Ok… so I received an email and here is what it was…
I’ve never done the AWD thingy before, but I do have two places that I rent storage from all year. Don’t need the second storage all year but I keep the second one as a cushion for the months (July through December) that I do.
From those who either have utilized AWD or those who weighed the cost-benefit analysis and chose not to, what specific things should I be looking at when making the decision to utilize AWD or not?
You have to remember that when you use AWD, you are handing over more control over your business and inventory to Amazon and their busted systems.
Maybe things have changed in the last 6-12 months but the nightmares on the OSFE / NSFE about AWD were pretty astounding, even by Amazon’s crappy standards.
We can’t use AWD so never tested it because they won’t take anything with a shelf life, even if that’s measured in years.
Personally, I would never do it but if you are interested, maybe test 1 ASIN for 6 months to see how it goes.
If you have the kind of volume that you can use AWD, then you have the kind of volume to navigate and avoid the new placement fees and actually save money when coupled with the reduced FBA fees which is exactly what we are doing now.
That extra money (which amounts to about $20K a year for us right now), might be more than enough than you need to keep your current system / storage facilities going, while avoiding this nightmare or that one when something doesn’t get transferred in time, or lost, or damaged with the triple handling.
Amazon often launches things and they do a terrible job in the beginning. Like I said upthread, maybe things have changed. Do your due diligence / research / test, if you’re thinking about moving forward with AWD.
Some years back, one of the seasoned and savvy forum veterans (our well-missed friend, the often-irascible @Skeeter), began mentioning that there was clear evidence that the launch of the AGL (‘Amazonese’ for “Amazon Global Logistics”) Program had resulted in the creation of “shadow warehouses” for domestic storage of imported goods by Beijing’s minions.
When certain widely-respected members of the MSM’s cohort of Amazon Observers confirmed this to indeed be the case, Amazon took a hit in one of the few areas that it gives much more than a tinker’s damn about beyond its bottom line - Brand Integrity - as a result of the ensuing negative publicity.
The creation of the AWD Program was the response passed down from on high.
As our friend @ASV_Vites astutely points out upthread, there are typically better alternatives than using an intermediate step in the lean logistics chain which, especially-so when Amazon is administering it, are not ENTIRELY under your control.
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/db4dd0a6-3294-46a6-938c-a824cabda209
by JustinInTheHouse24 hours ago
I just want to save anyone who is considering AWD the trouble and tell them its not worth the trouble or issues you will have. We have half of our inventory stuck in “receiving” for several weeks without any indication of when it may be located. There are no lines of communication with AWD…think Seller Support but even worse because they don’t even have a nominal amount of knowledge on the subject. We’re being told it will take 90 before they can “investigate” after the shipment is closed. After that it could take another 90 days before anything is resolved. Effectively 180 days before they might be able to find our inventory. Go to another 3PL service if you are running into FBA limits. Do not use AWD, don’t risk it. You could lose your entire business just to save a couple bucks. We also had issues with our carrier being able to set an appointment time to deliver goods, this cost us more money to have the inventory sit at a warehouse until they could set the appointment. Now the inventory is in AWD, but the auto replenishment is not working. It’s honestly the worst experience ever. Worse than trying to get help from Seller Support.
There are many more of these on the NSFE.
-Ana
This is a decision which should be capable of deciding by analyzing the costs vs alternatives.
It would be if Amazon was competent. which it has never been.
Ceding control requires being able to rely upon Amazon’s employees and their management.
Just an update that got pinned today by Amazon on the NSFE.
Any NIKE sellers that want to take your life in your hands? I don’t know if doing AWD would be a good/bad/ugly idea for shoes, but it is now available!
