Since the IPI index is so important, as an Amazon FBA seller, what measures should we take to improve the IPI score? It is recommended to start from the following aspects.
Reduce FBA inventory backlog
Slow-selling products and inventory backlogs are the most troublesome problems for sellers. Not only do they increase operating costs, but they are also a great challenge to the company’s cash flow. Now we can view specific redundant data through IPI’s redundant inventory management, and implement reasonable inventory reduction measures for target SKUs.
1. Outlets
For buyers, outlets have many brands and rich categories. It is gradually becoming an ideal place to buy discounted goods, overstocked promotional goods and clearance goods. For sellers, outlets have also become a promotional tool for redundant SKUs. For products with weak sales, Amazon will regularly give sellers the qualification to create “outlet limited time” to achieve the expectation of destocking through price reduction promotions.
Although there is no fee to participate in the “Outlet Limited Time”, as long as the seller is qualified to create, they can operate, but the ASIN standard still has certain thresholds, such as a minimum discount of 20%, and the product rating must not be less than 3.5 points. The specific requirements are as follows:
? Have inventory stored in the Amazon operation center for at least 90 days;
? Existing inventory exceeds 10 pieces;
? Have a sales history;
? The product rating is at least 3.5 points or no reviews;
? Not registered to participate in the “Subscribe and Save” program;
? Not registered to participate in other official activities (such as flash sales);
? Have not participated in Amazon Outlet Limited Time Promotions in the past 60 days.
After meeting the above requirements, on the “Manage Excess Inventory” page, click the target product to start creating an Outlet Limited Time Promotion.
In the settings interface, we only need to fill in the promotional price, confirm that it is correct, click Submit, enter the Amazon review process, and after passing the review, you can enter the outlet promotion channel and show it to Amazon buyers.
2. Order removal
For products that have been unsalable for a long time and have no sales potential, we can “cut the Gordian knot” and directly use Amazon’s order removal function to achieve the goal of destocking.
Sellers are familiar with conventional order removal, including the warehouse transfer and disposal I mentioned before. Warehouse transfer means that the FBA inventory of the product is moved out of the Amazon warehouse and moved to the local address specified by the seller. This method is for products with high value or value.
Disposal is relatively simple. After the seller chooses to abandon it, the FBA inventory of the product will be disposed of by Amazon. Generally speaking, Amazon will conduct inspections and screening. Products that cannot be resold will be directly discarded. Some of the products with good appearance will enter the donation system, and the other part will enter Amazon’s second-hand channel (Amazon Warehouse) to promote the traditional virtue of diligence and thrift.
In addition to the above-mentioned regular removals, Amazon has also launched a new feature, bulk clearance. As the name suggests, sellers can recover some of their losses by selling eligible FBA inventory to Amazon in the form of clearance.
The clearance price is about 5% to 10% of the average daily selling price, which is equivalent to a 10% discount, and there is also a credit period, and the payment will be returned within 3 months after the clearance order is submitted. As the saying goes, “the buyer is not as smart as the seller.” Obviously, this time the buyer (Amazon) is more savvy, not only further improving the FBA warehousing efficiency, but also making a clear profit from the price difference.
It is also very simple in operation. Confirm the clearance quantity and click “Submit”.