Amazon order management

Order synchronization

Orders are automatically fetched from Amazon, and synchronized in Odoo, at regular intervals.

The synchronization is based on the Amazon status: only orders whose status has changed since the last synchronization are fetched from Amazon. This includes changes on either end (Amazon or Odoo).

For FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon), only Shipped and Cancelled orders are fetched.

For FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant), the same is done for Unshipped and Cancelled orders. For each synchronized order, a sales order and customer are created in Odoo (if the customer is not already registered in the database).

Important

The stock synchronization does not currently support selling the same product as FBM and FBA.

At times, when stock is sent for all products, it triggers a stock problem with Amazon, where Amazon incorrectly thinks the FBM product has some quantity in FBM.

As a result, Amazon then sells it as FBM, instead of taking from their own warehouse. Odoo developers are currently working on resolving this issue to avoid future discrepancies.

Note

When an order is cancelled in Amazon, and was already synchronized in Odoo, the corresponding sales order is automatically cancelled in Odoo.

Force synchronization

In order to force the synchronization of an order, whose status has not changed since the previous synchronization, start by activating the developer mode. This includes changes on either end (Amazon or Odoo).

Then, navigate to the Amazon account in Odoo (Sales app ‣ Configuration ‣ Settings ‣ Connectors ‣ Amazon Sync ‣ Amazon Accounts), and modify the date under Orders Follow-up ‣ Last Order Sync.

Be sure to pick a date that occurs prior to the last status change of the desired order to synchronize and save. This will ensure synchronization occurs correctly.

Tip

To immediately synchronize the orders of an Amazon account, switch to developer mode, head to the Amazon account in Odoo, and click Sync Orders. The same can be done with pickings by clicking Sync Pickings.

Manage deliveries in FBM

Whenever an FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant) order is synchronized in Odoo, a picking is instantly created in the Inventory app, along with a sales order and customer record. Then, decide to either ship all the ordered products to the customer at once, or ship products partially using backorders.

When a picking related to the order is confirmed, a notification is then sent to Amazon, who, in turn, notifies the customer that the order (or a part of it) is on its way.

Important

Amazon requires users to provide a tracking reference with each delivery. This is needed to assign a carrier.

If the carrier doesn’t automatically provide a tracking reference, one must be set manually. This rule applies to all Amazon marketplaces.

Tip

If the chosen carrier isn’t supported by Odoo, a carrier with the same name can still be created (e.g. create a carrier named easyship). The name used is not case sensitive, but be mindful to avoid typos. If there are typos, Amazon will not recognize them. Next, create a delivery carrier named Self Delivery to inform Amazon that the user will make the deliveries. Even with this route, a tracking reference still must be entered. Remember, the customer is notified by email about the delivery, and the carrier, along with the tracking reference, are displayed in the email to the customer.

Manage errors when synchronizing deliveries

Sometimes, Amazon can fail to correctly process all the information sent by Odoo. In this case, Odoo sends an email listing all the shipments that failed and the errors Amazon sent with them. In addition, these shipments are flagged with a Synchronization with Amazon failed tag.

Usually, the error can be corrected directly in the Amazon backend or in Odoo. If the problem is corrected in Odoo, synchronize the shipment again using the Retry Amazon Sync button.

Note

It might happen that Odoo receives a notification from Amazon saying that some delivery information was not processed, but without specifying which shipments were affected. In that case, all the shipments in an unknown state will be treated as if they failed to synchronize. Once Odoo receives a notification from Amazon saying that a shipment was processed, its tag will change to Synchronized with Amazon. To speed up this process, on your Amazon account, click on Sync Orders to manually synchronize these orders, or click on Recover Order and enter the relevant Amazon Order Reference.

Follow deliveries in FBA

When an FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) order is synchronized in Odoo, a stock move is recorded in the Inventory app for each sales order item. That way, it’s saved in the system.

Inventory managers can access these stock moves by navigating to Inventory app ‣ Reporting ‣ Moves History.

For FBA orders, the stock move is automatically created in Odoo by the Amazon connector, thanks to the shipping status of Amazon. When sending new products to Amazon, the user should manually create a picking (delivery order) to transfer these products from their warehouse to the Amazon location.

Tip

To follow Amazon (FBA) stock in Odoo, make an inventory adjustment after replenishing stock. An automated replenishment from reordering rules can also be triggered on the Amazon location.

The Amazon location is configurable by accessing the Amazon account managed in Odoo. To access Amazon accounts in Odoo navigate to Sales app ‣ Configuration ‣ Settings ‣ Connectors ‣ Amazon Sync ‣ Amazon Accounts.

All accounts of the same company use the same Amazon location, by default. However, it is possible to follow the stock filtered by marketplace.

To do that, first remove the marketplace, where the desired stock to follow separately can be found, from the list of synchronized marketplaces, which can be found by navigating to Sales app ‣ Configuration ‣ Settings ‣ Connectors ‣ Amazon Sync ‣ Amazon Accounts.

Next, create another registration for this account, and remove all marketplaces— except the marketplace this is desired to be isolated from the others.

Lastly, assign another stock location to the second registration of the account.

Invoice and register payments

Issue invoices

Due to Amazon’s policy of not sharing customer email addresses, it is not possible to send invoices directly to Amazon customers from Odoo. However, it is possible to manually upload the generated invoices from Odoo to the Amazon back-end.

Additionally, for B2B clients, it is currently required to manually retrieve VAT numbers from the Amazon back-end before creating an invoice in Odoo.

Register payments

Since customers pay Amazon as an intermediary, creating a dedicated Bank journal (e.g. named Amazon Payments), with a dedicated Bank and Cash intermediary account is recommended.

Additionally, as Amazon makes a single monthly payment, selecting all the invoices linked to a single payment is necessary when registering payments.

To do that, use the appropriate Journal dedicated to Amazon payments, and select Batch Deposit as the Payment Method.

Then, select all the generated payments, and click Actions ‣ Create batch payment ‣ Validate.

Tip

This same action can be performed with vendor bills from Amazon dedicated to commissions.

When the balance is received in the bank account at the end of the month, and the bank statements are recorded, credit the Amazon intermediary account by the amount received.

Follow Amazon sales in sales reporting

On the Amazon account profile in Odoo, a sales team is set under the Order Follow-up tab.

This gives quick access to important metrics related to sales reporting. By default, the Amazon account’s sales team is shared between all of the company’s accounts.

If desired, the sales team on the account can be changed for another, in order to perform a separate reporting for the sales of this account.

Tip

It is also possible to perform reporting on a per-marketplace basis.

First, remove the desired marketplace from the list of synchronized marketplaces.

To access the list of synchronized marketplaces in Odoo, navigate to Sales app ‣ Configuration ‣ Settings ‣ Connectors ‣ Amazon Sync ‣ Amazon Accounts.

Then, create another registration for this account, and remove all other marketplaces except the one to isolate.

Lastly, assign another sales team to one of the two registrations of the account.