A Seller’s Guide to Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment

One of the key benefits of using Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) is that you’re able to offload a lot of the cost of managing inventory. In exchange for some extra fees, all the worry, work, and expense involved in storing, packaging, and shipping inventory gets handed to someone else.

But many of the businesses that sell inventory on the Amazon marketplace also use a number of other channels for selling products. If you have an eCommerce website, a presence on other selling platforms, or resellers that list your products on their websites, can you use Amazon for fulfillment for those orders as well?

You can if you enroll in Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) program.

What is Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment?

Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment is part of the FBA program. It works a lot like FBA does in general, but expands your options for where a sale can happen while still being fulfilled by Amazon. You can use all the same features and services Amazon offers for products sold through its marketplace for those you sell through your own website or any other channel.

For businesses that like offloading the work of fulfillment, it offers a way to grow your business to more channels with less work. Amazon has a vast network of warehouses around the country and a well-developed system for achieving fast delivery times. For most businesses, that enables you to provide better delivery options in more places than it’s possible to manage on your own.

It’s important to understand that the MCF program doesn’t provide customer service for the orders fulfilled. That part’s still up to you. That includes handling any requests for returns and refunds customers have. But Amazon MCF does take care of storage, packing, and delivery.

Who Qualifies for Multi-Channel Fulfillment?

Anyone already using FBA can take advantage of Multi-Channel Fulfillment. Once you have inventory in Amazon’s warehouses, it is happy to accept the work of fulfilling orders through any of the other channels you sell through—for additional fees.

You can also use Multi-Channel Fulfillment even if you don’t sell through Amazon. In that case, you do need an Amazon seller account to start. And you still need to list your products on Amazon, but you can select a “start selling” date that’s far enough in the future that Amazon won’t list the products on its marketplace anytime soon.

Is Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment Worth It?

That depends on your particular circumstances and needs. MCF fees are typically higher than FBA fees. Understanding which fees to expect for different Amazon services can be complicated. To get an idea of whether MCF makes sense for you financially, you can download Amazon’s fee calculator template in the Multi-Channel Fulfillment section of Seller Central.

Editor's note: US MCF fees increased by 3.5% across all delivery speed options in February 2024. Amazon also modified size tiers to introduce a new small size tier (4 oz) and replaced the Oversize tiers with Large Bulky and Extra-Large tiers.

If a big part of the appeal of MCF for you is keeping all your fulfillment work in one place, you should know there are limitations to which channels you can use. Some of the marketplaces merchants sell through, like Walmart, won’t allow MCF. However, plenty of others, including eBay, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Magento, and 3dcart, do allow MCF.

In December 2022, Amazon started to automatically ship MCF orders in unbranded packaging at no additional cost. Unbranded packaging is available for eligible sortable items; it is not available for non-sortable inventory, apparel, footwear, and items larger than 56 inches or heavier than 49.9 pounds.

In addition, some sellers report slow MCF shipments, since Amazon prioritizes FBA orders. If orders made through your website are slow to go out, it’s your brand that ends up looking bad as a result. And it’s your business that has to deal with the customer service inquiries that come in while people wait.

For many businesses, though, being able to handle more of your orders in one place is a big selling factor. It makes your own work more efficient and organized. And because Amazon has worked to build up warehouses across the country and develop a solid system for packaging and shipping orders, you can benefit from the investment it has made.

The Bottom Line

If less work and a more centralized system for fulfilling eCommerce orders sounds worth spending a bit more in fees, then MCF makes sense for your brand. If you want more control over your own orders and branding, then it may not be right for you.