Europe offers huge potential for online sellers looking to expand their businesses and reach a wider customer base. However, effective logistics and seamless cross-border shipping are crucial to realizing this potential. This is where Amazon Pan EU comes in - an innovative program that opens the door to a comprehensive pan-European shipping network for sellers.
But what is Amazon Pan EU anyway? How does pan-European shipping via Amazon work and what are the first steps of the program? You can find out all this and more in this blog post.
What is Pan EU?
Similar to Amazon Born to Run Amazon Pan EU is also a program of the online shipping giant. The abbreviation Pan EU stands for "pan-European shipping".
As part of the Pan-EU process, retailers have the opportunity to Sell products efficiently across Europe's cross-border logistics networks. This means that the sale and shipping as well as the distribution and storage of goods in Amazon logistics centers throughout Europe can take place across national borders. This means that items of a product can, for example, be stored both in Germany and in another country of the European Union.
This approach enables Amazon, and therefore you as an online retailer, to make considerable savings on storage and shipping costs, especially when orders are received from other European marketplaces.
To successfully implement this model, the items are distributed across the various warehouses in Europe based on sales forecasts. More stock is held where demand is highest. This results in lower costs and the customer receives their order much faster, which fulfills Amazon's service requirements. Amazon currently offers the option of storing goods in seven European countries and selling them in 17 European countries.
What you need to know about Amazon Pan EU
Pan-European shipping by Amazon gives FBA merchants the opportunity to store their products in all relevant European marketplaces and sell them from there. Thanks to the Pan-EU program, Amazon takes over the Logistics, storage and shipping of products. The goods are distributed to the various European warehouses according to the forecast sales demand. This avoids bottlenecks in delivery or inefficient storage costs.
Another major advantage of the Pan-EU program is that Amazon always ships from the nearest warehouse. This means that Shorter delivery times and customers usually receive their orders the very next working day. This fast delivery is an important factor for customer satisfaction and can contribute to better visibility of product listings on the European marketplaces.
Another important aspect of Amazon's Pan-EU program is the associated Prime status. Products that are shipped via Pan-EU and have Prime status benefit from high visibility on the platform and gain the trust of customers. Prime customers appreciate the fast and reliable delivery, which is why Prime products are often preferred.
As an online retailer with Amazon Pan EU, you benefit in particular from the following advantages:
- Market expansion
- Cross-border logistics
- Cost-efficient storage
- faster shipping
- Simplified sales management
- Prime status
How pan-European shipping by Amazon works
Pan-European shipping through Amazon is a relatively straightforward process for sellers. You have the option to offer your products with Amazon shipping in several European countries, including Germany, France, Italy and Spain. To realize the full potential of pan-European shipping, you can use the Storage in at least two EU countries activate. You can choose between Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
Once storage is activated, you can send your stock to an Amazon logistics center in one of these EU countries. Amazon will then take care of the Storage, dispatch and processing of orders in the respective countries. This makes it possible to deliver your products quickly and efficiently to customers throughout Europe.
Why sell with pan-European shipping through Amazon?
Amazon Pan EU offers sellers a range of benefits - even if they already have useful Amazon FBA Tools use. As an Amazon retailer with the Pan-EU program, you can benefit from the following advantages, among others:
- 53 % Savings on shipping costs: With Amazon Pan EU, online sellers can benefit from significant savings on shipping costs by paying the domestic shipping fees for shipping through Amazon in the countries where they authorize Amazon to store their products. Instead of paying the European Shipping Network (EFN) fees, merchants can take advantage of the lower domestic fees for Germany, France, Italy, Spain or Poland.
- Sale to millions of customers with the Prime logo: By using the Prime logo, sales opportunities can be significantly increased. It also gives online retailers the opportunity to offer fast delivery. By enabling Amazon to store the products, retailers can use the fast delivery function and enable customer orders in the supported countries.
- Savings on fulfillment fees: By placing products in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, merchants can also save up to €0.26 per Amazon unit shipped from Germany. This enables additional savings on fulfillment fees and contributes to the efficiency of the Amazon business.
