Currently, this guide focuses on the details of using Vendor Central. Here we can dive into what makes them different and why. This guide excludes detailing the processes exclusive to Seller Central.
Seller Central vs. Vendor Central
The main difference between Vendor and Seller Central is who sells the products to consumers. Seller Central allows merchants to sell their products directly to consumers, whereas Vendor Central allows suppliers to sell their products to Amazon in bulk.
Another key difference between Amazon’s web interfaces is access. Vendor Central is an invite-only platform reserved for established brands. Seller Central is open to anyone with a product to sell. While brands can exist on both platforms, Seller and Vendor Central are separate entities, despite the rumors that these two sites may merge into one in the future.
Apps for Amazon Deductions
Vendor Central has 4 main applications for disputing deductions that can all be found under the Payment Tab in the horizontal dropdowns.
Access to Vendor Central tools may vary. If you are still looking for any of the tools mentioned, contact your Vendor Central Administrator to request access.
Financial Dashboard
The first stop should always be the Financial Dashboard, as it is the highest level of your Amazon business. This dashboard allows the user to drill down into total payables, total receivables, adjustments, and account balances.
Besides being a great overview, the bottom half of the dashboard provides direction for supplier action. From here, if a user wanted to navigate to other pages, the Quick Links section would direct them to the Invoice Page, the dispute management page, etc.
Invoices
The Invoice Tab is quite minimal as the only purpose it serves is to launch an action with your invoices. Notice how the buttons within the Available Actions box may change. This depends on the actual actions that need to be completed.
In the image below, there are review/dispute buttons for both shortages and Price Discrepancies. Once a supplier has completed all the actions needed for the affected invoices, those buttons will disappear until there are more invoices to dispute. Check these actions often to stay on top of your deductions.
Dispute Management
The Invoices tab is more directive, whereas the Dispute Management tab is more free-form. Instead of paired down buttons that launch your actions around invoices, the Dispute Management tab allows suppliers to create new disputes, search existing disputes, and view all active and closed disputes.
When suppliers believe that they have been invoiced incorrectly for a return, a CoOp agreement, a price discrepancy, or a shortage, you can dispute it via Dispute Management in Vendor Central. Each dispute has a different workflow that Amazon has outlined on the Support page > Help > Dispute Management > About Dispute Management
The Dispute Management Tab can be overwhelming if unsure of the action that needs to be taken, so be sure to understand the exact process you want to complete before diving in.
Financial Scorecard
Under the Payments Tab in Vendor Central, the Financial Scorecard tool is to give you a complete picture of your transactions with Amazon. This dashboard allows Amazon suppliers to detect issues surrounding their payments. This page helps examine issues in the supply chain and create a course of action to reduce defects.
Amazon’s Financial Scorecard will automatically highlight the defect contributing the highest amount of deductions to a given supplier’s bottom line. From here, you can drill down into the details at a line-level. These details can be used when disputing or for making corrective plans.
Avoiding Amazon Fines
Best Practices
To reiterate, the first step in fighting deductions at any retailer is learning how to avoid being charged in the first place. In lieu of other light bedtime readings, download a copy of Amazon’s compliance guides. First, examine your processes from start to finish for any non-compliance errors. Second, review your Operational Performance, found under the Reports Tab.
This page helps the user understand the root cause of chargebacks.
- Ensure accuracy in Catalog setup and ASINs
- Invoice content must match PO and ASN
- Cancel invoices with enough time if unable to make shipment
- Send invoices 1-4 days before the delivery date
- Only one label on your carton/master pack
- No UPCs on carton/masterpack
- Review Amazon’s suggestions for reducing Vendor Lead Time
- Review Amazon’s Labeling and Delivery Compliance