Low confirmation rates are a red flag to Amazon, signaling that you’re “not in the game.” If you consistently confirm only 20–50% of purchase orders (POs), Amazon will start to restrict your future orders and demand. This often leads to more out-of-stocks and makes it increasingly difficult to regain or maintain your sales volume.
How Amazon Reacts to Low Confirmation Rates
- Future Order Reductions: Amazon tracks your PO confirmation history and uses it to adjust future order quantities.
- Erosion of Trust: Like flaking on dinner plans, failing to confirm POs means you eventually stop getting invited—Amazon will prioritize suppliers with higher reliability.
- Risk of Out-of-Stocks: Inconsistent confirmations disrupt replenishment, making your products less available and harder to recover lost volume.
How to Improve Your PO Confirmation Rate
- Active Planning: Proactively plan your inventory and supply chain so you can confirm a higher percentage of POs. This builds trust with Amazon and leads to bigger, more frequent orders.
- Transparent Communication: If you can’t fulfill certain items, mark them with the correct status in Vendor Central (such as “non-procurable” or “not available”). This helps Amazon accurately assess your availability and improves the system’s inputs.
- Diligent Management: Always confirm what you can, and promptly flag what you can’t. Keeping your information up-to-date gives Amazon the confidence to keep you in the order rotation.
By maintaining a high PO confirmation rate and clearly communicating item availability, you ensure more reliable replenishment and stronger engagement from Amazon—critical for sustaining and growing your Vendor Central business.