Legacy module
The module described in this article has been marked as a legacy module. This means the following:
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We don't create new features for this module or fix any bugs.
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The module is not available anymore in Xentral instances (demo or licensed) created after 28-Sep-2022. If you as a new user have special requirements that could only be fulfilled by this module, please contact our customer support team to discuss a solution.
For more information, see also Why is Xentral deprecating some modules and what does this mean for you?
Amazon has two different programs for merchants to sell goods. On the one hand, there is the Amazon Seller Central program, in which basically every merchant starts. Through an invitation, you can become a first party seller and participate in the Amazon Vendor DF system. The Amazon Vendor DF System provides that Amazon sells the items and the Fulfiller stores and ships the items on behalf of Amazon. To be accepted as an Amazon Vendor DF you have to submit an offer to Amazon. and then receive a warehouse order from Amazon while Amazon sells the items itself.
The first step is to create an AWS Key and an AWS Secret in Amazon. The next step is an Amazon Security Check, where you have to accept a questionnaire about the data storage otherwise you will not be able to access Amazon Vendor DF.
To get your AWS Key and AWS Secret, select "User" in the navigation menu. Select your IAM user name (not the checkbox). Open the Security Credentials tab, then select "Create access key".
To view the new AWS Key, click Show. To download the AWS Key and AWS Secret, select "Download". For more information here.
In the central developer portal for Europe you start the first steps of the API integration to get an App ID and a client ID. Now you register in the AWS portal, register your previously obtained AWS Key as a root user and create an IAM user interface. You will be asked if you want to do the integration directly. With the IAM account number, you will have access to the to the AWS console. The IAM account number has 12 digits and is included in the AWS Key. In the AWS console you have to select a pricing. You also have the possibility to start without additional costs.
The activation is quite time-consuming, since everything is automated by Amazon.
On the Xentral side there is the Amazon Vendor DF App, with which you can fetch orders from Amazon Vendor and enter various settings for the store or marketplace. You can find out more here.
The following is a brief description of the Amazon Vendor DF workflow for overview purposes. briefly described.
The regular workflow of importing orders from Amazon Vendor DF requires several steps that are handled by automated processes in the background. For distinction purposes, all orders on the Amazon side of the process are referred to as "Purchase Orders", while all orders on the Xentral side are simply referred to as "Purchase Orders" (Orders). The following figure shows a workflow diagram of the purchase order import from Amazon Vendor DF to Xentral:
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First of all, the order import works the same way as with other importers. The user or an automated process triggers the order import, which causes the importer to connect to the Amazon API and search Xentral for new purchase orders that are not yet known.
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These new purchase orders are then imported into the system. If the articles of the buy order are known to Xentral and there is enough inventory in the system to process them, Xentral sends a confirmation to Amazon to mark the order as accepted by the user. In case of missing inventory or unknown, an order is created in Xentral, but it is blocked from automatic processing. In such a case, the user must accept the order manually (which allows automatic processing) or reject (which cancels the order).
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After Amazon accepts the purchase order confirmation (which takes about 2-20 minutes), the importer will automatically request a shipping label for the the corresponding order.
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After Amazon has provided a shipping label (which may take some time), the order is automatically transferred to the delivery process.
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For various reasons, Amazon may not provide the requested shipping label. In such a case, Xentral will provide a replacement label that contains an identification number for the purchase order. The user is then forced to manually log in to the Amazon backend and print the correct label for the affected purchase order.
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After the order has been marked as shipped in Xentral, the importer sends a shipping confirmation to Amazon