- Growth acceleration with flexible storage: The storage of the products should be activated in at least two of the countries Germany, France, Italy, Spain or Poland. Amazon takes over the distribution and storage of the products free of charge and places them closer to the locations of customer demand. This enables faster delivery and accelerates growth.
Fast sale of small and light products: With Amazon shipping, retailers have the opportunity to offer small and light products via pan-European shipping. This means that they can sell their light and compact items to customers across Europe. By opting for Amazon pan-EU shipping, Amazon takes care of storage, shipping and customer support. This allows retailers to focus on their core business while Amazon takes care of the logistics.
First steps with pan-European shipping by Amazon
In order to start pan-European shipping through Amazon, sellers must first qualify their products for shipping in the Pan EU program. Therefore, you must follow the following steps with Amazon Pan EU in order to successfully sell your goods via the program:
- Product qualification: To start shipping through Amazon, you must first create an Amazon seller account and add your products for shipping through Amazon.
- Set up international quotations: As soon as you have added your goods to Amazon for shipping, you can offer them in the required European Amazon stores such as Germany, France, Italy and Spain. It is important to use the same SKU for the products. The "Set up international offer creation" function can be used to coordinate the offer prices and create offers from the primary store in the target stores. Amazon also supports the translation of the offers.
- Activation of pan-European shipping: In the third step, at least two countries are activated in which Amazon should store the products. You can choose from Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Poland. However, it should be noted that storage in countries other than the location of the primary store may entail additional VAT reporting obligations. However, Amazon offers support and resources to comply with VAT rules and promote growth.
- Shipping of the products to an Amazon logistics center: Finally, the goods are shipped to an Amazon logistics center within the EU. It is possible to store the products in Germany, France, Italy, Spain or Poland. Amazon then distributes the stock within the European Fulfillment Network in order to meet the expected customer demand. There are no additional costs for this.
Fees for Amazon Pan EU
When participating in pan-European shipping through Amazon, certain fees apply. These may vary and depend on various factors such as product category, country of storage, storage costs and shipping fees.
As the products are generally stored as close as possible to the customer, only the local shipping charges must be paid. This flat-rate fee is payable per unit and depends on the storage location, product type, dimensions and weight, among other things. The Storage fee on the other hand, is charged monthly per cubic meter.
It is important to check Amazon's current fee structures. This will help you understand the costs associated with the Pan-EU program and calculate them accordingly.
Legislation in various countries
As a seller, you must of course not only consider the organizational aspects, but also the legal and tax requirements of the individual countries in which you store and sell your goods.
Each country may have specific regulations for the sale of goods, including Labeling requirements, product certifications or certain consumer protection regulations. In addition, Amazon itself also has certain requirements for pan-EU sales, including the admissibility of products on all European marketplaces.
For example, the ASINs be registered for shipping through Amazon and the goods must be in new condition. If certain products are not allowed on some marketplaces, it is possible to use different FNSKUs to offer them anyway.
In order to avoid legal problems, it is advisable to find out about the applicable regulations in advance and take meticulous care to ensure that they are complied with.
Amazon Pan EU: Value added tax in the storage countries?
In addition to the general legal requirements for pan-European shipping through Amazon, sellers should also consider the VAT implications in the countries of storage. By storing goods in different countries, sellers may be required to register for VAT in those countries and file the appropriate tax returns.
Fortunately, since 2021, retailers have had the flexibility to choose between different stock countries. It is therefore not necessary to activate all available stock countries. Nevertheless, it is necessary to register in the country register for tax purposesin which the goods are to be stored. Which VAT is ultimately shown on the invoice depends largely on the country of dispatch or storage.
By familiarizing yourself with the initial requirements, fees, legislation and tax aspects of pan-European shipping through Amazon, you can maximize your sales potential and successfully expand across Europe. Thorough planning and preparation are particularly crucial here.
