What Are the Differences between Purchase Orders, Inbound Shipments and Transfer Shipments?

Purchase Orders: These represent orders that you send to your suppliers to indicate you would like to have additional inventory manufactured. There are two types of Purchase Orders:

• Direct: These Purchase Orders consist of inventory that will be sent directly to Amazon warehouses.
• Local: These Purchase Orders consist of inventory that will be sent to your local warehouse or 3PL.

Inbound Shipments: Once a Direct Purchase Order has been packed, it will be sent to Amazon. To let Amazon know that a shipment will be coming from your supplier, you create an Inbound Shipment.

Transfer Shipment: Similar to an Inbound Shipment, this lets Amazon know that you will be sending inventory to them. The difference is that Transfer Shipments come from your local inventory, not directly from your supplier.