Vendor Central Direct Fulfillment was formerly known as Dropship Central. With this program, you still sell directly to Amazon. But rather than sending inventory to Amazon before it is sold to the end consumer, you send it directly to the buyer after the buyer places an order. Amazon will then pay you for the orders you have shipped.
Direct Fulfillment is open to all vendors. First, you sign up for the program in Vendor Central. Amazon then carries out a number of checks to make sure that you can handle the shipments within a certain lead time (typically three to five days). Once you’ve been approved, you can set your inventory levels and start receiving orders through Direct Fulfillment.
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If a vendor is approved for Direct Fulfillment but doesn’t meet the expected shipping standards, they could have their access to Direct Fulfillment taken away.
Likewise, if a vendor is performing really well and meeting the delivery times, they can ask to move to a quicker shipment window, typically of one to two days.
Despite the change of name, Direct Fulfillment is still a dropshipping program. Amazon sell your products to their customers, and ask you to dropship the order directly to the buyer. Amazon sets the retail price and you receive the wholesale price. Amazon handles any customer service required.
Don’t confuse Direct Fulfillment with using dropshipping to sell on Amazon yourself. That’s where you are a marketplace seller, but source products from suppliers who dropship directly to buyers on your behalf. With Direct Fulfillment, you are the supplier dropshipping to buyers on Amazon’s behalf.