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/1d7a05c6-18eb-4420-9556-00618431acbb
I think many FBA volume sellers will eventually have to move to AWD as an option
Additionally there is AWD webinar on the 19th
Ship to Amazon Warehousing & Distribution (AWD) US Webinar
|Wed, Mar 19, 2025 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PDT|
Obviously a mistaken early release. Isn’t three weeks notice a lot more than normal for changes that affect fee collections?
haha…dunno wtf this 
is but will be attending the webinar to understand…I think this is an unavoidable eventuality…
the tao of fba suggests going with the passing wind (another term for fart)
If there’s a Q&A session afforded, please ask:
if the widely-reported deficiencies with the Auto-Replenishment functionality (AWD outbound to FC inbound) are being properly addressed.
if the widely-reported difficulties sparked by Seller Support stating that there need be submitted a POD for such a intra-Amazon Inventory Transfer - i.e., above and beyond the already-submitted POD/BOL to the AWD/IXD (“Inbound Transfer Dock”) itself - are being properly addressed.
There are more questions I would ask - not the least of which is this provision in the Section 4a portion of Amazon Warehousing and Distribution terms and conditions (link), because I simply don’t trust the confirmation methodology when it rests upon poorly-parameterized Amabots - which has produced the templated SeSu response “…Further, basis the section 4 in the policy Amazon Warehousing and Distribution terms and conditions we will not be able to provide any inventory related reimbursement as the inventory handling was not managed by Amazon prior to boxes arriving at the Amazon Distribution Center.” (emphasis below mine):
AWD/Upstream Storage is a great ‘Lean Logistics’ concept, @ least in theory - but as with many programs Amazon rolls out, I’m not yet entirely convinced that all the kinks of growing pains have been satisfactorily ironed out.
Damn bro…can you attend the webinar and let me know what they say? 
I will ask these if there is a QA…but it’ll be in the tongue of the plebs
I dunno if anyone is attending but I couldn’t find the link to join the webinar. I had already registered and re-registered today. No link is sent but the original registration link has the link, which is super wonky.
It’s almost as if they don’t want you to join 
Just got the reminder but it’s titled:
Reminder: Use Amazon Global Logistics’ Competitive Ocean and Air service to Inbound from China to the UK/EU/US (ENG) starts in one hour
Seems like this is an AGL cumm AWD webinar focused more on AGL (pun intended and a single m is on the naughty list)
And that is why.
Question that wasn’t answered: If using seller managed carrier for FCL shipments to AWD, any MFI inventory is eligible for inventory reimbursement policy?
I don’t know if the webinar was live, pre-recorded or I was just ignored - they mentioned fee changes starting April so it was either pre-recorded more recently or I was ignored. They said they’ll email the presentation and the slide says 2024. The webinar has an email listed but it’s [email protected]
They are usually prerecorded.
The SFP seminar about 4 years ago was the same. They “answered” 3 or 4 questions that nobody in the chat was asking because they were either idiotically simple or because anyone actually in the program already knew the answer to, and ignored any and all of the valid questions people actually watching the seminar asked, regardless of how politely or directly the question was asked, or how crucial the information was.
Figures, they’re just funneling folk into the cog…the system (if it works) is great, but the trepidation is clarifying questions remain unresolved. FBA is great and issues are few and far in between relative to the volume we send…but if I send in a FCL and it we have issues, then I’m fqd - all TBD I guess
Hasn’t Amazon fqd’d you enough?
Is it really worth the risk while you are trying to get your feet back under you again, and while Amazon is still working out the many bugs with AWD?
Is a couple points of margin worth it? IDK
I agree but if its an eventuality and I’m building for an exit then the person acquiring will not do the work themselves - either, it gets done through a 3PL —> FC or it gets done by AWD —> FC
Either way, these costs have to be incorporated and I have to look for the best option for anyone who is scaling
Additionally, I don’t know whether most of the issues are Seller facing or Amazon facing - there is plenty of blame if the NSFE is any indication
Nevertheless:
a. I imagine AWD to operate like FBA (operationally, there are/must be overlaps) eventually
b. I won’t directly start there. Most likely, I’ll send a pallet here or a pallet there and test things out first
