Selling on Amazon unlocks millions of opportunities for sellers. But selecting the right selling model is highly essential for long-term success. Choosing between Amazon’s Vendor Central and Seller Central can be challenging, especially if you’re not completely aware of the differences and pros and cons of each. 

This article will serve as a detailed guide to help you understand which model best fits your Amazon business and offers the best route to profitability and success. 

And there’s more, once you choose your best pick, we’ll also introduce you to the best Amazon Seller and Vendor Central Agency to help you scale your business most efficiently and sustainably. 

Let’s break it down for you!

What is Amazon Seller Central?

Amazon’s Seller Central platform allows sellers to sell to customers directly by tapping into the world of Amazon’s vast global network. The marketplace works as a central hub for managing all the product listings, inventory, orders, payments, advertising, and performance data to manage, optimize, and scale the business productively. 

Amazon Seller Central works as a control panel for sellers to manage the day-to-day operations while keeping an eye on the performance metrics to track growth and errors to scale effectively in the competitive marketplace. 

Key Functions of Amazon Seller Central 

1. Product and Catalog Management: Allows sellers to create, manage, and update product listings, descriptions, pricing, and cataloging. 
2. Inventory Management: Helps sellers track and manage their inventory to prevent overstocking or stockouts. 
3. Order and Shipment Tracking: Allows easy access to process and view customer orders, oversee shipments, and manage returns. 
4. Advertising: Facilitates advertising management and creation to promote and upsell products on Amazon.
5. Payment Management: Assists sellers in managing and tracking their payments easily.
6. Performance Tracking: Supports easy tracking of performance metrics, reviews, sales, customer feedback, and overall performance. 

Seller Central Advantages

1. Easy access to a huge customer base: Seller Central exposes sellers to Amazon’s huge customer base, allowing them to reach out to millions of high-intent customers.
2. One-stop destination to manage daily operations: Amazon’s Seller Central portal supports easy execution of daily operations without the need for sellers to maintain a separate website for day-to-day practices and transactions. 
3. Streamlines processes: Seller Central simplifies product listings, order fulfillment, advertising, and customer interactions.
4. Data Analysis: The Business Reports section under the Seller Central helps sellers analyze business performance and track KPIs to optimize sales and marketing strategies. 
5. Flexibility and Pricing Control: Amazon’s Seller Central model allows sellers greater control over managing the listings and pricing of the products, without any third-party intervention. 

Considering the advantages and key features of the Seller Central selling model on Amazon, this framework is ideal for sellers seeking greater flexibility and control over managing their businesses, looking to scale, and aiming for higher profit margins. 

What is Amazon Vendor Central?

Vendor Central is Amazon’s invite-only program that lets selective businesses, manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors sell to Amazon, which resells these products to customers. 

Vendor Central selling model creates a first-party relationship between Amazon and the distributor, where Amazon manages everything from product listings to fulfillment and customer service, including all the other aspects of selling on Amazon. 

Vendor Central Hub extends easy access to vendors for managing and editing product information, viewing purchase orders, and monitoring other important information related to product sales.

Key Aspects of Amazon Vendor Central

1. Invite-Only Program: The Vendor Central Program can only be opted for by sellers who receive a special invitation from Amazon, based on their Seller Central account health and performance. 
2. Wholesale Products: Vendors or distributors sell products in bulk to Amazon, which further sells these products to the Amazon customer base.
3. Amazon is the Retailer: Amazon becomes the primary seller, taking care of the entire selling and fulfillment responsibilities in addition to customer support.
4. Easy Operations: With Amazon taking care of the selling and fulfillment processes, vendors only have to focus on fulfilling the orders to Amazon.
5. Lesser Control: Amazon takes care of the listing and pricing of products, allowing less control over product sales to vendors. 

Vendor Central Benefits

1. Less Operational Responsibility: With Amazon taking care of order processing, fulfillment pricing, and customer care, vendors can focus on production and wholesaling.
2. Increased Trust and Credibility: Under the “Sold by Amazon” tag, vendors get access to a larger customer base due to customers’ trust and credibility over Amazon and its enhanced customer and fulfillment services. 
3. Enhanced Marketing Tools: Vendors get access to enhanced marketing tools and Amazon Marketing Services that help drive sales and traffic to the listings.
4. Access to Promotional Programs: Vendors get access to advanced promotional programs such as Subscribe &Save and Amazon Vine, which help boost product visibility and enhance customer engagement. 

Amazon Seller Central vs Vendor Central: Key Differences

Feature	Seller Central	Vendor Central
Control Over Pricing	Full control	Amazon controls pricing
Marketing Tools	Limited (Sponsored Products etc.)	Access to A+ Content, AMS
Inventory Management	Seller managed	Amazon purchase order based
Relationship Type	3rd Party Seller (B2C)	1s Party Supplier (B2B)
Onboarding	Open to all	Invite-only
Branding Opportunities	Moderate	Stronger (A+ Content, Vine, etc.)

Which Model is Right for Your Business?

Choosing between Amazon Vendor and Seller Central factors around business objectives and goals, which can be quite specific. Let us look at the factors that can help sellers determine which model to opt for:

• Level of Control and Involvement
• Authority over Branding
• Pricing of Products
• Operational Capabilities
• Long-Term Goals

Considering these factors, 

Amazon Vendor Central can be observed as a first-party model and is ideal for established, large-scale operational businesses that can fulfill bulk orders, while Amazon Seller Central is suitable for start-ups, small businesses, and brands that want to practice greater control over their brand, pricing, inventory, and shipping. 

So, if you have established a better understanding regarding Amazon’s two selling models, now is the time we introduce you to Krolog, a leading Amazon Service Providing Agency that fits perfectly into the role of an Amazon Seller Central Agency as well as an Amazon Vendor Central Agency, helping businesses like yours to optimize and scale efficiently. 

Why Work with an Amazon Seller Central Agency Like Krolog Inc.?

Wondering why to opt for a third-party agency like Krolog to operate your Vendor or Seller Central business?

Here’s why:

• Policy Compliance experts: Krolog specialises in understanding Vendor as well as Seller Central policies to help Amazon businesses run efficiently without any violation or account suspension risks.
• Seller Central Expert: For sellers opting for the Seller Central Model, Krolog offers professional Amazon Seller Central Services, which include listing optimization, expert PPC Campaigns, Trademark Registration, Amazon Brand Registry enrollment, Reinstatement Services, and A+ and Enhanced Brand Content. 
• Amazon Vendor Central Support: As an expert Amazon Vendor Central Agency, Krolog is highly experienced in helping Amazon sellers qualify for the Vendor Central Program by maintaining optimum account health and policy compliance. Krolog’s expertise in managing bulk orders, logistics, and chargebacks helps vendors easily navigate through the day-to-day workflow. 

Now that you understand the key differences, advantages, and disadvantages of Amazon’s Vendor and Seller Central Programs, you can wisely choose between the two to create the maximum impact and run an efficient Amazon business.

Partner with Krolog to simplify your Amazon journey and unlock the full potential of your Amazon business. Connect now to schedule a free consultation, where experts from Krolog will help you choose the best right from the beginning!