AMZ Atlas: Succeed with Amazon

?? **Navigating Amazon's Go-To-Market Strategy: A Crucial Decision for Brands** ?? When brands look at their Amazon presence, one of the biggest decisions is whether to retain ownership of inventory or let a partner take that responsibility. At AMZ Atlas, we offer two clear paths: **1?? Option 1: Retain Inventory Ownership**?? - Brands can establish a 3P account (Seller Central) and leverage our agency services for support. **2?? Option 2: Control Amazon Presence Without Owning Inventory**?? - AMZ Atlas Capital Services allows brands to sell inventory to us, while we handle the Seller Central account on their behalf. This option is perfect for brands not interested in managing inventory or those facing Seller Central barriers. **The Benefits Include:** - Fixed wholesale prices. - Transparency on data & ad spend. - Simplified shipping and logistics. - No price erosion & brand protection. - No extra cost for agency services. Which option works best for your brand? Let’s talk! ?? #AmazonStrategy #Ecommerce #BrandGrowth #AmazonFBA #InventoryManagement #amazonvendor

Amazon 1P Vendors should have a backup plan, according to Corey Thomas of AMZ Atlas. "Even if you didn't receive a termination notice yet, it's good to be prepared should you receive one" When Amazon decides to terminate your Vendor relationship, you might not have much time to respond. Recent notices are giving Vendors only 7-8 weeks to prepare for their business to shut down, which is not nearly enough time to properly make the switch to 3P. It can take, for example, 30-days just to apply for a Seller Central account on Amazon, let alone inbound inventory and everything else that needs to happen. So, Corey's advice? Don't wait until you receive a notice to start planning. It's best to understand what options would work best for your business if you do receive the dreaded email from Amazon, discontinuing your partnership. Next Thursday, Courtney Taylor is teaming up with Corey and Shelby Rothenberg to outline what Vendors should be aware of - whether you've already received the notice, or want to be prepared for the future. They'll cover the steps to make a transition to 3P, what is required, and explore alternatives, such as working with a 2P partner. We'll also be hosting a live Q/A during the webinar, so if you have specific questions for your situation, please be sure to attend live. -- If you haven't registered yet, use the link in the comments to sign up. We're going live Thursday, October 10th at 10 am PT / 1 pm ET. AMZ Atlas: Succeed with Amazon

Why is no one talking about the CASH & LIQUIDITY implications of the Amazon Vendor Termination fallout? Most of the posts I'm seeing from Amazon agencies are some version of: "We've transitioned many brands from 1P to 3P, frankly we've always advocated for that, so hire us and we'll help you" The idea that brands are just a "good agency away" from a successful 3P strategy is ridiculous and, frankly, distracting. Impacted brands need to talk about INVENTORY OWNERSHIP first. Full stop, nothing else matters.....yet. As a brand, if your working capital is tied to your Accounts Receivable (AR) balance, losing a top 5 customer that has provided you with regular POs for years is a HUGE deal. ESPECIALLY in an environment with tighter lending conditions. Yes, 3P can provide greater control and higher margin, but if the brand doesn't have the balance sheet to go from an AR-driven business model to an effectively Cash-based DTC model, that brand isn't going to make the transition. Bank lending and underwriting for these brands is going to be the tail that wags the dog of what decision a brand settles on. If you're a brand thinking ahead two steps and concerned about the FINANCIAL implications, send me a message, we have the infrastructure to alleviate that liquidity issue. Follow the money folks. #amazon #amazonvendor #amazonseller #finance #accounting

