
• Once you accept the charges, the shipment is tendered to the carrier.
• We handle disruptions with the carrier or to fulfilment centre delivery.
• The carrier takes care of delivery appointment booking on your behalf.
• We may redirect your shipment to another fulfilment centre for faster receive times.
• For less than truckload (LTL) and full truckload (FTL) freight, we assign a carrier based on the lowest cost available. We may assign an FTL carrier when they are the lowest cost option or once 12+ pallets are confirmed
• For small parcel delivery (SPD), you select a carrier from a list— for the U.S., this is primarily UPS, with Amazon Shipping available in select regions.

The Partnered Carrier program is designed for sellers of all sizes, regardless of the scale of your operations. We offer the program to all sellers inbounding domestic shipments within North America, Japan, Europe, Brazil, and India. LTL and FTL shipping is also offered in the U.S. and United Kingdom. The program currently supports shipments containing limited hazmat products, such as lithium batteries, but does not support other hazmat types.

Building a shipment

ASIN, box, and ship from details

In Step 1 of the Send to Amazon workflow, provide your ship from address and ensure your warehouse operating hours and special equipment needs (e.g., box truck with lift gate) for pickup are up to date. You can check by clicking “Ship from another address” and selecting the Operating Hours or Special Instructions (equipment) tab. The Operating Hours tab is where you provide the hours your warehouse is open for pickup. The Special Instructions tab is where you can indicate you’ll need a box truck or tail lift gate (in place of a 53′ trailer) to have your shipments picked up.

NOTE Learn more about the Send to Amazon workflow with the video tutorial links on each step or see “Create shipments with Send to Amazon” in Seller Central Help.

Building a shipment

When providing your shipment contents, make sure both ASIN quantities and shipping box details are accurate. We use box weights and dimensions to estimate shipping fees. Inaccurate shipping details may result in additional fees. Each product must be sent in a six-sided cardboard box. Pallets are not considered boxes, and pallet-sized boxes (gaylords) are prohibited. Shipping mode In Step 2, you’ll provide the shipping mode for your workflow or individual shipments using the “Shipping mode will be same for all shipments* checkbox. •

• Small parcel delivery (SPD) shipments are boxes that are individually labeled with tracking. Partnered Carrier SPD shipments allow up to 200 total boxes per shipment.
• Less than truckload (LTL) and full truckload (FTL) shipments are sent on a trailer. Shipments with fewer than 12 pallets are considered LTL, and more than 12 are considered FTL.
• LTL and FTL shipments allow up to 5,000 total boxes per FBA shipment ID. Each FBA shipment ID is allowed to be sent on a maximum of a single full trailer. Note: 48 x 40 GMA Grade B or higher undamaged pallets are required.

Merging shipments

Merging shipments Send to Amazon offers the ability to merge workflows for freight shipments that are incomplete (up to Step 4 in the workflow) and have the same origin and destination as your shipment(s). Merging shipments in Step 2 with incomplete shipments provides you the opportunity to build larger shipments, offering lower-cost and more efficient shipping options. See the “Send to Amazon: Merge shipments” in Seller Central Help for more.

Building a shipment

Suggestion: As shown in the image above, shipments may be split to multiple destinations. To reduce shipment splits on a single workflow, you can:

1. Provide similar units in Step 1 that can be sent to the same fulfilment centre (FC)

Amazon FCs have different receive and stow capabilities for different product types, thus shipments may be split accordingly. Non-specialty standard size or sortable inventory will typically go to an Inbound Cross Dock (IXD/transfer facility), where units will be spread to multiple stow FCs on your behalf. Specialty (e.g, apparel, shoes, TVs, hazmat), heavy bulky, and other oversize/ non-sort items may be destined to multiple stow FCs that can receive and stow these units. In both instances, the goal for spreading inventory is more Prime-eligible units for customers.

2. Select the same prep or labelling service for products in Step 1

Shipments may split if they require additional prep/ labeling services, even if going to the same FC as units not requiring additional prep/labelling. Separating these units into separate shipments allows for more efficient receipt of your products.

How do you select a Partnered Carrier

In Step 2 of the Send to Amazon workflow, you’ll see estimated costs to send your shipments using an Amazon partnered carrier. For small parcel delivery (SPD), you can choose UPS. For less than truckload (LTL) and full truckload (FTL), you’ll select Partnered Carrier in Step 4.

Print box ID labels

IMPORTANT: Failure to label your boxes) with the required FBA box ID label may lead to delays in receiving and incorrectly received inventory. Learn more about shipment label requirements

In Step 3 of the Send to Amazon workflow, you can print your FBA Box ID labels and, if shipping small parcel, your Partnered Carrier shipping labels. No matter the shipping method, all shipping boxes (including individual units in their own packaging) must be labeled with a unique

FBA box ID label.

