What is Amazon’s Born to Run Program?
For vendors selling on Amazon, launching a new product can feel like a major challenge. Gaining sales momentum and persuading Amazon to stock enough inventory can often seem like an uphill climb.
Selling as an Amazon Vendor is different from operating as a third-party seller. Third-party sellers have the freedom to list and launch as many new products as they want, but vendors must wait for Amazon to issue a purchase order for their products before they can be sold.
This is where the Born to Run program comes into play. This exclusive, invite-only program enables vendors to request initial inventory orders from Amazon, helping them launch new products more quickly.
What Does the Amazon Born to Run Program Offer?
The Amazon Born to Run program is a special invite-only option available to Amazon Vendors. It allows vendors to request that Amazon purchase a specific number of product units, rather than waiting for Amazon to generate a purchase order based on sales forecasts. Vendors must estimate how many units they believe will sell within a 10-week period.
This program is especially helpful for vendors introducing new products without any sales history. Since Amazon typically makes inventory decisions based on historical data, new products often receive very conservative inventory forecasts. Through Born to Run, vendors can proactively suggest a quantity for Amazon to purchase.
Once the request is submitted, Amazon reviews it and may agree to buy the specified amount.
What happens if your products do not sell?
Occasionally, vendors might overestimate how many units will sell during the 10-week timeframe. Any inventory that doesn’t sell within that period becomes subject to one of two outcomes, and the vendor chooses which option works best:
- Product returns by Amazon: If there’s excess stock, vendors can opt to have Amazon return the unsold units. Amazon will refund 100% of the product value along with an additional 10% for shipping and handling.
- Amazon retains unsold inventory: Alternatively, vendors can allow Amazon to keep the extra units. In this case, vendors pay a retention fee, which is 25% of the product cost for each unsold unit.
Before joining the Born to Run program, it’s important for vendors to be aware of these potential costs and risks.
What are the requirements for Amazon Born to Run?
To be eligible for an invite to the Born to Run program, vendors need to meet certain criteria:
- Must be an Amazon Vendor: Only vendors operating through Vendor Central can be considered for this program.
- Order value limit: The total value of the launch order cannot exceed $50,000.
- Minimum product cost: Each ASIN entered into the program must have a minimum cost of $5.
- Product eligibility: Items must meet certain guidelines — for example; products should not be overly heavy, bulky, or classified as dangerous goods.
How to apply for the Amazon Born to Run program?
Currently, the Born to Run program is invite-only. As Amazon explains, “We operate an invite-only program and apply operational, profitability, and other evolving requirements to ensure Born to Run delivers an optimal vendor experience and performance.”
In other words, vendors cannot apply directly. Amazon selects participants based on internal criteria.
Benefits of the Amazon Born to Run program
For vendors who qualify and are invited to participate, the Born to Run program offers several valuable advantages:
- Improved product launch performance: Launching a product with initial inventory through this program can help boost early sales, gather product reviews, and enhance its Best Sellers Rank.
- No mandatory advertising spend: Previously, vendors were required to invest 10% of the total order value on advertising for the launch stock. This is no longer mandatory, though Amazon still advises running ads to help promote new products.
- Avoid stockouts: By providing an upfront estimate of the number of units needed, vendors can prevent the risk of running out of stock early in a product’s lifecycle.
- Faster new product launches: Since Amazon typically places initial purchase orders based on limited sales velocity data, launching a new product can be slow. This program sidesteps that limitation by allowing vendors to secure a larger, initial order.
Are you enrolled?
I hope that this article has clarified how the Amazon Born to Run program works and how it can benefit vendors launching new products. If you are an Amazon Vendor, focus on growing your business and operations — this could improve your chances of receiving an invitation to join.
If you have more questions about Amazon Born to Run, feel free to reach out in the comments!
