Amazon announces IPI drops to 450, but still limits shipping quantity!

On August 16, 2020, Amazon adjusted the inventory performance index score threshold for storage limit quotas from 400 to 500.

Since Amazon raised the inventory performance index score, many sellers have been suffering.

On the one hand, there are restrictions on delivery, on the other hand, there are restrictions on storage capacity, and the overseas epidemic situation is not optimistic. This year's terminal delivery has not been strong, resulting in difficulties in delivery and replenishment. After the Amazon IPI assessment was completed, many sellers with scores below 500 were charged huge inventory storage excess fees.

It can be said that sellers have suffered a lot from the storage capacity restrictions. However, last month, Amazon announced that it would update the [Storage Limit Quota Inventory Performance Indicator] in mid-December.

After waiting for a long time, sellers finally got Amazon’s update on inventory performance indicators today.

This morning, in the seller communication group, a seller happily said: Amazon sent an email! This means there is no limit for scores above 450.

             ▲ The picture comes from the seller communication group

Later, a seller posted a screenshot of the email sent by Amazon. The original content is as follows:

Some sellers who received the email expressed surprise: update, I see the next monitor will be unlimited, oh great!

Some sellers also believe that this change means the relaxation of the replenishment quantity, which means that replenishment will be unrestricted in the future.

However, more sellers expressed indifference to the reduction in inventory performance indicators and emphasized the key point of the email: this is a storage capacity limitation, not a replenishment quantity limitation, and currently the replenishment of a single product still faces restrictions.

Seeing that the email mentioned the storage capacity limit, many sellers felt that their joy was in vain. For sellers whose IPI scores have already met the requirements, this change does not seem to have much significance.

Seller A: 51 weeks above 450 points means that your entire warehouse capacity is unlimited, but the ASIN-level restrictions still exist, and the penultimate sentence means that all products are still subject to replenishment quantity restrictions.

Seller B: The reduction in the IPI score this time is just the relaxation of the storage capacity limit, not the replenishment quantity limit for all ASINs. I don’t have any storage capacity limit to begin with, so this change is equivalent to no change for me.

             ▲ Image source: Weibo

In short, the update of this inventory performance indicator has little practical significance for sellers whose scores have already reached the standard, and the single ASIN replenishment quantity limit still exists. But it is good news for sellers with scores above 450 and below 500, which means that starting next month, such sellers will no longer be subject to storage capacity restrictions and will no longer be charged high excess storage fees by Amazon.

At the same time, sellers whose IPI scores have not yet reached 450 points need to pay attention to improving their IPI scores and improving inventory health according to the time nodes in the email.

So how can sellers improve their IPI scores? For specific operations, you still need to target the four factors that affect the IPI score. For details, please refer to the previous article "Storage Excess Fees Are Higher Than Sales, How Should Sellers Prepare for the Peak Season?"

1. Reduce overage storage capacity

2. Increase sales rate

3. Fix Amazon inventory that has no sales information

4. Reasonable replenishment

The above are some suggestions for sellers to improve their IPI scores. Sellers can take appropriate measures based on their own circumstances and strive to meet the standards before the next assessment period begins.

I wonder if sellers’ IPI scores have met the standards? What do you think of Amazon’s update to its inventory performance index? Please leave a comment in the comments section.