Reconcile your shipment
On this page, you will learn how to use the Shipment Reconciliation tool in your shipping workflow.
To navigate to the Shipment Reconciliation tool:
- On the Inventory tab, click on Manage FBA Shipments.
- Find your shipments and then click on Track shipment.
- On your shipping workflow, click on the Contents tab.
After your shipment has arrived at an Amazon fulfilment centre, the Shipment Contents tab on the Summary page will display the status of the units as they are received. If there are any differences between what you have sent in the shipment and what is received, use the tools within the Contents tab to:
- Get detailed information about discrepancies between your shipping plan and what the fulfilment centre received
- Provide more information about the shipment contents
- Request an investigation into missing or unexpected items
If your shipment is not eligible for reconciliation, it may be for one of several reasons:
- The shipment is still being processed by the fulfilment centre.
- The shipment has not been delivered to the fulfilment centre.
- The shipment contents have been received in full or have been reconciled.
Once your inventory has been received at a fulfilment centre or receive centre, it is available for sale. Reconciliation of shipped inventory usually takes 14 to 30 days. In some cases, it will take up to 60 days. You can track the status of your shipment in the Shipping Queue with the status cycling through In Transit, Delivered, Checked-In, Receiving and finally Closed. To learn more, go to How Amazon receives and stores your inventory.
Is your shipment eligible for investigation?
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Located unit messages
The discrepancy column is the difference between the units expected and the units located, which can be found under the Units expected/Units located column. By hovering over the units located number, you will be able to find additional information about the received and reconciled units.
| Units Located Messages | Description |
|---|---|
| Received | These products are accounted for through the standard receiving process. The received quantity is displayed on the Shipment contents tab. |
| Reconciled | When possible, we investigate product discrepancies automatically and add or remove the reconciled units from your shipment. |
| Reimbursed | If Amazon accepts responsibility for lost or damaged products, they are accounted for as reimbursements. Reimbursement amounts are listed on the Transactions View tab of the Payments report. |
Status messages
The status column is used to understand the state of each product in your shipment to Amazon.
| Status Messages | Description |
|---|---|
| Receiving | The product is being received. |
| Action required | The product has a discrepancy that is eligible for research. Every product with this status must have an option selected before you can preview and submit the research request. |
| Units located. No action required | The product does not have a discrepancy, since it was received in full or has been reconciled automatically. No action is necessary. |
| Pending dangerous goods (hazmat) review | To ensure that the inventory in our fulfilment centres is safe for customers and transport, your products may be reviewed for compliance with our requirements for dangerous goods. Whilst these products are under review, they cannot be received at the fulfilment centre. Learn more about the FBA dangerous goods review process. |
| Investigation completed - shipment contents counted and confirmed | Amazon has investigated the delivered boxes or pallets and associated units, and the received units have been confirmed at our fulfilment centres. These products are no longer eligible for research. If you have information that helps us locate any of these units that are missing, contact Selling Partner Support. |
| Case submitted | The product has already been submitted for research using the Contents tab, so no further action is required. |
| Claim window expired | The claim window has expired for the shipment per the FBA lost and damaged inventory reimbursement policy . |
| Automatically closed after 90 days | The shipment was automatically closed. For more information, go to Track your shipment (Shipping Queue). |
Request research
Products in the shipment that are eligible for additional research will have ‘Action required’ options for you to select from in the Status column. Every product with a status of ‘Action required’ must have an option selected before you can preview and submit the research request.
| Action required options | Description |
|---|---|
| Units not shipped | You have confirmed that you or your supplier did not ship these units or shipped a different product instead. |
| Research missing units | You have confirmed that these units were included in your shipment, and you need Amazon to research further. |
| Extra units shipped | You have confirmed that you or your supplier included extra units or a different product than was originally recorded on your shipment. |
| Research extra units | You have confirmed that these units were not included in your shipment, and you need Amazon to research further. |
Upload documents
Use the Choose File button to select all documents and the Upload button to attach documents to the research request. Certain documents are required for Amazon to research the discrepancies; uploading them will help Amazon resolve the research request as quickly as possible.
Amazon requires the following documents to be submitted with the research request:
-
Proof of inventory ownership: Proof of inventory ownership will help identify any potential discrepancies that may have occurred. Some examples of acceptable documents are an invoice from a supplier, receipt from another seller or signed packing slip if you are a manufacturer. The following information must be provided:
- Date of purchase
- Product names matching the missing products
- Quantity
- Proof of delivery: For LTL or FTL shipments, a bill of lading showing the number of boxes in the shipment and the total weight when it was picked up by the carrier. The document must be stamped by Amazon confirming that the shipment was received and signed for at the fulfilment centre. Your carrier should have a copy of this document. This information helps to verify that the entire shipment was picked up and shipped as expected.
Provide additional information
For any additional discrepancies, you can ask Selling Partner Support to investigate. Describe the discrepancy in the form provided. This information helps Amazon complete the research and resolve issues as quickly as possible.
| Information type example | Description |
|---|---|
| Any known discrepancies | Did you or your supplier ship more or fewer units than you originally expected? Did you or your supplier ship the wrong product? |
| A description of the shipping boxes | Our team does a physical check of the fulfilment centre, so information about the colour, size or any distinguishing marks on your shipping boxes can help us find them more quickly. |
| Product codes | Verify the UPC, EAN or JAN on your products. Does it match the product code shown in Seller Central? |
| Any prep activity that was missed | An item that was not properly prepped before being shipped can cause delays in the receiving process, as we must prep the item for you. |
Preview and submit your request
After you have classified the discrepancies remaining on your shipment, click on Preview your request, review the information, and, if everything is correct, click on Submit Request. The submission will create a case with Selling Partner Support for the products that require research.
After submitting the request, you will be provided with a case number, which will also be shown in the Shipment Reconciliation tool when you next visit the page. You can watch for status updates and communications by clicking on the case number or going directly to your Case Log.
