Once your FBA shipment arrives at an Amazon fulfillment center, the process isn't necessarily complete. Amazon still needs to process the shipment and receive the individual units into its fulfillment network.
Understanding what happens after delivery can help explain why inventory may not immediately become available for sale.
1. The Shipment Arrives at Amazon
The carrier first delivers your boxes to the assigned Amazon fulfillment center.
A carrier showing the shipment as Delivered only confirms physical delivery. It doesn't necessarily mean Amazon has finished receiving the inventory.
2. Amazon Begins Processing the Shipment
Amazon processes the shipment and starts checking in the boxes and inventory.
During this stage, Amazon may scan and identify the units contained in the shipment and compare them with the shipment information provided by the seller.
3. Units Are Received
As Amazon processes the shipment, individual units begin appearing as received.
For multi-box or larger shipments, units may be received at different times. It's therefore possible for a shipment to be partially received before all inventory has been processed.
4. Inventory May Be Transferred
Some inventory may be transferred between Amazon fulfillment centers after it has been received.
Because of this, receiving inventory doesn't always mean every unit will immediately be available for customer orders at the original receiving facility.
5. Monitor the Shipment in Seller Central
Continue checking the shipment in Seller Central until Amazon completes the receiving process.
Compare the expected quantity with the received quantity once processing is complete. If there is a discrepancy, Seller Central will indicate whether further action can be taken.
Important
Think of the process as:
Shipped → Delivered → Checked In/Receiving → Units Received → Inventory Available
These stages don't necessarily happen at the same time.