With Amazon's Vendor Termination announcement this week, let's look at some of the Winners and Losers and why each business will be impacted, starting with the Winners [Next post will have the losers] WINNERS: 1. Amazon, the Company & Shareholders -Maintaining thousands of "small" vendors is expensive - personnel, inventory management, etc. -Amazon has MUCH better uses for its capital than buying inventory. Amazon won't reach $3 Trillion by becoming a larger retailer, it's already more valuable than the 9 largest retailers in the US combined. The valuation multiple on services revenue from 3P meanwhile will be much more accretive to shareholders and allow Amazon to invest that free cashflow in things like AI and Data Centers. 2. Smaller Retailers & Distributors -Retailers like Petco, Best Buy, and Sportsman's Warehouse are exceptionally well-positioned to grow their sales on Amazon with their existing Seller accounts and existing vendor relationships. Their buyers should be calling all their smaller vendors, especially those with bulky items, to see if they lost access to 1P. 3. Third Party Logistics Providers - Especially Those with Seller Fulfilled Prime as a service -Many products won't work through FBA even though they were stocked by Amazon 1P. Enter 3PLs and those that provide SFP services. Categories like Pet Supplies and Grocery are going to need this. Lots of options in the 3PL space - Freight Right Global Logistics, Ware2Go, etc. 4. 3P SaaS providers -There will be a whole new crop of sellers needing new services, especially operations and analytics-focused tech - Kapoq, Carbon6's properties, MixShift, etc. 5. 3P Agencies -For obvious reasons, impacted Vendors / Brands will need support to navigate the transition. We do this at AMZ Atlas: Succeed with Amazon, and I also recommend Ethan McAfee's Team at Amify by Cart.com 6. 3P Accelerators -Many brands won't be able to make the transition quickly enough. Accelerators will have a big opportunity to help brands. We do this at AMZ Atlas: Succeed with Amazon, as do other players like Pattern?, Spreetail, Recom, and Powerplay Retail?. 7. Internet Authorization Legal Support -When Amazon did what it wanted to products, brands learned to accept chaos, in a 3P environment managing resellers will be incredibly important. If you thought wack-a-mole was bad before, wait until 1P runs out of stock. Michael Murphy from K&L Gates is the best in the business for this, full stop. 8. Brand Protection / Brand Authorization Providers -Amazon usually took a "never lose" strategy and won the buy-box. Smart resellers with broad sourcing capabilities through distribution are going to sprout up like weeds. Brands need to act fast to get control BEFORE resellers realize the 1P inventory is winding down. David Cooper's IPSecure and Andrew Schydlowsky's TrackStreet are good options for tracking sellers. What did I miss? #amazon #amazonvendor #amazonseller #ecommerce

Amazon recently announced the termination of small 1P accounts, which poses a challenge for brands that rely on those purchase orders for business sustenance. For those seeking solutions, AMZ Atlas offers 3P expertise and acts as a seller on the platform through our Atlas Capital solution. We ensure purchase orders are aligned with Amazon's demand, with management services integrated into wholesale prices. Unlike other service providers, we aim to be your primary customer, not another expense. Let's discuss why our model is different. There is no time to lose! #Amazon #3Pexpertise #AMZAtlas #PartnershipOpportunity #amazonvendor #amazonfba

Amazon planning to launch a discount store to compete with Temu and SHEIN? As first reported by The Information, Amazon looks to be recruiting Chinese sellers to create a discount store to compete with Temu and Shein. On the surface, I understand why Amazon has to explore this. Temu and Shein have exploded in size and offer a differentiated product. Relative to Amazon's "fast delivery" strategy, Temu and Shein sell "cheap" and "slow delivery". Beneath the surface of this strategy, there are two main themes, one that seems positive and brand accretive for Amazon, and one that seems fraught with risk. First the risky one. I'll call this the "Slow and Sketchy" Strategy It is well documented that part of Temu and Shein's low-cost value proposition is....shall we call it.....tariff and duty dodging... With de minimis tax loopholes, these sites can offer deep discounts to customers. While the tax loopholes save money, the logistics strategy results in a much slower delivery speed. So is "Slow and Sketchy" really what a two-trillion-dollar big US Tech firm should put its brand next to? I'm skeptical. As for the innovative/enduring strategy that Amazon should find a way to incorporate - small-batch manufacturing and rapid prototyping. Both Shein and Temu have tapped into the ability to rapidly bring new products to consumers. This works especially well in the fashion industry. First, there was fast fashion, and now there's Shein - fast fashion on steroids. Can Amazon thread the needle and bring speed, selection, and rapid prototyping to its customers, or does the whole program risk undermining the legitimacy of the platform and stain the brand with a core value proposition of speed of delivery, ease of returns, and seamless customer service? Great reporting by Jing Yang and Theo Wayt from The Information to get this out. #amazon #retail #marketing #strategy