Creating an FBA shipment plan in Amazon Seller Central is a mandatory step before you can send any wholesale stock to an Amazon fulfilment centre. Without a confirmed shipment plan Amazon cannot assign a receiving location for your stock cannot associate your boxes with your inventory and cannot process your units when they arrive at the warehouse. Many new sellers treat the shipment plan as a simple administrative task — but it is one of the most detail-sensitive parts of the entire FBA process. Errors in your shipment plan such as incorrect unit quantities wrong packing types or missing box content information lead directly to receiving discrepancies compliance fees and delays in your stock going live for sale.

We are Brandhunterz Ltd — a UK registered wholesale sourcing company (Company No: 15342697) — and in this complete step by step guide we walk you through every stage of creating an FBA shipment plan in Seller Central — from navigating to the Send to Amazon workflow through selecting products entering quantities confirming prep and labelling options entering box contents printing shipping labels and confirming your shipment as dispatched.

Before You Start — What Must Be in Place

Before beginning a shipment plan in Seller Central confirm that the following are in place. A missing item at any of these points will stop the shipment plan workflow at a specific step and require you to resolve the issue before proceeding:

Pre-Requisite	Why It Is Required	Status
Active Professional Seller Central account	Individual plan does not support FBA shipment creation	☐
Product listed as FBA in your inventory	Products must be converted to FBA fulfilment before a shipment plan can be created for them	☐
Stock physically received and counted	You must know the exact unit count before entering quantities in the shipment plan	☐
Product not gated or gating resolved	Gated products must be approved before FBA shipment can be created	☐
Ship from address confirmed	Required to assign the correct fulfilment centre and calculate partnered carrier rates	☐

Step 1 — Navigate to Send to Amazon in Seller Central

Step 2 — Enter Your Ship From Address

The first screen in the Send to Amazon workflow asks for your Ship From address. This is the address from which your boxes will be collected or dropped off for delivery to Amazon. Enter this accurately — it determines which Amazon fulfilment centre receives your shipment and affects the shipping rate calculation for Amazon’s Partnered Carrier programme.

Ship From Address Type	When to Use
Home address	Most new wholesale sellers preparing shipments from home — standard choice for small volume sellers
Business premises address	Sellers operating from a warehouse or office — use the physical address where stock is held
Prep centre address	When using a third-party prep centre to label and pack your FBA shipments — use the prep centre’s address
Supplier address — direct shipment	When arranging direct shipment from supplier to Amazon — use supplier address and confirm prep arrangements

Step 3 — Add Products and Enter Unit Quantities

The Step 1 screen of the Send to Amazon workflow is titled Choose Inventory to Send. Here you confirm which products and how many units of each you are including in this shipment. This is one of the most critical data entry points in the entire workflow — the quantities you enter here must match exactly the number of labelled units you place in your boxes.

Step 4 — Review Fulfilment Centre Assignment and Print FNSKU Labels

Step 2 of the Send to Amazon workflow is titled Confirm Shipping. At this point Amazon displays the fulfilment centre it has assigned to receive your shipment — for UK sellers this is typically a centre in the Midlands or the North of England such as BHX1 in Birmingham or MAN1 near Manchester. Note the fulfilment centre code and address — this is where your boxes must be delivered. Do not change the destination.

This step also provides access to your FNSKU label download. Click Print Item Labels to download the PDF of your FNSKU labels for the quantities entered in Step 1. Print these labels before proceeding — you need to apply them to your units before entering box contents.

Step 5 — Enter Box Contents Information

Entering box contents information is the step that most new sellers either skip entirely or complete incorrectly — and it is the step that generates the most costly compliance issues. Amazon requires you to declare the exact contents of every shipping box you send — which ASINs are in each box and how many units of each. This allows Amazon’s receiving staff to verify your shipment efficiently without having to open and manually scan every box.

