Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Amazon is now prioritizing what comes through its fulfillment centers due to high volume requests and needs. The temporary action, set in place until April 5, has been put in place in efforts to supply its consumers with medical and household essential items.
In a statement online, the company clarified for third-party sellers that items such as medical supplies and household staples have been out of stock and in order to fix that, it must screen what’s coming through its fulfillment warehouses. “We are seeing increased online shopping, and as a result some products such as household staples and medical supplies are our of stock. With this in mind, we are temporarily prioritizing household staples, medical supplies, and other high-demand products coming into our fulfillment centers so that we can more quickly receive, restock, and deliver these products to customers,” the company said in a statement to its vendors.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Amazon allows third-party sellers on its website to use its storage and delivery network for a fixed fee — a service known as Fulfillment by Amazon. But with this new policy in place, non-essential products will no longer be allowed to ship. This new rule will run through April 5 or unless otherwise specified. Any orders placed before the new regulation will still be received.
Thankfully, customers will still be able to order those “non-essential” products from Amazon for as long as they remain in the warehouses. However, if the product they are looking for sells out by April 5 they will have to wait.
Due to the global pandemic, the company is dealing with shipment delays. As the crisis has grown, so has Amazon; the company announced that it has added 100,000 new jobs in order to provide new ways to continue to provide their customers with what they need in an efficient manner. With their job increase, this will allow more opportunity for social distancing for all who order through Amazon.
“We understand this is a change to your business, and we did not take this decision lightly. We are working around the clock to increase capacity and yesterday announced 203 that we are opening 100,000 new full- and part-time positions in our fulfillment centers across the US,” the message to sellers read.