Pan-EU countries - your goods are stored here
As part of its pan-European shipping program, Amazon currently offers the storage of products in seven European countries to. These basically include the following:
- Germany
- France
- Italy
- Spain
- Czech Republic
- Poland
- United Kingdom
These countries serve as strategic locations in order to efficiently handle shipments throughout Europe. Amazon distributes the goods to the various countries based on demand and optimal stock positioning.
Due to the Brexit However, since January 1, 2021, orders shipped by Amazon can no longer be shipped across borders between the UK and the EU. In order to be able to sell in both the UK and the EU with shipping by Amazon, retailers must therefore send their stock separately to logistics centers in both regions.
Returns management for pan-EU shipping
Returns are common in online retail and are part of everyday business. With pan-European shipping through Amazon, Amazon conveniently also takes over the returns management for the goods sold.
Similar regulations apply to pan-EU shipments as to conventional FBA returns. All return shipments will be processed in special Returns centers collected and processed by specialist staff. If the inspection reveals that items are in good condition, they are released for sale again or used for Amazon Warehouse Deals. Items that can no longer be sold are donated or disposed of.
However, retailers should note that returns and returns incur costs, which means that additional Amazon fees can arise.
How to ship in Europe without Pan EU
In order to offer products from the Amazon Brand Store in Europe without participating in the Pan-EU program, there are alternative options. These include the following in particular:
- Amazon European Shipping Network (EFN)
- Amazon Central Europe Program (CEP)
- Stock in the marketplace country (MCI)
Amazon European Shipping Network (EFN)
The Amazon European Shipping Network (EFN) is another Amazon logistics program that helps online retailers to ship their products throughout Europe. Unlike the Pan-EU program, sellers store and ship their products from one location. central camp in their home country. Amazon then handles international shipping to other European countries based on the customer's orders. The EFN can be an option if you want to sell your products in Europe but do not want to participate in the Pan-EU program or do not want to store in the participating countries.
Amazon Central Europe Program (CEP)
The Amazon Central Europe Program (CEP) is a special program that enables sellers to sell their products in the Central European markets, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. This makes it possible to sell goods not only in Germany, but also in the Dispatch centers in Poland and the Czech Republic to store. This offers a temporary storage option and is more cost-effective than shipping exclusively from Germany. Nevertheless, it is necessary to register for tax purposes in the country of storage.
Stock in the marketplace country (MCI)
An alternative option is the marketplace country program, or MCI for short. The MCI refers to the country in which the seller has opened their seller account and from which they offer their products on the European marketplaces. Here, retailers can decide for themselves what quantities they want to sell in the Logistics centers in the various countries want to store. As a result, they retain full control over their stock and can decide for themselves which country should be prioritized. As part of the Pan-EU program, Amazon would take over this task for the retailers.
However, when using the MCI program, it should be noted that a VAT number is also required in the relevant storage countries.
Conclusion on Amazon PAN EU
Pan-European shipping through Amazon is an ideal way for online retailers to sell their products across Europe and benefit from efficient logistics and greater reach. With fast delivery times, the option to participate in the Amazon Prime program and simplified order processing, Amazon Pan EU offers an attractive option for successful selling on Amazon.
With the Amazon agency AdsMasters we support you in building a profitable and secure Amazon business so that you can achieve long-term success across Europe on the world's largest online marketplace.
How does Amazon PAN EU work?
With the Amazon PAN EU program, retailers send their goods to a central warehouse in an EU country. Amazon then automatically distributes the goods to various shipping centers in other EU countries to ensure fast delivery to customers throughout Europe.
What advantages does Amazon PAN EU offer retailers?
Amazon PAN EU offers several benefits to merchants, including increased reach and visibility of their products in various European markets, reduced delivery times, better chances of winning the Buy Box and the ability to sell across borders in multiple countries.
Do I have to meet certain requirements to participate in the Amazon PAN EU program?
Yes, there are certain requirements to be able to participate in the Amazon PAN EU program. These include active Professional Seller membership, registration for the FBA program and consent to cross-border storage and delivery of goods.
