As of January 1, 2026, Amazon has officially discontinued its FBA Prep Services. The option to pay Amazon to label, bag, or rework your inventory is gone. This policy shift forces merchants to rethink their inbound strategy immediately.
Read Amazon’s Official Policy Update on Discontinuing Prep Services
Previously, if your prep wasn’t perfect, Amazon would often fix it for a fee. Now, that buffer is gone. Inaccurate shipments face immediate consequences: indefinite receiving delays, margin-killing non-compliance fees, and even account suspension for repeat offenses.
Your Three Options for FBA Prep
With Amazon stepping back, brands are left with three distinct paths. Only one ensures long-term reliability.
Option 1: Do It Yourself
This offers control but destroys scalability. You save on vendor fees but pay in labor and focus. Every hour your team spends applying barcodes or suffocation warnings is an hour not spent on marketing or product development.
Option 2: Rely on Your Manufacturer
Factories are built for production, not logistics compliance. Trusting a manufacturer to navigate Amazon’s complex, ever-changing receiving requirements is a gamble. One misinterpretation of a packaging rule can lead to an entire shipment being rejected at the dock.
Option 3: Partner with a Compliance Infrastructure Expert
ShipMonk acts as your operational firewall. We don’t just “prep” goods; we provide a standardized infrastructure that guarantees compliance before your inventory ever touches an Amazon truck. We absorb the complexity so you can focus on the Buy Box.
How ShipMonk De-Risks Your Amazon Supply Chain
We manage FBA prep across a spectrum of complexityfrom simple FNSKU labeling to intricate kitting and assembly. Our approach is built on two pillars: Integration and Execution.
The Power of Direct FBA Integration
Manual data entry is the leading cause of FBA rejection. ShipMonk solves this with a proprietary Direct FBA Integration that syncs seamlessly with your Amazon Seller Central account.
This digital thread automatically pulls shipment plans, generates transfer orders, and ensures every label matches the exact SKU requirements in Amazon’s system. By removing human error from the data transfer process, we virtually eliminate the risk of “problem receive” delays.
What We Handle
Our facilities are equipped to manage every aspect of Amazon’s strict receiving standards, including:
- Identification: FNSKU application and barcode verification.
- Protection: Poly bagging (with suffocation warnings), bubble wrapping, and boxing.
- Configuration: Kitting, bundling, and master case breakdowns.
Comparison: Who Should Handle Your Prep?
| Feature | ShipMonk | Manufacturer | In-House (DIY) |
| Amazon Policy Expertise | High (Dedicated Compliance Team) | Low (Focused on Production) | Variable (Depends on your research) |
| Scalability | Unlimited (On-demand labor/space) | Medium (Limited by factory cycles) | Low (Limited by your staff/space) |
| Error Liability | Guaranteed Accuracy | High Risk (Hard to recoup losses) | 100% Your Risk |
| Speed to Market | Fast (SLAs < 48 hours) | Slow (International transit delays) | Slow (Manual processing bottlenecks) |
Ready to Automate Your Compliance?
Don’t let a labeling error stop your growth. Would you like to schedule a demo of our FBA Integration to see how we automate shipment creation?
