“Amazon won’t pick up our shipment. We have scheduled the pickup appointment, but they continue to re-schedule. I now have a two-week old order on the dock. Any help would be appreciated.”
If your company is currently facing these issues or this scenario sounds all-too-familiar, continue reading for suggested solutions.
This article will walk through why vendors may experience delayed pickups and our top tips to avoid pickup delays from Amazon designated carriers.
Scheduling Pickup with Amazon – The Routing Request:
If you are a collect vendor on Amazon, then you are required to first submit a Carrier Request.
Amazon calls these requests “Routing Requests”. Routing requests are completed manually on Amazon portals or via EDI.
Once routing requests have been transmitted and confirmed, the carrier will arrive to your dock at pre-arranged time/date.
Amazon Accounts Requiring Routing Requests:
| Account Type | Shipment Type | Routing Request |
|---|---|---|
| Prepaid | Any | No |
| Collect | TL/LTL | Yes |
| Collect | Small Parcel | Yes |
| FBA | Small Parcel | No |
Root-Causes for Delayed Pickups from Amazon Carriers:
At times Amazon assigned carriers may fail to make their scheduled pickup appointments.
This can be due to a variety of reasons including weather, carriers trapping freight (capacity issue), vendors not utilizing Amazon Preferred carrier or carriers waiting on delivery appointments with the actual Amazon Fulfillment Center.
How we Helped Our Customer in the Case Study:
Our suggestion for vendor facing this problem was to look at the timing of their Routing Request entry.
The faster vendors secure carrier pickup appointments, the less likely they are to face missed pickups from carriers.
Amazon carriers are in high-demand! Think of Routing Requests as FCFS (first come, first served) when entering.
There are literally 1000s of other vendors trying to schedule deliveries with AMZ carriers – do not be shy about submitting routing request as soon as you possibly can.
“Best practice is to submit same day as order is confirmed, the freight size/shape can be an educated estimate”
Look to schedule routing requests at least 48-hours prior to last day of the shipping window provided by Amazon.
By entering Routing request days prior, this will reduce chance of delayed/missed pickups.
Finding More questions than Answers? Need More Help?
If you are finding yourself unsure and need some advice on next steps, Schedule a phone call with us and we would be happy to speak with you and provide actionable feedback to get you started and pointed in the right direction.