Amazon is one of the best places to sell your products but it is also one of the toughest. When it comes to manufacturers controlling MAP policy and MAP policy enforcement, it only gets more difficult. The reason is that Amazon does not require the MAP agreements and so it is up to your brand to enforce the policy. Enforcing MAP policy is no easy task but there are ways you can control MAP enforcement on Amazon.
Identify Sellers
When you want to control MAP policy enforcement on Amazon, you should know about who your retail partners are and which are important for your business. If you find businesses that don’t significantly help your business, then terminate your association with them. If you spot unauthorized sellers on Amazon, then dig deeper to find out their contact information so you can ask them how they got your products and then take action accordingly.
Communicate With Violators
Since Amazon is of no use when it comes to MAP policy enforcement, you need to do that yourself. And when you find a violation has occurred, you should directly talk to the seller with proof. If they continue to violate your MAP policy then you should take action depending on how many times they are involved in the violation. Start with a warning, then limit distribution, then drastically reduce assortment, and then stop doing business with them.
Use Product Serialization
Product serialization is one of the ways to find out about your policy violators. This type of MAP policy enforcement might prove to be more expensive though. In this, you are required to add serial numbers to all the products you sell on Amazon. By doing a test buy, you can check what the serial number of the product is and then see what you shipped to the retailer. This can help you efficiently find out about policy violators.
Opt For Brand Registry
You can opt for Amazon Brand Registry for MAP policy enforcement. This can help enforce MAP policy because you will have more leverage when it comes to protecting our product descriptions, images, etc. The benefit of registering is you can protect your brand from unauthorized resellers that are rampant on Amazon. When you find an unauthorized seller, you can flag them and then take the issue forward with Amazon.
Consider D2C Selling
This is one of the ways to ensure MAP policy enforcement on Amazon. You can sell directly to your customers on Amazon. However, don’t take this step in haste. If you feel like there are way too many violators on Amazon, then this might be your only shot to ensure policy enforcement. The benefit of D2C selling is you have full control over how you allow your brand to be perceived and how you set the prices.
Invest In A Monitoring Solution
Opting for a monitoring solution is one of the best ways of ensuring MAP policy enforcement. Not only will the software look for violations to your MAP policy but you will save tons of time in the process. This can help you protect your brand from unauthorized sellers and counterfeit products. One solution that can help is the Intelligence Node’s MAP solution that effectively increases your profit margins, controls counterfeits, and helps you handle violators.
Selling on Amazon is easy but the MAP policy enforcement can take some effort. This is true whenever you sell your products online. By keeping the tips discussed above in mind and with the help of a MAP solution, you will know about violations and can take quick action when required. This can save your company considerable time, effort, and money which will benefit you both in the short-term and the long-term.
