How to Ship Inventory to an FBA Prep Center
A working guide to routing your inventory to an FBA prep center: how to send product, what carriers and documents you need, and how to set up clean receiving. Written by a Fort Worth, TX prep center operator.
- The short answer
- Route product to the prep center’s receiving address instead of to an Amazon fulfillment center. Parcel for a handful of cartons, LTL or FTL with a scheduled appointment and a bill of lading for pallets, and an inbound manifest sent ahead of every delivery.
It is four trips, not one
Origin freight delays, a missing manifest, a prep exception, and Amazon’s carrier scheduling each sit on a different leg. Sizing them as one number is where the surprises come from.
Before product arrives, confirm the receiving address and hours, label each carton with your name and a purchase order or reference number, and send an inbound manifest so the prep center can reconcile what lands against what you sent.
The prep center then inspects, preps, and builds your Amazon FBA shipment plan, and ships it to the fulfillment centers Amazon assigns. Treating that whole route as one undifferentiated delivery is what makes the schedule feel unpredictable. Size each leg on its own.
The four legs, and what controls each one
In order, from your supplier’s dock to an Amazon fulfillment center. Each leg has its own timing and its own points of failure.
01
Inbound transit
Your supplier or carrier moving product to the prep center. Parcel or freight, and you or your supplier controls the booking.
02
Receiving
The prep center checking in cartons against your manifest, counting units, and flagging damage or shortages.
03
Prep and shipment plan
FNSKU labeling, poly-bagging, bundling, inspection, and building the FBA shipment plan to Amazon’s case-pack rules.
04
Outbound transit
Amazon assigns the destination fulfillment centers and may split the shipment. Outbound carrier scheduling follows from that.
Parcel, LTL, or FTL
The right method depends on size and weight. A few cartons from a domestic supplier move most predictably by parcel. Once you are sending pallets, freight is the right call.
Parcel: UPS, FedEx, USPS
When to use itA handful of boxes. No delivery appointment at most prep centers. Each box should carry the sender name and a reference number so receiving can match it to the right account.
LTL freight
When to use itLess-than-truckload, for one to several pallets. Requires a scheduled delivery appointment and a bill of lading. Confirm whether the prep center needs a liftgate or has a forklift on site before booking.
FTL freight
When to use itFull truckload or container, for large wholesale and private label volume. Requires an appointment and dock or service-entrance access that fits a 53-foot trailer or 40-foot container.
What to send with the inventory
Clean receiving depends on documentation arriving before or with the product. A prep center cannot reconcile a shipment it has no record of, and an unidentified pallet in receiving is how counts go wrong.
Inbound manifest
What it carriesEvery SKU, the unit quantity per SKU, and the number of boxes or pallets. This is what receiving counts against.
Purchase order or reference number
What it carriesPrinted on each carton and on the bill of lading, so freight can be tied to your account on arrival.
Prep instructions per SKU
What it carriesWhich units need FNSKU labels, poly-bagging, bubble wrapping, bundling, or case-pack compliance, and any product-specific requirements.
Bill of lading, freight only
What it carriesCarrier, piece count, weight, and the prep center’s receiving address as consignee.
The single most common shipping error is sending freight without a confirmed delivery appointment, which leaves a driver at a closed dock and the pallet refused or reattempted. Marketplace Prep takes 53-foot semi and 40-foot container access and has a forklift on site, so no liftgate is needed.
After it is received
Amazon decides which fulfillment centers receive your product and may split one shipment across several. No prep center can override that routing.
Once product is checked in and reconciled against your manifest, the prep center inspects it, applies the prep each SKU calls for, and builds your Amazon FBA shipment plan. At Marketplace Prep that plan runs in our own software, which pulls from Seller Central to generate the FNSKU and shipment labels.
Outbound freight is then booked to the fulfillment centers Amazon assigns. Because every stage carries its own dependencies, lead times are scoped per engagement against your SKU mix and volume, not quoted as a blanket number.
Related questions
Can my supplier ship inventory directly to a prep center?
Yes. You give your supplier the prep center’s receiving address as the ship-to, and the product bypasses your location entirely. Make sure the supplier puts your purchase order or reference number on every carton and on the bill of lading, and send the prep center an inbound manifest in advance so the shipment can be reconciled when it arrives.
Do I need an appointment to deliver freight to a prep center?
For pallet and LTL freight, almost always yes. A scheduled delivery appointment keeps the driver from arriving at a closed dock and the pallet from being refused. Parcel deliveries by UPS, FedEx, or USPS generally need no appointment. At Marketplace Prep, all pallet and LTL deliveries require an appointment within the 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM CST receiving window; parcel does not.
What documents do I send with inventory going to a prep center?
Send an inbound manifest listing every SKU, the unit quantity per SKU, and the box or pallet count, plus prep instructions per SKU. Each carton should carry your name and a purchase order or reference number. Freight shipments also need a bill of lading showing the carrier, piece count, weight, and the prep center as consignee.
Should I ship to a prep center by parcel or freight?
It depends on size and weight. A few cartons usually move most predictably by parcel through UPS, FedEx, or USPS. Once you are sending pallets, LTL freight is the right method, and full truckloads or containers move by FTL. Confirm forklift or liftgate requirements with the prep center before booking freight.
Who decides which Amazon fulfillment center my inventory ships to?
Amazon does. When the prep center builds your FBA shipment plan, Amazon assigns the destination fulfillment centers and may split a single shipment across several of them. Neither you nor the prep center controls that routing. The prep center builds the plan to Amazon’s requirements and books outbound freight to the destinations Amazon assigns.
What volume does Marketplace Prep work with?
Marketplace Prep is built for established sellers shipping 3,000 or more units per month, and works to a floor of 500 units per month. Below that floor, prepping and shipping to Amazon yourself is usually the better call.
How does Marketplace Prep receive and process inbound inventory?
Marketplace Prep receives parcel and freight at its Fort Worth, TX facility, checks cartons against your inbound manifest, and reconciles counts before prep begins. FBA shipment plans run in our own software, which generates the FNSKU and shipment labels off Seller Central. Each engagement is scoped against your SKU mix and volume, and lead times are set per agreement rather than promised as a blanket figure.
Routing inventory to a prep partner?
Whoever you ship to, confirm these three before the first carton moves. A wrong assumption here costs a refused delivery, not a phone call.
The exact receiving address
Get the ship-to in writing before your supplier books anything, and put it on the bill of lading as consignee.
The receiving window
Ask for receiving hours, not office hours. Marketplace Prep receives 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM CST, Monday through Friday.
Which deliveries need an appointment
At Marketplace Prep every pallet and LTL delivery does, and parcel does not.
Marketplace Prep is a Fort Worth, TX prep center serving established Amazon sellers and brands. Tell us your SKU mix, volume, and how your inventory arrives, and we will scope the work before we quote anything.
Where to go from here
FBA Prep
Receiving, FNSKU labeling, poly-bagging, inspection, and case-pack compliance off your Seller Central shipment plan.
Wholesale Prep
Bulk receiving, inspection, and case-pack building for pallet and full-case inbound.
Private Label Prep
Custom packaging, kitting, and insert placement for brands that own their SKUs.