New inbound FBA API 2024-03-20 - How to match Amazon provided boxes labels to our boxes? NOTE: Need API ability to provide SELLER BOX ID to print on labels

[MetaMan2023]

Summary of the question:

If we use the API to supply packing information (ie: setPackingInformation) to Amazon for an inbound plan / shipment -- how do we match the resulting box labels with actual boxes in our warehouse? There is no way for us to provide an internal (seller) box identifier to Amazon.

Detailed example:

I understand now that boxes cannot be “named” which brings up a logistical question for warehouses. For this example please assume we are following Path #1 and we have 3 SKUs (A, B, C) in a shipment and that they result in 6 boxes for each SKU (*with a few mixed), 18 boxes in total. They look like this:

EXAMPLE BOX CONFIGURATION:

B1 = [ A ] B2 = [ A ] B3 = [ A ] B4 = [ A ] B5 = [ A ] B6 = [ A+B ]

B7 = [ B ] B8 = [ B ] B9 = [ B ] B10 = [ B ] B11 = [ B ] B12 = [ B+C ]

B13 = [ C ] B14 = [ C ] B15 = [ C ] B16 = [ C ] B17 = [ C ] B18 = [ C ]

LEGEND for above:

B1 = [ A ] means that BOX 1 contains ITEM A.
B6 = [ A + B ] means that BOX 6 contains ITEM A+ B

Now let’s say we provide the boxes to Amazon through the “setPackingInformation” call and we provide the boxes and quantities in the exact order above.

NOTE during this step (setPackingInformation)
We cannot provide a box name or an internal box identifier to Amazon (functionality does not exist)
Amazon does not immediately return an internal Amazon box ID to us during this call that we can directly associate with a specific box above (** I do realize Amazon does attach a box ID but it is not available at this step)

Later in the process, Amazon splits our boxes into 3 shipments and sends out labels in a PDF file. Those labels, I believe, have these identifiers on them assigned by Amazon internally.

AMAZON BOX LABEL IDENTIFIERS PRINTED ON THE LABELS:

P1 - B1 , P1 - B2 … P1 - B6
P2 - B1 , P2 - B2 … P1 - B6
P3 - B1 , P3 - B2 … P1 - B6

QUESTION 5a: Does Amazon keep our box order provided through “setPackingInformation” when printing labels? ** NOTE: This would only be partially useful due to center splits. For example if we are sending to a single center, would the box labels come out in the exact order passed in setPackingInformation, or could it be “random”?

QUESTION 5b: Please let us know how we accurately match up the Amazon box labels to our boxes? Remember that we cannot provide an internal box identifier during setPackingInformation. It is most likely that “P1 - B3” (ie: third box in Packing Group 1) is going to be box B7 – however we have no guarantee of that. NOTE: even if box order is kept by Amazon (from the setPackingInformation process) this won’t help at this step if there are multiple shipments, and it also won’t help if box order accidentally changed (let’s say a warehouse employee had to move a box during the process).

We rely on matching by box contents (for example that a box contains “SKU A” or “SKU B”) because the Amazon provided shipping label only says “MIXED SKUS” for Boxes #6 and #12 (it does not list the full contents) so there would be no way to tell which label to put on those two boxes. And even if Amazon did provide the full box contents, the font is so small and with a large # of mixed SKUs it would get very tedious.

Our operation regularly deals with mixed SKUs and shipments > 50 boxes, as well as multiple different “inbound plans” at one time. This is why it is critical we need to provide an INTERNAL BOX IDENTIFIER to Amazon during setPackingInformation that is then printed on the resulting labels for matching ** OR ** Amazon returning a very specific Amazon identifier that we can somehow match to a specific box. The only workaround would be to process only one single SKU in a shipment – however this is very inefficient as our shipping costs would skyrocket due to very small shipments (+ extra labor of shipping). We maximize shipments > 500 lbs to a center so that we minimize shipping costs.

[lightningja]

Second this request. It will be really helpful that SP-API returns box Ids that can correspond to the original submitted boxes

[MetaMan2023]

@lightningja

I'm working trying to reach someone internally to discuss this issue further (I am an Amazon reseller). If you can answer these it will be helpful in my discussions as I can have case studies from other sellers.

• How are you (or do you) plan to handle the "labels matching" issue?

• How impactful will this be to your operation or your decision on how to proceed (ie: are you having to make compromises in shipping choices, or which "path" you take, etc) -- how much labor difference do you think this will take or human shipping errors that may occur?

• Which "path" are you leaning towards in your process (left path - items known up front, or right path, boxes packed later?)

