Amazon Vendor Clean-Up; Amazon has recently made a massive shift, deleting loads of vendor contracts that are set to expire on November 09, 2024. If your brand relies on Amazon Vendor Central, this change could have serious implications for your business. But don’t panic – even when time is limited, you can still take action to keep your listings live.

At Boom Commerce, we’ve helped countless brands navigate changes like these, and today, I’m going to walk you through the 3 urgent steps you need to take to save your Amazon listings. Whether you’re a large vendor or a smaller player, these steps are critical to ensuring your Amazon vendor clean-up.

What’s Happening with Amazon Vendor Clean-Up Contracts?

On November 09, 2024, Amazon will end numerous vendor contracts, impacting a wide range of brands. Amazon has been recalibrating its vendor contracts repeatedly over the past few years. This latest move sparks speculation that Amazon Vendor Clean-Up is reshaping its vendor management strategy, potentially focusing on a different set of brands, possibly larger ones. Vendors with expiring contracts may suddenly find themselves without an option to supply products directly to Amazon, leaving their listings inactive or, worse, removed altogether.

The clock is ticking, and brands affected by this move need to adapt fast. The question is: What’s your next move if you want to stay live on Amazon?

It’s not a question if you want to stay on Amazon or not ​​- that’s a given if you want to keep growing. The question is: Do you handle everything yourself, or do you let experts like Boom Commerce take over and get you up to speed quickly? If the second option sounds better to you, then your next move is simple:

schedule a call with us now!

Otherwise, follow the steps below to navigate this transition.

Step 1: Transition to Amazon Seller Model

With the discontinuation of many vendor contracts, transitioning to the Amazon Seller Model offers brands a new way to remain active on the platform. Amazon empowers sellers to take control of their business, giving you direct access to your customers and the ability to manage pricing, inventory, and promotions – and, most importantly, eliminating the dependency on Amazon’s purchasing volume.

Why the Seller Model is a Great Alternative:

• More Control: In Seller Central, you decide pricing, control inventory levels, and shape customer relationships
• Prime Badge Access: Yes, your vendor products have a Prime badge, and losing that visibility is not an option. With the seller model, you have different ways to obtain the Prime badge – FBA being one of the best options.
• Increased Flexibility: Seller Central gives you the tools to manage your listings and customer interactions directly, improving your ability to adapt to market trends. ​​Best of all, you get to decide how much effort goes into your listings and brand visibility – free from Amazon’s preferences

Getting Started:

• Register for Seller Central: Open your Seller Central Account, fill in the necessary information, and complete KYC.
• Choose Your Fulfillment Method: Decide between FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) for ease and speed, or MFN(Merchant Fulfilled Network) for more control over shipping and inventory.

Step 2: Migrate Your Listings

Transitioning from Vendor Central to Seller Central requires a smooth migration of your existing listings while optimizing them for the new platform. Follow this step-by-step guide to ensure a successful migration:

Export Your Vendor Central Listings

The first step is to secure your current product information from Vendor Central:

• Download Your Product Data: In Vendor Central, you can export a CSV file or report containing all essential details about your products, including titles, descriptions, images, prices, and inventory
• Review Your Product Data: Make sure all information is accurate and complete. It’s crucial that no key data is missing before you begin the migration process

Create Your Listings in Seller Central

Now, it’s time to input your migrated data into Seller Central:

• Log into Seller Central and navigate to the Catalog tab. You can either add products manually or use the bulk upload option for multiple listings
• Manually Add Products: If you only have a few products, you can enter them manually in Seller Central. Use the product data from Vendor Central as a base but optimize it for Seller Central’s algorithm
• Bulk Upload via Flat File: For a large number of products, you can edit the CSV file exported from Vendor Central. Amazon provides bulk upload templates, where you fill in the required fields such as titles, descriptions, keywords, and categories

Optimize Your Listings for Seller Central

Pro Tip: By focusing on optimizing your listings during migration, you not only preserve your existing traffic but can also position your products for even greater visibility and conversion rates.

I’ve already covered this topic in detail in a previous post – so if you’re looking for an in-depth guide on how to get it right, check out my blog post Mastering Your First Amazon Listing.

Review and Publish Your Listings

Once you’ve input all the necessary information into Seller Central:

• Review the Product Detail Pages carefully to ensure there are no errors and that all content is up-to-date
• Publish Your Listings, and they will become live on Amazon

Step 3: Strengthen Your Brand and Leverage Amazon’s Tools

Transitioning to Seller Central not only helps you maintain your Amazon presence but also gives you new tools to build a stronger, more recognizable brand. Taking the time to strengthen your brand and use Amazon’s advanced tools will pay off in terms of customer trust, visibility, and sales.

Key Tools to Build Your Brand:

• Amazon Brand Registry: Registering your brand on Amazon is essential to protect your intellectual property and gain access to powerful marketing tools. It’s the first step to ensuring no one else can misuse your brand on the platform
• A+ Content: Use A+ Content to enhance your product detail pages with premium content like images, comparison charts, and enhanced text. This helps boost customer confidence and conversions
• Amazon Advertising: Set up Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display campaigns to drive more traffic to your listings and increase sales

Pro Tip: If you’ve been relying on Amazon’s promotional tools in Vendor Central, you’ll be pleased to know that Seller Central offers even more opportunities. Start small with your ad spend, see what works, and scale accordingly. Remember, aligning your campaigns with seasonal events like Black Friday or Cyber Monday can yield significant results.

What Happens If You Do Nothing?

If you ignore Amazon’s vendor clean-up and take no action, here’s what could happen:

• Deactivated Listings: Your product listings may be removed from Amazon altogether, leaving you with zero visibility on the world’s largest e-commerce platform
• Loss of Revenue: Without your listings live, your sales will naturally plummet, and your brand may lose trust with loyal customers
• Long-Term Damage: If your listings are down for too long, regaining traction once they’re back online could take months, impacting your overall brand strategy

Don’t let that happen to you. Staying proactive and making the necessary changes will help you continue growing your business on Amazon, despite these challenges.

Ready to Make the Move? I Can Help!

At Boom Commerce, the Team and I have successfully guided numerous brands through this exact transition. Whether you’re unsure about how to switch from Vendor to Seller Central, or you need help optimizing your listings, the Team and I are here to make the process seamless for you.

Don’t wait until your listings go dark.

Let’s work together to ensure your brand stays live and thriving on Amazon.