New Carrier Tracking Requirements & Improving OOS Listing Discoverability

As of November 1, 2021, all FBA sellers who create non-partnered carrier shipments will need to supply the name of their chosen carrier and a tracking ID should the carrier provide it, thanks to new requirements from Amazon, which it claims will help to improve the receiving process.

This recent change is something that was announced for the European Amazon marketplace but US sellers should be prepared to see it roll out in their region soon after as Amazon often seems to launch policy updates in EU/UK before pushing them stateside.

So, if you’re an FBA seller using a non-Amazon-partnered carrier for your shipments, you will need to provide carrier information and a tracking code prior to the shipment arriving at the fulfillment center. On the other hand, if you make use of Amazon’s Partnered Carrier program or Amazon Global Logistics, these changes will not apply since Amazon will generate the tracking code for you.

Concerns from FBA sellers on Amazon forums have noted that providing such information could be a very time-consuming task with large inventory lists. Parcel shipments will require a tracking ID for every box, while full-truckload and less-than-truckload shipments require a freight progressive number (PRO, or progressive rotating order number) for every shipment.

A PRO number is a 7-10 digit number used to track shipments as they progress through the delivery process. Without getting in the weeds on how tracking numbers work, the PRO is a part of the actual tracking number. It will be generated by and you can get it from your carrier. It will appear on the shipping labels. For clarity’s sake, have your carrier indicate to you your PRO number to submit to Amazon.

Find more information on these tracking obligations at Track your shipment (Shipping Queue).

Amongst all the headaches of having to provide tracking information are one or two shiny, bright spots. Amazon asserts that these new tracking policies will allow it to avoid delays on the receiving end, thus making the inventory available to customers faster. The way we can foresee this to be possible is that it could help with workload and workflow planning if they know what is scheduled to arrive when.

Additionally, when you supply your tracking numbers, your inventory may qualify for In-Stock Head Start. If this is the case, your product will show as Active on the Manage Inventory page and, even though your items that are not currently in stock, if your shipment is close enough to arriving its listing may be live and listed for sale on Amazon since the platform will have access to tracking information for your in-transit shipments.

This feature has long been available for Amazon Partner Carrier and Amazon Global Logistics users but has not been a feature for those opting for other shipping solutions until now.

You can submit the tracking information via the Track Shipment tab on the Summary page found in the shipment workflow. Alternatively, you can provide the details through Amazon Marketplace Web Services. For the fastest receiving times, ensure you have mapped the tracking codes for parcel shipments to the correct FBA box ID label on each box.

It’s important to note that Amazon will monitor the defect rate of your missing tracking info for every shipment, which could affect your Amazon business should you not fulfill these new obligations.

Just another hurdle to climb on the jungle gym that is Amazon.