• Do you use ship APC UPS or LTL?

Thanks

[MetaMan2023]

@lightningja

FYI I have a thread to track everyone's status on the new API transition and issues -- check it out if you get a chance.

#4427

[lightningja]

@MetaMan2023 thanks for the response. To answer your questions:
A rough implementation is to match boxes' weight/dimensions/items returned by sp-api with the original list of boxes. For large shipments this incurs more computation time as well as potential human errors. ideally sp-api could return boxes in the order of the original boxes submitted. That would make processing very fast as it is once scan rather than O(nm).

I'm leaning towards left paths in most cases. and we do both UPS and LTL

[MetaMan2023]

Thanks for replying on this LN. In our situation it's basically a necessary requirement.

In a perfect scenario, we should be able to "name" boxes when we provide them in the API with some kind of internal (seller based) identifier -- for example when I tell Amazon a box like:

20 lbs
10" x 20" x 15"
Name: "SELLERBOX1"

and later in the process either:

(A) Amazon would print this box name on the actual FBA 4x6 label in large, clear writing (maybe on the bottom) so we can match it up ** PREFERRED **

(B) And/or they would at a minimum provide the ability for us to print a cross reference table -- this would be easy, when we ask for the box details back from Amazon they can return:

Box #1:
Amazon Box ID = XXXXX
Seller Box Name = YYYYY

And we can use that data to print a cross reference sheet or use it so that when we scan the internal seller box name on our boxes (internal barcode) we can then match up and request the appropriate label from Amazon to put on the box.

[puppsupr]

Hi,
Thank you for proposing an enhancement. This has been heard and will be improved in future, however, we do not have an estimated time of when the implementation will be complete.
As soon as this occurs, we will post an announcement in the Announcements Section of our documentation site.
You can also review our Release Notes regarding all changes made to our APIs and subscribe to our RSS feed to get notified as soon as there is an update.

[MetaMan2023]

@JimMcKenzieSmith I just ran a test to see what "listInboundPlanBoxes" does AFTER the shipments are confirmed. The templateName does NOT change. (see details below). Will look into your question now and reply in a few.

====

Following the left path (box info up front) I have created a shipment with the API going to two centers. After the "confirmPlacementOption" the two shipments are created -- however the "listInboundPlanBoxes" function does NOT indicate which box goes with which shipment. I had 5 boxes initially -- 3 going to one center and 2 to another. Since ListInboundPlanBoxes only provides boxes at the inboundShipmentPlan level (not shipmentId level), the boxes are not "named" (ie: templateName) appropriately for the split, the all say "P1 - B#"... even after I confirm Placement Options which confirms the split.

[MetaMan2023]

@MetaMan2023 I was digging deeper into the API, and came across generateShipmentContentUpdatePreviews. Have you looked at that endpoint? It seems to eventually take a packageId (box ID) in a BoxUpdateInput array. But, this endpoint is not documented very well in terms of how, why, and when it should be used. Thoughts? Have you looked at it already? Tested it?

I took a look at that function -- I have no idea what it does or what it is for... the documentation wording is awful. Best I can tell it is for updating the box content at some later point in the process? Also "packageId" seems to be generated by Amazon -- if you call "listInboundPlanBoxes" you will see the package I'd and it looks like this:

"packageId" : "pk4444abcd-1234-abcd-5678-12adsfadsfa",

I was hoping to use packageId to match up labels in some way but again the issue is that even after creating the splits, there is no way to tell which labels goes with a box.

[JimMcKenzieSmith]

@MetaMan2023 Sounds good. There's also a listShipmentContentUpdatePreviews, which seems similar to your earlier question about "ListShipmentBoxes". Although it is a really strange name. I haven't gotten quite far enough with the api to actually exercise that endpoint and get sample data.

[JimMcKenzieSmith]

I was hoping to use packageId to match up labels in some way but again the issue is that even after creating the splits, there is no way to tell which labels goes with a box.

Ya, we're back to square one. We need a seller box ID to be able to match up with.

[MetaMan2023]

Hi, Thank you for proposing an enhancement. This has been heard and will be improved in future, however, we do not have an estimated time of when the implementation will be complete. As soon as this occurs, we will post an announcement in the Announcements Section of our documentation site. You can also review our Release Notes regarding all changes made to our APIs and subscribe to our RSS feed to get notified as soon as there is an update.

