Network Commingling (NetCo)

Sellers can now reduce cost on weight handling fees for customer orders and save on cost incurred to fix stickers for inbound units, while ensuring faster delivery through network commingling (NetCo).

What is NetCo?

Network commingling, also called FBA commingling, is a seller opt-in program that will enable order fulfilment from the fulfilment center (FC) located closest to the customer. This means that the customer will receive the order from an FC located closest to them regardless of the proximity to the seller. This will be done by swapping inventory "virtually" between the seller receiving the order and another NetCo-enabled seller (whose inventory is located closer to the customer's location), without physical movement of inventory.

How does it benefit the seller?

Current Benefits:

• Reduce weight handling fees: Because of the shorter distance for customer order fulfilment, weight handling fees will be reduced. For example, for an oversized item, fees can be reduced from INR 136 (National) to INR 71 (Local).
• Avoid cost to affix stickers: For NetCo-enabled inventory, sellers no longer need to apply XOO/FNSKU stickers on their products while shipping to FCs, leading to cost savings of up to INR 1.5 per unit.
• Deliver orders faster: Since the units will be shipped from the FC closest to the customer, orders will be delivered faster, leading to increased customer satisfaction and improved seller ratings.

Future Benefits:

• Potential increase in gross merchandise sales (GMS): NetCo-enabled inventory will lead to faster delivery promise to customers thus increasing potential GMS for sellers.

How does it work?

In NetCo, a real-time sale-purchase takes place between two sellers, but without any physical movement of inventory. When a seller-on-record’s inventory is not available at the nearest FC location, the inventory is purchased from another NetCo-enabled seller who has the same inventory available at an FC located closest to the customer. This purchase is a virtual swapping of inventory between two NetCo sellers. The participating sellers get a standard invoice with terms and conditions applicable to every NetCo sale transaction. The seller-on-record/seller-on-invoice fulfils the order from the FC closest to the customer.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I sign up?

1. Review the NetCo terms & conditions ("NetCo Terms") and contact us with further questions through this form.
2. Accept the NetCo Terms. Amazon requires written consent from the interested sellers. Amazon will enable NetCo transactions for the seller after the terms are accepted.

Will there be any charges involved to be a part of this program?

The program will be free of charge for FBA sellers. However, sellers need to register in at least four clusters to experience NetCo benefits and complete the registration process across clusters, if not already registered.

What if the NetCo-enabled inventory is counterfeit or defective?

If we find that a counterfeit or defective unit was shipped to the customer from a NetCo-enabled inventory, we will identify the source seller (whose inventory was used for the customer order fulfilment) and take appropriate action as per Amazon policies. Amazon will reimburse you per the SOP and charge the seller responsible for counterfeit or defective inventory.

What happens in case of returns?

When a customer returns an item, the seller-on-record will be reimbursed as per existing Amazon guidelines and policies. If the product shipped to the customer was damaged/defective, we will charge the source seller for the inventory.

Will there be any issues in my inventory removal?

There will be no issues and your removal order workflow remains the same. You will be able to create removals from respective FCs for customer returns on NetCo-enabled inventory, Note that removal cost is not dependent on the distance.

Can I opt out of NetCo if I am not interested?

Yes, sellers can opt out of NetCo at any time.

If I enrol into NetCo, will all my ASINs be NetCo-enabled?

No. Only the ASINs that are considered fungible will be NetCo enabled; therefore, any of the units can be shipped to the customer, regardless of which seller provided the inventory eligible for NetCo. These typically exclude private brands, ASINs with expiry date, ASINs with EMEI numbers, etc. When a seller enrols in NetCo, all ASINs in that seller's inventory that are classified as NetCo eligible will be enabled for the program.

What is the price at which my inventory gets transferred to the other NetCo seller?

NetCo transactions happen at the customer order price point; that is, inventory is virtually swapped between sellers at the same price at which the customer order was placed on Amazon.

What should I do with the existing inventory for the NetCo-enabled ASINs?

Existing quantities in FC for NetCo-enabled ASINs will not be a hindrance for creating new NetCo listings. However, further inbounds based on old FNSKU labels will not be possible.

Where can I find more details of NetCo transactions?

Sellers will be able to download reports on NetCo transactions from their Seller Central account.

Can existing FNSKU-labelled inventory be converted to NetCo-enabled inventory?

No. Sellers will need to create a new listing for NetCo-enabled ASINs. Sellers must select the “commingle” option when listing the ASIN.

I am already replicated, why do I need NetCo?

NetCo provides you an advantage for a subset of inventory that is eligible for NetCo (non-private labels, non-expiry date inventory, etc.). Therefore, replication is still required for sellers to ensure that inventory is placed closest to the customer. Furthermore, NetCo will ensure order fulfilment in times of stock-outs or appointment unavailability (especially during peak) for replicated inventory. Therefore, we believe that replication and NetCo will be complementary and co-exist with different value propositions for sellers.

Enroll in the FBA commingling program

For more information and support related to on-boarding to the commingling program or transaction issues/questions, use this form.