This will help prevent receiving delays. FBA Box ID labels In Step 3 of the Send to Amazon workflow, printing FBA Box ID labels will also generate Partnered Carrier SPD shipping labels. Your boxes are ready to ship once packed and labeled with both labels. If you have a standing pickup agreement with UPS, include these boxes with your next scheduled pickup. If not, you’ll need to contact UPS to schedule a pickup (additional fees may apply). You can also take your boxes to a UPS drop-off center.

FBA LABELS

CARRIER LABELS

Tracking for Partnered Carrier Small Parcel

Shipped status

Once your shipment is complete, tracking details will appear on the “Track Shipment” tab for that shipment. These default to “Shipped” status, since the shipment is expected to be labeled and sent with your carrier soon. You can also use the carrier’s website for more tracking details.

Label created status – ups.com

Shipments that haven’t been given to the carrier and scanned in will display as “Label Created” status on the UPS website. Once we receive updated tracking signals from the carrier, you can track shipping status within Seller Central.

Delivered status

When your shipment is expected to be delivered or has been successfully delivered to the fulfillment center, tracking will update to “Delivered” status. Once the FC checks in the trailer containing your packages and begins to scan your box ID labels, your shipment will update to “Receiving” status.

Partnered Carrier LTL and FTL shipping

Freight-ready date and contact info

In Step 4 of the Send to Amazon workflow, select “Amazon partnered carrier” and provide your shipment’s freight-ready date (FRD) and warehouse contact information. The contact information is who will receive emails with your shipping details and BOL, or pickup disruption updates. This will also be who Amazon or the carrier will contact to discuss pickup details or issues. The FRD is different from the ship date you provided in Step 2. FRD is the date you select, Monday through Friday (excluding holidays), that your shipment(s) will be ready for pickup by 8 a.m. or the earliest time you have provided for your warehouse hours. The FRD is used to plan an estimated pickup date for your shipment(s), and will be at least two days in the future, as carriers require a two-day lead time to pick up date. Shipments that aren’t ready when the carrier arrives may not be picked up and the pickup request may be cancelled. We suggest using a group email alias for your warehouse contact to help prevent missed emails to a single point of contact.

Partnered Carrier LTL and FTL shipping

Pallet details

Once your boxes are packed and labelled with the required corresponding FBA box ID labels and have been placed on pallets, you can provide the corresponding pallet height and weight details as well as the highest freight class of your pallets. For more on pallet requirements and building pallets, see “Seller requirements for LTL, FTL, and FCL deliveries” in Seller Central Help. After providing pallet details, click “confirm” under each shipment. Once all shipments are confirmed, click “confirm carrier and pallet information.” Once the fees are confirmed, the shipment will be booked and an Amazon-partnered carrier will be tendered to your shipment.

Partnered Carrier LTL and FTL shipping

Pallet ID labels

You can print your pallet ID labels by proceeding to Step 5 of your shipment creation workflow. From here, you can select the print format for your pallet labels. These labels identify your pallet to your Shipment ID and do not replace the required FBA box ID label applied to the boxes on the pallet.

When shipping with Amazon Freight LTL, you’ll be provided with both pallet ID labels and an additional pallet shipping (PRO) label. Both are required for all pallets being shipped with Amazon Freight LTL. All pallet ID labels must be applied on the top center of each side of the pallet. These labels will be removed along with the pallet stretch wrap at time of receipt in a FC.

Bill of Lading

Below the “Print pallet labels” button you’ll see the “Print BOL document” button. The BOL will generate by 8 a.m. the morning of your estimated pickup date and will also be emailed to the contact you provided in Step 4. This document can also be found on the “Tracking Events” tab of each shipment. You can also use the shipment BOL to identify the Amazon Reference Number (ARN) for each Shipment ID, which will be used by the carrier at time of pickup. You’ll need to give the BOL to the driver while loading freight.

BOX LABELS

FBA LABELS

Staging and loading with a partnered carrier

Estimated pick-up date

Once you have confirmed your shipments and they’ve been successfully tendered, you can find your estimated pickup date in Step 5, along with the assigned carrier in the Final Step: “Tracking Details.” This is the earliest date you can expect the assigned carrier to arrive based on your provided warehouse operating hours to pick up your shipment. To ensure drivers arrive on time and the product is successfully picked up, make sure you provide accurate warehouse hours by clicking “ship from another address” and the Operating Hours tab in Step 1 of the STA workflow. You can also select the Special Instructions (equipment) tab to indicate you require a lift gate or box truck (instead of a 53′ trailer) to have your shipments picked up. In some cases, our FCs will be backlogged and carriers may not be able to pick up your shipments on the requested pickup date while they wait for a delivery appointment.

