Extensiv Order Manager is now the first platform to support both Amazon Seller Central and Amazon Vendor Central. With our new EDI integration, we can equip sellers who operate on multiple platforms, whether online or in brick-and-mortar stores, as well as both first- and third-party Amazon centrals.
Amazon Seller Central is known as 3P, which stands for 3rd party sellers. Amazon Vendor Central is known as 1P, for 1st party sellers. Both are important because there are pros and cons with each setup.
Third party sellers are independent sellers who use Amazon Seller Central to manage their own inventory levels, add new products, and provide customer service. There are more than 2 million Amazon sellers, with approximately 50% of products on Amazon coming from third party sellers. These sellers go directly to the customer through Amazon’s marketplace, and pay a commission with every sale.
First party sellers sell their products directly to Amazon at wholesale prices, so their products are sold and fulfilled by Amazon itself. Amazon places purchase orders directly to your company, and they manage operations through the Amazon Vendor Central. Registration on Vendor Central is by invitation only, and usually a telling sign of good quality and a popular product.
Third party sellers usually get a bigger percentage of the sale due to no middlemen, have control over pricing and their listings, and can hit the ground running. Big brands are starting to sell directly to consumers, and Seller Central is a great place to learn how to ship direct-to-consumer. With Seller Central, you get more reporting information, and can create products and get traction instead of waiting on Amazon's choices.
First party sellers don't have to worry about customer service and fulfillment, can add premium content to their listings, and they get payment from purchase orders instead of individual ones. Sellers are also at risk selling exclusively on Amazon, so Vendor Central acts as an insurance policy. Vendor Central allows you to upload videos and participate in the Amazon Vine program.
Many large brands have been a vendor to Amazon for years, and are cautious about disrupting the relationship, so they test the waters first. Selling directly on Amazon could be more lucrative, but they need to figure that out. Seller Central provides a great training ground for brands that don't have a direct-to-consumer website. These brands can get started on Amazon, figure out logistics, shipping, inventory management, and analytics ahead of time before starting their own B2C website.
On the other side of the coin, some 3P (third party) sellers are exploring Vendor Central because it's a solid insurance policy. When you sell on Amazon's marketplace, a complaint could get you suspended. So 1P (first party) selling is a great backup strategy in case this happens.
We understand the pros and cons of 3P and 1P selling, which is why we now support both Vendor and Seller Central, depending on whatever strategy you want to deploy.
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is the most commonly used B2B e-commerce technology to exchange documents. It is at a basic level, a computer to computer exchange of documents using standards such as ANSI X12, EDIFACT, or XML.
EDI is the standard for e-commerce digital communication because it allows document transfer in real time. This enables instant communication for purchase orders, orders, shipping orders, invoices, labels, and other data to speed up processes. More importantly, because EDI communicates data that is already available, it minimizes manual data entry, improving accuracy while lowering costs and time investment. It allows users to communicate instantly with retailers, third party logistics, and partners, because all data is electronically sent where it needs to go.
EDI allows you to:
For example, in practice, if you were to integrate EDI for Walmart.com using their logistics, it would allow Walmart to instantaneously communicate product orders to you, you to communicate shipping labels back to Walmart.com, and so on.
The current process for Vendor Central sales without EDI is as follows:
This process requires multiple manual steps, where it is easy to make mistakes and can take some time.
With EDI, most of these processes are automated:
In short, EDI allows you to eliminate a great deal of manual processing and communication to improve shipping speed, processing, and accuracy for orders. Because EDI can respond in real time, you can also greatly improve how quickly you move products from order to shipment because notifications are instantaneous.
While Seller Central has an API, Vendor Central does not (yet). Extensiv Order Manager now supports the Vendor Central integration via EDI on our platform. EDI allows us to connect to Amazon Vendor Central and Walmart DSV, plus countless other nationwide retail stores (Costco, Neiman Marcus, and more).
EDI is most commonly utilized for e-commerce stores integrating with big box retailers, but it has numerous additional applications.
EDI is a valuable tool for e-commerce businesses of all sizes, and Extensiv is proud to offer it to our sellers. We integrate with multiple EDI providers, such as B2B Gateway, CartRover Integration Solutions, and Crossfire EDI to access SPS Commerce, so our sellers can take advantage of everything EDI has to offer and integrate directly with Walmart, Amazon Seller Central and Vendor Central, and other national retailers.
Still need help deciding? Check out our video on the Pros and Cons of IP vs. 3P and don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to our channel for more tips!
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