Units shipped is a plan. Units received is the number that pays.

FBA prep is the work that makes a unit acceptable to an Amazon fulfilment centre: barcode labelling, poly-bagging with the correct suffocation warning, bundling multipacks, and packing cartons to weight and dimension limits. Requirements vary by product category and by marketplace. A shipment that fails them is refused, held, or charged an unplanned prep fee at the centre — which is why prep is done to spec before goods leave rather than corrected on arrival.

Receipt rate is the share of units shipped into Amazon that are actually checked in. Some loss is normal at volume, so the meaningful question is whether the gap is measured and pursued. Across the portfolio eBrands operates, the receipt rate is 98.0% on 181,743 units shipped, with the 6,807-unit shortfall tracked as flagged variances rather than written off.

The shortfall is quantified per SKU line, investigated — often the units were recorded at a different fulfilment centre — and where it holds up, pursued as a reimbursement claim within Amazon's window. This only works if shipments are reconciled line by line and promptly, because the claim window is finite and an unreconciled shipment is a claim that expires unnoticed.

Amazon assigns destinations based on its own network capacity and where it expects demand, so one shipment plan can be distributed across multiple centres. Each leg then travels and is received on its own timeline. The practical consequence is that partial availability can look like a stockout on the listing, which is why each destination is tracked separately rather than treated as one delivery.

Yes — eBrands runs FBA inbound across 20 Amazon marketplaces, including North America, the UK and the EU. Each has its own prep rules, barcode standards and restricted categories, and the UK is planned as a separate stock position from the EU because it is a distinct customs territory.

Yes. Units can be inbounded to Amazon directly on arrival from the factory, or held in an eBrands warehouse and released into FBA in planned batches. Holding stock outside FBA and replenishing in waves is usually the better choice for controlling Amazon storage costs and for SKUs that also serve other channels.

The quantity is set against sell-through and forward cover, so a shipment plan reflects the demand it is meant to serve rather than a round number. Because eBrands also operates the listing and the advertising behind it, the inbound plan and the demand plan are built from the same data instead of being handed between two parties.

No. FBA buys Prime eligibility and Amazon's delivery promise, which is decisive for fast-moving SKUs. It also charges storage that penalises slow movers, and it only serves Amazon. Where a SKU sells across several channels or turns slowly, a 3PL position usually costs less and serves more. The decision is made per SKU rather than per brand.