How-to: In 4 steps to the perfect Amazon action plan!
Every marketplace seller fears this: the suspension of their Amazon seller account or the revocation of their selling privileges. In the best case, only a small side income is generated through the online platform; in the worst case, the most important or even the only source of income disappears overnight. The worst-case scenario. The good news: The revocation of selling privileges does not have to be permanent. In many cases, however, Amazon requires a action plan as a basis for reinstatement, also known as a Plan of Action (PoA).
This tool is well known in quality management, but it can still be quite a hurdle for Amazon sellers. As usual, the e-commerce giant does not provide much in the way of information about the desired content and preferred format. It is no wonder that there are now several providers on the internet offering their assistance in creating the plan. After all, in extreme cases, entire livelihoods depend on success or failure.
But are external service providers really necessary? In this blog post, we want to clarify how to properly create an Amazon action plan and what different options marketplace sellers have for doing so. However, the first step is to address the question of what reasons may lead Amazon sellers to have to write an action plan.
What is an action plan at Amazon?
As a provider of an online trading platform, Amazon is committed to establishing and maintaining a certain standard on its marketplace. To this end, there is a whole range of guidelines, agreements, and manuals that every seller must accept before starting their sales. If these rules are violated, the e-commerce giant reserves the right to enforce them – for example, by blocking an affected product or even entire seller accounts.
In this context, a detailed action plan helps Amazon decide on the reactivation of the account or the lifting of other sanctions. Therefore, such a plan should address, for example,
Once the Amazon account has been suspended, an action plan is often the only way for sellers to reactivate it. The reasons for a suspension can be diverse, but they can usually be categorized into three different categories:
The catch: Once the Amazon account has been suspended, the internal communication channels are no longer available. This means that sellers can no longer communicate with Amazon through Seller Central. This naturally complicates the action plan. It can take a while for an employee to respond. For this reason, everything necessary should be transmitted as concisely as possible. After all, the employee on the other end of the digital line reads several such emails per day.
Creating an action plan for Amazon: Here’s how!
In principle, the e-commerce giant wants to hear no excuses. Problems arise, but they can often be solved through an internal adjustment of the relevant processes. Sellers should focus on this instead of trying to downplay the matter, name a culprit, or justify themselves. Amazon expects a clear and precise formulation in the action plan. Objectivity is the magic word. Lengthy introductions to the seller’s company, the affected product, or emotional expressions have no place in an action plan.
Instead, sellers should focus on the root cause of the error and the solution to the respective problem. If the deactivation is due to multiple issues, each problem should be addressed individually. Sometimes, Amazon also requires evidence for certain products. These should always be submitted in full. The online giant recommends visually highlighting important information such as ASINs, supplier contact details, or clauses from the terms and conditions.
However, the company leaves the specific design to its sellers. On one hand, this is problematic because it has created a real mystery around the Amazon action plan, and many sellers find it difficult to create one. On the other hand, this takes into account the fact that each action plan must be individually written by the Amazon seller. There is no standard solution!
Nevertheless, sellers can orient themselves to the methods of quality management: the 4-Dimensions (4D) and the 8-Dimensions Report (8D). Both reports provide a clear structure.
The 4D Report
The 4-Dimensions Report is suitable as an Amazon action plan for most cases, especially for smaller, less serious violations, such as lifting the suspension of a single product. Therefore, we will discuss it in more detail here. It is divided into four different dimensions:
D1: The problem description
The first dimension is primarily descriptive in nature. It is about briefly but precisely describing which problem was responsible for the sanction. Solutions are not yet desired here.
D2: The cause analysis
In this dimension, sellers delve deeper into the matter and examine why a problem occurred in the first place. It is also about analyzing one’s own mistakes. However, it is not productive to look for faults in others. Even if this were true, the Amazon action plan should avoid assigning blame as much as possible.
Additionally, it is important to explain the measures that have been taken to resolve the problem. This is not about declarations of intent or promises, but about actions. If the suspension was issued due to a high rate of late deliveries, it should not be stated that there is an intention to change the delivery service – this change should have already been implemented.
D3: The corrective actions
The third dimension builds on the second dimension. Here, the measures just discussed should be explained in detail. What changes were established in which processes and why do these changes lead to the resolution of the problem? Were some processes newly introduced, such as as a control instance, were there employee training sessions, or was there an organizational restructuring? All of these things should be included in D3 to ensure that the Amazon action plan is not rejected.
D4: The proof of effectiveness
What was important in the previous dimensions is particularly true in D4: Amazon does not want to read in the action plan that the measures solve the problem, but rather how the measures achieve this.
What evidence needs to be provided in this context is very individual and depends on the problem and the solution approach. For example, if the supplier was changed, copies of the acceptance contracts could serve as evidence. In other cases, photos, inventory reports, or customer reviews can also be used to demonstrate that such problems have not occurred again since the process optimization. In any case, it is a good idea to support claims with data and facts.
The 8D Report
Compared to the 4D Report, the 8D Report is more detailed and describes not only the problem and the solution approach but also the problem-solving process. Therefore, the 8D Report is suitable as an Amazon action plan, for example, for serious violations where not only individual products but entire seller accounts have been suspended.
The different dimensions are defined as follows:
Do you need help with an action plan for Amazon?
In particular, the 8D Report, but also the 4D Report, requires a high level of reflection and initiative. It is not always immediately clear which mistakes have led to the online giant requesting an action plan. If Amazon has only suspended a single product, sellers may be able to take their time to search for solutions. However, if it concerns many ASINs or selling privileges, the quality of the action plan may determine the seller’s existence.
However, external creation is not a cost-effective pleasure. Providers often charge three to four-digit amounts. In return, they primarily offer one thing: experience and knowledge, especially in communication with Amazon. Just as every action plan must be created individually, the decision to choose or not choose a service provider is also an individual decision and depends on many factors.
It is important to know: There is the possibility of revision. Even if Amazon has suspended the seller account, the action plan does not have to be approved on the first attempt. Typically, sellers will receive follow-up questions and indications of which aspects are missing.
Conclusion: Not an easy task!
One thing is certain: When Amazon requests an action plan, it is a significant hurdle for marketplace sellers and can even be existentially threatening at times. The information provided by the e-commerce giant itself does not necessarily help in the creation process. A 4D Report can provide guidance for minor violations, while an 8D Report can be useful for serious issues. However, even then, creating the report requires a high level of self-reflection from sellers.
There is no template or similar for the Amazon action plan, as the cases in which this quality assurance tool is used are too diverse. An alternative, especially in cases of existentially threatening account deactivations, can be external service providers. However, costs in the three to four-digit range must be budgeted for this.
Image credits in the order of the images: © LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS – stock.adobe.com; © Gajus – stock.adobe.com
