A Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit (FNSKU) is one of Amazon's many product identification numbers that helps the platform, Amazon sellers, and Amazon customers to keep track of products and merchandise on the global e-commerce marketplace. They recommend that every seller using FBA services uses an FNSKU to track inventory from listing to delivery.
An Amazon Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) is a unique identifier for a product sold on Amazon that is also known as an Item Number, a Stock Number, and a Brand Number. It helps in tracking inventory, shipping, returns, customer service, and other operations related to the products sold in the marketplace.
FNSKU numbers are a vital part of Amazon's sales ecosystem and make it easy for seller to track sales and fulfillment data for products sold on Amazon. Having access to an FNSKU can tell sellers a wide variety of information about their products, including when they were sold, who bought them, and where they are in the fulfillment and distribution cycle.
Many new Amazon sellers confuse the FNSKU number with the Amazon ASIN number, which is another one of Amazon's proprietary tracking numbers for tracking inventory housed on the platform. While these numbers serve a similar purpose, the primary difference between an ASIN and an FNSKU is that each and every product in the Amazon marketplace has its own unique ASIN that differentiates it from other products. An ASIN number is a unique number to identify individual products. This number can be connected with any seller on Amazon who sells the related product. The FNSKU number is a number that is assigned to only one product and one seller.
While some Amazon sellers believe it is tedious or time-consuming to assign a tracking number to every item listed on the Amazon marketplace, using FNSKU's for inventory tracking has many benefits for sellers and can be helpful for tracking lost orders. Using the FNSKU helps Amazon track issues with fraud or counterfeit merchandise. For example, if another seller attached to the same ASIN may be selling counterfeit merchandise.
This unique identifier quickly tells Amazon and marketplace buyers which merchant sold the merchandise and who will receive the penalty or be blacklisted from the site. FNSKU's come in handy for sellers when it comes to winning bids and FBA services, where they can track their top-selling products and manage product inventory. The best benefit of using the FBSKU number on Amazon is that it helps them resolve seller-related issues with individual products being sold by multiple sellers.
New sellers on Amazon will need to create an Amazon account on Seller Central and set up their products for fulfillment by Amazon also known as "FBA Services."
FBA services is a partnership between Amazon, platform sellers, distribution centers, and customers. Amazon designed its internal fulfillment system to make buying and selling worldwide a win-win situation for all parties involved. Using FNSKU to track Amazon inventory doesn't have to be complicated.
Amazon sellers who use the FBA process will have Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit barcodes generated. Sellers place these labels on their product so Amazon associates fulfilling their purchases in fulfillment centers using FBA services can easily identify, pick, and pack the correct product for shipping to your customer. Your FNSKU will be noted in your seller's catalog with the other identifiers for the products and it can be attached to an ASIN.
Click here for more information on the Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit.