Inventory Placement Service (IPS) no longer exists. It was a paid Amazon FBA option that let a seller send an entire inbound shipment to a single fulfillment center instead of accepting Amazon’s default split across several. Amazon retired it in 2024 and replaced it with the FBA inbound placement service fee, which works the other way round.

What Inventory Placement Service Was

Under IPS a seller switched the inbound setting in Seller Central from distributed placement to Inventory Placement Service and paid a per-unit fee. Amazon then assigned one destination fulfillment center, usually the one closest to the ship-from address, and redistributed the units internally at its own cost. The appeal was logistical: one address to ship to, one label, no split truckloads.

What Replaced It

Amazon now charges an inbound placement service fee on shipments sent to fewer locations than it would choose. The logic is inverted. Splitting a shipment across several fulfillment centers, which used to be the free default, is still free when you follow Amazon’s suggested split. Sending everything to one place, the thing IPS used to sell you, is now the option that costs money.

The fee is charged per unit and varies by size tier, weight, and how few locations you split across. An Amazon-optimised split across several locations carries no fee at all.

Then and Now

Until 2024 (IPS) Now (inbound placement fee)
Sending everything to one location Paid option you opted into Charged per unit
Amazon’s suggested split Free default Free
Where the choice is made Once, in Seller Central inbound settings Per shipment, in Send to Amazon
Who decides Seller opted in Amazon proposes, seller accepts or overrides

If You Are Following an Older Guide

Any guide that tells you to enable Inventory Placement in Seller Central is out of date, and the setting is no longer there. The decision that replaced it is made per shipment inside the Send to Amazon workflow, where Amazon shows the placement options and the fee attached to each before you confirm.

How SellerSonar Helps

  • Retail Issues Alerts surface receiving delays, stranded units, and reconciliation issues that can hit either placement method.
  • The Buy Box Tracker helps detect regional Buy Box loss caused by slow multi-FC distribution after an IPS shipment.

Start your free SellerSonar trial today.

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