Effective April 18, 2019, Amazon will assign lead times at an ASIN level rather than at a cumulative account level for Direct Fulfillment (DF) products. The goal is to improve lead time approximations and give high-performing products more power. Learn more about this why this improvement is rolling out and what it means for your brand.
Traditional Lead Time Management
Originally, direct fulfillment products were assigned lead time based on collective warehouse data across an account’s catalog. This meant that no matter how well an individual product performed, it displayed the same lead time as all other products from that warehouse. Amazon recognized that this wasn’t necessarily the most efficient way for brands to operate or delight customers.
The Benefit of ASIN Level Lead Time
Now, a direct fulfillment product will have lead times set by the performance and shipping speed tied to the individual ASIN. This lets products within a catalog have different lead times and remain competitive by meeting the standards that Amazon customers have for ship speed. It’s overall a more efficient way to manage lead time for both Amazon and its vendors using direct fulfillment.
What You Can Expect From This Change
- Vendors will receive a new report: Lead Time and Guaranteed Delivery Report
- Find your direct fulfillment warehouses in the ASIN-level program
- Lead time is assigned by product performance and shipping speed
- Required Ship Date (RSD or ExSD) is now a result of the lead time
The move to performance-based ASIN assigned lead times is set to take place on Thursday, April 18, 2019. With this, Amazon hopes to give brands the power to operate at a higher level. If you need help mastering technical changes to Amazon, let us be your resource.