NOTE

Shipments that are not ready upon carrier arrival or not loaded within the expected timeframe may be flagged as Freight Not Ready. These shipments may be denied at pickup and may result in cancellation of pickup by an Amazon- partnered carrier.

Staging and loading with a partnered carrier

Once your estimated pickup date has passed or your shipment has been successfully picked up, your shipment will show as “In-Transit.” LTL shipments may go to a carrier consolidation hub. These hubs allow carriers to plan shipments and load trailers according to number of shipments and destination. Full truckload shipments will plan a direct shipping route from pickup to destination. Once your shipment is delivered, it may take several days for it to be checked in and into receiving. Check your delivery, shipment check in, and receive status via the “Shipment Events” tab of the “Shipment)  Summary” page.

Inbounding shipment delays, issues, and additional requirements

Additional needs

If you need special equipment or to designate a pickup window, you can update your warehouse needs via the “Ship from another address” link in Step 1. You can also reach out to the assigned carrier for further assistance. If your carrier is Amazon Shipping, Amazon LTL, or AZNG carrier services, please contact Amazon via Seller Central Help. In the provided text field, mention you need “Assistance with a Partnered Carrier Pickup” and provide the reason for your contact.

Resolving delays

Due to weather issues, delays in FC availability, and carrier availability, unforeseen delays may result in a pickup later than the estimated pickup date. Some cases can be resolved directly with the carrier. If the carrier has not arrived to pick up your shipment within 48 hours of the estimated pickup date, or there are additional issues with your shipments being picked up, please contact Amazon via this link. In the provided text field, mention you’re having “Amazon Partnered Carrier program delayed pickup” issues and provide your shipment details including the FBA Shipment ID, the Amazon Reference ID or PO, and the ARN. This will help route your case to the right team to provide an updated pickup date or help reschedule your shipment pickup.

Inbounding shipment delays, issues, and additional requirements

Updating your freight-ready date

If you have provided a freight-ready date for your shipment and you are experiencing unforeseen delays, please update your shipment’s freight-ready date. You can update the date after your shipment has been tendered, up to 5 p.m. the day before your estimated pickup date. To change your freight-ready date, go to your “Shipment Summary” page, “Shipping Events” tab, and under the grayed out “Picked Up” status, click “Change freight-ready date.” From here, you can choose a later freight-ready date for your shipment. Please ensure to provide a date that your shipment will be ready to be picked up by 8 a.m.

How do I void or request a refund of Partnered Carrier fees

In some instances where you no longer require a shipment, you can cancel all shipments on a workflow and void the Partnered Carrier-related fee. The fee void window varies based on ship mode: small| parcel fees can be voided up to 24 hours after accepting fees, and truckload fees up to one hour after accepting. Once this window has passed, the fees will be charged to your account. If the shipment window has passed, and you have cancelled your shipments), you can request an investigation for a Partnered Carrier fee refund by contacting Selling Partner Support via Seller Central Help. In your case, please provide the Shipment ID in question and request a refund in Partnered Carrier shipping fees. The request may take a few days to be reviewed and processed.

NOTE

You can’t delete some of the shipments in a multi-destination shipping plan once you approve that plan. For more information, see “Deleted, misrouted, and incomplete shipments* in Seller Central Help.

Additional Content

Seller University offers video tutorials on creating shipments
and other Amazon topics. Watch in Seller Central or via the
Seller University YouTube channel.
Send to Amazon Shipment Creation Workflow
Partnered Carrier Program Small Parcel Delivery,
Partnered Carrier Program LTL / FTL
For more information about shipping into Amazon, we suggest reviewing the following help page:
Shipping and routing requirements
Packaging and prep requirements
Small parcel delivery to Amazon
Truckload delivery to Amazon
Shipment Label Requirements
Seller requirements for LTL, FTL, and FCL deliveries
Carrier requirements for LTL and FTL deliveries
Amazon Partnered Carrier options
Amazon Shipping Partnered Carrier for Small Parcel Delivery
Send to Amazon: Choose inventory to send
Amazon’s FBA pallet shipping service

References

• Amazon
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• Amazon Sign-In
• Amazon Sign-In
• Amazon Sign-In
• Amazon Sign-In
• Amazon Sign-In
• Amazon Sign-In
• Amazon Sign-In

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