Amazon fulfills orders through a combination of modern technology and advanced logistics. Amazon normally ships orders from warehouses, also known as Amazon Fulfillment Centers.
Depending on who you bought your package through, your product will ship from different places.
Here’s Where Amazon Usually Ships From:
Amazon ships from its various Fulfillment Centers. There are over 80 Amazon Fulfillment Centers spread across 20 states and Canada, which is where Amazon ships from if you order from Amazon sellers. If you order from third-party stores, products are shipped from the location of those stores.
Table of Contents
What Are The Steps To Amazon Shipping?
The shipping process of Amazon can vary from one Fulfillment Center to another or between third-party sellers, although most steps are quite similar.
Here are the steps to shipping when a customer purchases from an Amazon seller:
The Customer Places the Order and Gets a Confirmation:
A customer purchases the seller’s products by adding to the cart, checking out, and then choose a delivery option.
Customers may choose to expedite for an additional fee, although for Amazon Prime Members, the expedition is free.
This step also involves the customer paying for the items and the shipping fee using their preferred mode of payment.
The Seller will Receive an Order Notification from Amazon.
Once an order has been placed for a product, the seller will get a notification from Amazon informing them of a new order.
Amazon Processes, Packages, and Labels the Product:
Since Amazon sellers send the products to Amazon fulfillment centers or warehouses, Amazon is in charge of processing the order.
This involves packing the order properly while ensuring it is secure, especially for fragile items, and then adding the shipping label.
Amazon Ships out the Product:
After processing the order, Amazon ships the product to the carrier of choice.
Once the product has been shipped out, Amazon will notify both the customer and the seller.
Amazon will also provide the customer with the tracking details in the notification so that the customer can track their order and get an estimated arrival date for the package.
The Seller Gets Notified When the Customer Receives the Product:
Once the customer receives the product, the seller will get a notification from Amazon so that they know once the order has been completed.
Read also: 15 Places To Return Amazon Packages (We Checked)
Does Amazon Ship from Amazon Warehouses?
Before we answer this question further, it is important to know that there are two types of Amazon sellers based on their business model: 1P sellers and 3P sellers.
1P Sellers:
1P sellers are those that have a first-party relationship with Amazon. Amazon directly invites 1P sellers to sell on the website.
If you are a 1P seller, Amazon sends you a purchase order that you fulfill, and then you send your products to Amazon.
In the 1P business model, Amazon controls the items’ pricing. Amazon is also the one that processes the orders at the warehouses or fulfillment centers.
3P Sellers:
3P sellers are third-party sellers who apply through Amazon Seller Central so they can use the platform to sell the products.
Once approved, they can be on the website and be in charge of processing the orders.
If you ordered your products from an Amazon seller with 1P capacity, then the products are shipped from warehouses, also known as Amazon Fulfillment Centers.
Fulfillment Center Locations:
There are over 80 Amazon Fulfillment Centers across the United States and Canada.
Here are the states where these Amazon Fulfillment Venters are located, plus the number of centers situated in each state:
- Arizona – 5 in Maricopa County
- California – 2 in San Bernardino County, 1 in Stanislaus County, 1 in San Joaquin County, and 1 in Riverside County
- Connecticut – 1 in Hartford County
- Delaware – 4 in New Castle County
- Florida – 1 in Polk County and 1 in Hillsborough County
- Indiana – 2 in Boone County, 3 in Hendricks County, 1 in Marion County, and 2 in Clark County
- Kansas – 1 in Johnson County
- Kentucky – 1 in Taylor County, 1 in Jefferson County, 3 in Boone County, 2 in Fayette County, and 4 in Bullitt County
- Maryland – 1 in Baltimore County
- Massachusetts – 1 in Stoughton
- Nevada – 1 in Washoe County and 1 in Clark County
- New Hampshire – 1 in Hillsborough County
- New Jersey – 1 in Mercer County and 2 in Middlesex County
- Pennsylvania – 1 in Luzerne County, 2 in Lehigh County, 1 in Dauphin County, 3 in Cumberland County, 1 in York County, 1 in Scranton, 1 in Pittston, and 1 in Roswell
- South Carolina – 1 in Lexington County and 1 in Spartanburg County
- Tennessee – 2 in Wilson County, 1 in Rutherford County, 1 in Hamilton County, 1 in Bradley County, and 1 in Nashville
- Texas – 1 in Denton County, 1 in Tarrant County, 1 Comal County, and 1 in Dallas County
- Virginia -1 in Dinwiddie County and 1 in Chesterfield County
- Washington – 2 in Pierce County, 1 in Kent, and 1 in King County
- Wisconsin – 1 in Kenosha County
And here are the locations of the Amazon fulfillment centers in Canada:
- Delta, British Columbia
- Mississauga, Ontario
- Milton, Ontario
- Brampton, Ontario
Does Amazon Ship Through Third-Party Stores?
The company invited not all sellers on Amazon to sell their products.
Apart from the Amazon sellers, some third-party sellers use the Amazon website for advertising and selling their products. These are usually small business owners that sell in the 3P capacity.
If the products are purchased from a third-party seller, then the products are processed and shipped from third-party stores.
For third-party sellers, orders are not fulfilled at Amazon Fulfillment Centers. Instead, the third-party sellers themselves are the ones that process the orders by packing them and attaching a shipping label.
Most third-party sellers have warehouses or storage locations for the products they sell. Small entrepreneurs and business owners usually have their inventory at home.
The logistics of Amazon provides shipping services to third-party sellers regardless of their sales channel. This is part of the multi-channel fulfillment program.
Through this program, sellers can use other platforms, like Shopify, WooCommerce, and Etsy, to fulfill orders. These platforms are integrated with Amazon.
How Does Amazon Ship International Orders?
From an e-commerce company that started in the United States of America, Amazon is now servicing 58 countries worldwide. This means that a good bulk of Amazon orders are international.
So how does Amazon ship these international orders? Is the process different compared to domestic orders?
The shipping process for international orders is basically the same except for a couple of additional steps.
Carrier Changes:
One thing that may be different is the carrier used. Amazon may use a different carrier for international orders based on the customer’s location.
This is to provide the customers with a competitive shipping experience. The shipping charges are calculated at the time of checkout depending on the number and type of items.
The shipping charge also considers the total weight and volume of all the items in the order.
Passing Packages Through Customs:
Another added step in international orders is passing the item through customs, which may result in additional charges on the customer’s end. Some countries charge import fees for any items entering the country.
This is specified in Amazon’s terms and conditions for international orders.
According to Amazon’s terms and conditions, products shipped to countries outside the United States may be subject to taxes, duties, and other fees imposed by the destination country.
The fees may vary from one country to another and depending on the value of the item. So some countries may charge these fees while some may not.
For international orders, the customer is the importer on record and will be responsible for paying the said fees.
Are Prime Packages Shipped From Different Facilities?
Amazon Prime is a paid membership wherein members get different perks from Amazon. This membership is available to selected countries.
One of the perks of being a Prime Member is free expedited shipping for Prime-Eligible items. Expedited shipping usually comes at an extra cost for non-members.
Amazon Fulfillment Centers are filled with hundreds of thousands of Prime-Eligible products that can be shipped out in just 1 to 3 days.
Each Amazon Fulfillment Center employs hundreds of workers who are in charge of processing thousands of orders daily. These employees follow the same process and work in the same motion of grabbing the items and packing them in shipping boxes.
Sources:
How Your Package Gets From Amazon’s Warehouse To Your Front Door
The Amazon Shipping Process: Everything Sellers Need To Know
Location Of Amazon Fulfillment Centers In The USA