- Catalog and listings
Can it read and change my catalog and listings?
Ask the provider to show the exact tools for this job, the account permissions they need, and the result of a permitted action. Read catalog and restrictions, patch listing items, and create or update A+ Content. Distinguish a report from an operation that changes Amazon.
- Orders
Can it work with orders and fulfillment status?
Ask the provider to show the exact tools for this job, the account permissions they need, and the result of a permitted action. Read orders and order items, and run the order operations exposed by each API version. Distinguish a report from an operation that changes Amazon.
- Inventory and replenishment
Can it manage inventory beyond a stock report?
Ask the provider to show the exact tools for this job, the account permissions they need, and the result of a permitted action. Check FBA inventory and eligibility, work with AWD and supply sources, and inspect replenishment metrics. Distinguish a report from an operation that changes Amazon.
- FBA inbound
Can it create and manage FBA inbound shipments?
Ask the provider to show the exact tools for this job, the account permissions they need, and the result of a permitted action. Create and update inbound plans, packing, placement, transportation and shipment steps. Distinguish a report from an operation that changes Amazon.
- Outbound and external fulfillment
Can it fulfill orders beyond FBA inbound?
Ask the provider to show the exact tools for this job, the account permissions they need, and the result of a permitted action. Run outbound fulfillment, plus external inventory, locations, shipments and returns. Distinguish a report from an operation that changes Amazon.
- Shipping and delivery
Can it buy shipping and work with delivery operations?
Ask the provider to show the exact tools for this job, the account permissions they need, and the result of a permitted action. Work with shipping, merchant fulfillment, Easy Ship, tracking, vehicles and Delivery by Amazon. Distinguish a report from an operation that changes Amazon.
- Pricing and promotions
Can it read prices and carry out pricing decisions?
Ask the provider to show the exact tools for this job, the account permissions they need, and the result of a permitted action. Read competitive pricing and fee estimates, work with promotions, and apply price changes through listing operations. Distinguish a report from an operation that changes Amazon.
- Finances and invoices
Can it reconcile finances and handle invoice operations?
Ask the provider to show the exact tools for this job, the account permissions they need, and the result of a permitted action. Read financial records and use remittance, invoices, wallet, transfers and shipment-invoicing operations. Distinguish a report from an operation that changes Amazon.
- Reports and feeds
Can it request reports and submit bulk changes?
Ask the provider to show the exact tools for this job, the account permissions they need, and the result of a permitted action. Request reports, query Data Kiosk, read sales metrics and submit feeds for supported bulk operations. Distinguish a report from an operation that changes Amazon.
- Customer and support work
Can it reach buyer messaging and seller support?
Ask the provider to show the exact tools for this job, the account permissions they need, and the result of a permitted action. Read customer feedback, send eligible buyer messages and solicitations, and work with support operations. Distinguish a report from an operation that changes Amazon.
- Account and integrations
Can it connect the account operations around the workflow?
Ask the provider to show the exact tools for this job, the account permissions they need, and the result of a permitted action. Manage notifications, applications and uploads, read seller participation and use restricted-data and service operations. Distinguish a report from an operation that changes Amazon.
- Writes and control
What approves a change and records what happened?
Ask the provider to show the exact tools for this job, the account permissions they need, and the result of a permitted action. Write tools validate input, apply workspace policy and may require human approval; every call records its parameters, result summary and approval state. Distinguish a report from an operation that changes Amazon.
- Creative
Can it generate listing and ad creative, images and video?
Ask what the tool generates, not what it manages. Assembling an ad from images you already have, generating a still, and producing product video are three different jobs, and the one you need decides whether creative stays a separate tool with a separate handoff.
- Where it runs
Where does it run?
Ask whether it runs in the vendor's cloud or can be deployed in yours. In the vendor's cloud, your Amazon credentials, your data, and the perimeter are theirs to secure, and switching tools means starting over. In yours, the deployment is an asset you keep.
- Pricing model
How is it priced?
Ask for the number, then ask what it is a percentage of. Percentage-of-spend pricing rises with your budget whether or not the tool earned it, and several vendors publish no price at all. Ask what happens to your campaigns on the day you cancel.