@puppsupr

Another request that goes along with this -- the function listInboundPlanBoxes needs to be updated as well with the following:

• listInboundPlanBoxes needs to return which SHIPMENT a box is assigned to -- for example after we choose to split to two centers in the left hand path and confirm, "listInboundPlanBoxes" should have an identifier to indicate which shipment the box goes with. This is critical for creating pallets. Right now there is no identifier to know which shipment Amazon has assigned boxes (though that information is clearly available).

• listInboundPlanBoxes needs to include the customer seller box identifier (discussed here). So if we supply a custom box identifier in the setPackingInformation step then it should also appear in the listInboundPlanBoxes.

• Our custom box identifier should also appear in the CSV/PDF that becomes available for download in Seller Central

• Our custom box identifier should appear LARGE when listed on the FBA labels... suggestion is that it is printed on the bottom of the label as there is plenty of room of a 4x6 (almost half the label is empty).

• As a TEMPORARY fix, can you please make the "template name" that Amazon provides on the labels bigger? Maybe large font and move that to the bottom (or repeat it) in the area you may ultimately print a seller custom box identifier?

• Please see my other GitHub thread on a bug with the CSV download -- the columns do not line up. This spreadsheet download is the only information available that provides any insight into which box goes in which shipment.

[JimMcKenzieSmith]

Best I can tell it is for updating the box content at some later point in the process? Also "packageId" seems to be generated by Amazon

I was hoping that the packageId was something the seller could provide. But, given that you found that a package ID is Amazon generated, then this statement:

Primary key to uniquely identify a Box Package. PackageId must be provided if the intent is to update an existing box. Adding a new box will not require providing this value. Any existing PackageIds not provided will be treated as to-be-removed

... seems to refer to the Amazon primary key. So, not something we can use or match up with.

[MetaMan2023]

Best I can tell it is for updating the box content at some later point in the process? Also "packageId" seems to be generated by Amazon

I was hoping that the packageId was something the seller could provide. But, given that you found that a package ID is Amazon generated, then this statement:

Primary key to uniquely identify a Box Package. PackageId must be provided if the intent is to update an existing box. Adding a new box will not require providing this value. Any existing PackageIds not provided will be treated as to-be-removed

... seems to refer to the Amazon primary key. So, not something we can use or match up with.

The only use (currently) it may have is there is a function being carried over from v0 that you can print box labels and it may take a single box identifier -- at least that is how I read the functionality however I do not know if it works.

Are there any other forums for this stuff? I am baffled out of millions of Amazon sellers that there are so few people talking about these issues. The Amazon Seller forums are pretty much useless. Here there are more programmers but again, very low volume.

We have paid SAS Support within Amazon and even with that, I get to pass questions back and forth through a third party to the API team and I get incomplete answers back days later... nobody can explain how to actually use this system in the real world.

[JimMcKenzieSmith]

@MetaMan2023 I found this reddit thread. And this seller forum thread that I commented on 5 hours ago. But, you are exactly right, very low volume. Not much chatter for as many issues as this API has. The December 20 deadline is ridiculous... they are going to terminate v0 on a Friday and then go on Christmas break... makes complete sense.
I wonder if this issue should have it's own Amazon seller forum thread. Just to make as much noise as possible in as many places as possible.

[MetaMan2023]

@JimMcKenzieSmith

https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/b3be8e49-9a5f-4f7c-a745-944f6c931875?postId=dec8cc01-200f-4c7f-95d8-2397c63697ee

Please see my post from a few weeks ago -- if you can reply and thumbs up it, may get some traction

[puppsupr]

While we improve this experience, the current workaround is to use listInboundPlanBoxes, then match the templateName with getLabels and box IDs.

[MetaMan2023]

@puppsupr

Thank you for this information.

Can you please take a look at the getLabels (v0) function -- we are having an issue with the query called PackageLabelsToPrint

The function does not seem to care what we put in that field -- it gives no errors (even if we put incorrect data), nor does it seem to return any information based upon it. We have tried both various different box Id's from the newer API as well. No matter what we enter in that field, it returns the full list of labels.

Can you please see if this field is working or provide an example of what information to pass through it.

Also we are wondering -- if it does work as described in the documentation and we can provide a string of box id's to print... will those labels come out in the order we specify in that field? (this would be important for warehouse efficiency as we would like to print the labels in a very specific order to correspond to how our boxes are laid out on our lines).

[puppsupr]

HI @MetaMan2023,
Can you please take a look at the getLabels (v0) function -- we are having an issue with the query called PackageLabelsToPrint -> Are you saying that irrespective of the boxIDs it prints all the labels ? Ex, if you provide only 1 boxID, still is it printing all the labels ?

Regarding the order, I have looked into and it doesn't print in the order you specify. Its ascending/descending.