On September 24, Amazon announced that it will provide sellers on its platform the ability to manage orders and track shipments not only from Amazon but also from other platforms such as Walmart, eBay, Shopify, and TikTok, within its Seller Central dashboard. Sellers in the Amazon store in the US will be able to link their accounts on these platforms and consolidate listings and orders into one workspace. The rollout will be gradual and free for sellers. Amazon also plans to add more channels and features in the coming months. Including Walmart in this list stands out against the backdrop of the competitive relationship between the two companies, as Amazon invites sellers to manage sales of its main retail rival directly through its software. David Forsyth, Vice President of Seller Business in North America, noted, "For many of these sellers, Walmart is one of those channels." He added that the company believes successful sellers across all channels will also succeed on Amazon.
According to Amazon, more than 95% of independent sellers on the platform use multiple channels, and such sellers account for over 60% of sales in their store. The new tools will help sellers centralize order management and tracking, which currently requires checking multiple dashboards. Initially, sellers will be able to connect their accounts on external platforms, import listings, and link them with products in their Amazon catalog. They will be able to view sales and orders across different channels and organize order fulfillment through Seller Central. Connected accounts can be disconnected at any time, and Amazon guarantees that sellers' data will not be shared with other sellers or used for the company's commercial decisions. For example, if a seller selling phone cases works with Amazon, Shopify, and Walmart, they will be able to see all pending orders in one place, instead of opening three different windows for each channel. If an order comes through Shopify, the seller can select it and ask Amazon to handle the delivery. The software matches the order with the corresponding product and sends shipping information back to Shopify so the buyer receives updates without needing to manually enter a tracking number.
This comprehensive order overview will also work when using another delivery operator. This extends the tool's functionality beyond the existing Multichannel Fulfillment service, which allows sellers to use Amazon's inventory and logistics network to fulfill orders placed on other platforms. Amazon also announced three additional expansion directions: 1. Product Listings: Sellers will be able to edit descriptions only once in Seller Central, and they will automatically adapt for each connected channel. In the future, there will be the ability to send listings created using Amazon's generative AI tool to other channels. Sellers have already created over 12 million listings ready for sales using these tools by 2025. 2. Analytics: Planned analytics will combine traffic, advertising costs, and sales data from connected channels, allowing sellers to compare product revenues on each channel without needing to create separate spreadsheets. 3. Onboarding Process: New tools will start working with sellers from the US at no additional cost, with more channels and capabilities appearing in the coming months and up to 2027, with the full set of listing and analytics features not available at launch. Forsyth emphasized that sellers value the ability to fulfill orders from one inventory pool but want a clearer picture of their overall business. He recalled their request: "It's great that I can fulfill all these orders, but I really need to see how it all comes together in one place so I can track everything in my business."
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