Amazon said last week that millions of additional products were eligible for inclusion in its Prime rapid delivery program.
But the items in question won't be housed or shipped by the world's largest e-retailer. Instead, they'll be sold on Amazon.com by its third-party selling partners and shipping by those companies — who will, in turn, essentially provide much-needed warehouse and shipping capacity for the Prime program.
Amazon Prime allows subscribers to receive products ordered on Amazon.com in as little as one day, but the company said that third-party sellers that meet strict guidelines for customer service and rapid shipping will be able to market their goods as eligible for Prime members.
The Seller Fulfilled Prime program, officials said, already made more than 6 million new items available in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Japan.
“We’re dedicated to making the fulfillment technology that Amazon develops available to sellers,” Amazon Marketplace vice president Peter Faricy said in a statement.
But Bloomberg noted that the SFP program, in effect, allows Amazon to add capacity simply by verifying that its partners can meet Prime delivery standards.
The e-commerce giant is building more than 15 new distribution centers but continues to struggle to keep up with demand for more goods and faster shipping. The construction spree and capacity issues, meanwhile, continue to eat into its bottom line.
Amazon predicted that its annual sales from third parties would set a record this year. The company also noted that third-party sellers could use the Fulfillment by Amazon service to ship products via Amazon's own logistics operations.
“The FBA service and Seller Fulfilled Prime program are the greatest opportunities in e-commerce for sellers to easily reach loyal Prime members and expand their business," Faricy said. "We are proud that we are empowering so many retailers to grow their business, many of them small businesses and entrepreneurs."