Box Content Option	How It Works	Recommended
Web form entry	Enter ASIN and quantity for each box directly in Seller Central — one box at a time	✅ Best for small shipments
File upload	Download Amazon’s spreadsheet template — fill in box contents — upload completed file	✅ Best for large shipments
Skip box content entry	No box content declared — Amazon manually scans all units at receiving	❌ Compliance fee charged

Step 6 — Select Shipping Method and Book Courier

Once box content information is complete Seller Central presents your shipping options. For UK sellers sending small parcel shipments the two main options are Amazon’s Partnered Carrier through UPS or an independent courier service. Here is how each option works and when to use each:

Shipping Method	How to Book	Best For
Amazon Partnered Carrier — UPS	Select in Seller Central — UPS collects from your ship from address — cost deducted from account balance automatically	Most standard shipments — competitive rates — integrated tracking — simplest process
Other carrier — DHL Evri Parcelforce	Select Other in Seller Central — book independently with your chosen carrier — enter tracking number manually into Seller Central	Heavier shipments or when independent carrier rates are lower than UPS Partnered rate

Step 7 — Print Box Labels and Apply to Every Box

After confirming your shipping method Seller Central generates a unique box label for each box in your shipment. Each box label contains your shipment ID the box number and a scannable barcode that Amazon uses to identify the box at the fulfilment centre and link it to its recorded contents. Print every box label and apply one label to the largest flat face of each corresponding box before dispatch.

Step 8 — Confirm Shipment Dispatched in Seller Central

Once your courier has collected your boxes — or once you have dropped them at a UPS access point — return to Seller Central and mark the shipment as dispatched. This updates your shipment status from Working to Shipped and triggers Amazon’s receiving timeline. Never mark a shipment as dispatched before it has physically left your location — and never leave a shipment in Working status after the boxes have been collected as this delays your inventory going live.

Common Shipment Plan Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Mistake	Consequence	Prevention
Quantity in plan does not match units sent	Receiving discrepancy — Amazon holds investigation — units temporarily inaccessible	Count stock twice before entering quantity — verify box content totals match plan
Box content not entered — skipped	Box content compliance fee charged per unit — typically £0.15 to £0.25 per unit	Never skip box content entry — complete it for every box before confirming shipment
Wrong box label applied to wrong box	Declared contents do not match actual contents — receiving discrepancy raised	Apply Box 1 label to Box 1 immediately after printing — do not batch print and apply later
Inaccurate box dimensions or weight entered	Additional shipping charges applied after collection — or shipment refused if over limit	Weigh and measure every packed sealed box individually before entering dimensions
Shipment marked dispatched before collection	Amazon expects shipment — tracking not updated — investigation may be raised	Mark dispatched only after courier has collected or you have dropped boxes at access point

The Complete Shipment Plan Creation Checklist

Shipment Plan Step	Completed
Navigated to Send to Amazon via Manage FBA Inventory	☐
Ship from address entered correctly	☐
Individual Products packing type selected	☐
All ASINs added with exact unit quantities confirmed	☐
Merchant labelling selected — self-labelling confirmed	☐
FNSKU labels downloaded and printed at 100% scale	☐
Box contents entered for every box — ASIN quantity and dimensions	☐
Box content totals match shipment plan quantities exactly	☐
Amazon Partnered Carrier booked or independent courier confirmed	☐
Box labels printed and correct label applied to correct box	☐
Shipment marked dispatched in Seller Central after collection	☐
All steps completed — shipment in transit to Amazon FBA	✅ Complete

Conclusion — Follow Every Step in Order Every Time

Creating an FBA shipment plan in Seller Central is a process that rewards consistency and punishes shortcuts. Every step exists for a reason — the quantities to prevent discrepancies the box content entry to avoid compliance fees the box labels to enable accurate receiving. Follow the eight-step process in this guide in sequence on every shipment and the workflow becomes routine within three to four shipments.

Find your next wholesale product through our Brands Directory. Research every opportunity with Keepa. Confirm your margin with AMZScout. And create every FBA shipment plan following the process in this guide.