With In-Stock Head Start, customers can find and buy your temporarily out-of-stock products when your shipment is on its way to the fulfillment center. With this Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) feature, Amazon will make your out-of-stock products available for customers to find and buy when your shipment is on its way and we are confident about its arrival date.
How In-Stock Head Start works:
Your out-of-stock inventory is eligible for In-Stock Head Start once the shipment is on its way to the fulfillment center. Amazon will use the information about your fulfillment center shipment to estimate the in-stock date for your products.
To increase the probability of out-of-stock inventory becoming buyable for customers, use Amazon Carrier Central, the Partnered Carrier program, or, for China-based sellers, Amazon Global Logistics.
In-Stock Head Start has a number of potential benefits
- Discoverability: Products that are on their way to the fulfillment center will appear in search results, giving customers a wider selection and helping to increase traffic to your product detail pages.
- Sales: Customers can buy temporarily out-of-stock products, which can result in improved sales.
- Inventory productivity: Taking customer orders while your products are on their way to the fulfillment center can reduce the time between shipment and sale.
This inventory will be mentioned under Future Supply Buyable quantity in Manage Inventory tab. In-Stock Head Start is intended for products that occasionally go out of stock. It is not meant to substitute for your regular inventory replenishment schedule.
Number of units that have been purchased while inventory is on its way to the fulfillment center can be found in Manage Inventory page, under product’s Available quantity, and in the drop-down menu find the Reserved Future Supply quantity.
With In-Stock Head Start, if a customer places an order for an out-of-stock item, the delivery date will be based on the estimated in-stock date. If the shipment is delayed, we will adjust the in-stock date.