For years, Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) was the default growth strategy for e-commerce brands. Sellers gained access to Prime shipping, fast delivery speeds, and Amazon’s massive logistics infrastructure without building operations themselves.

But today, many brands are rethinking whether relying entirely on Amazon fulfillment still makes financial and strategic sense.

As FBA fees continue rising, sellers are searching for ways to maintain Prime eligibility while improving margins and regaining operational control.

The Problem With an FBA-Only Strategy

FBA simplifies logistics, but it also comes with tradeoffs.

Amazon controls:

• Packaging
• Shipping methods
• Customer service
• Returns
• Parts of the customer experience

At the same time, sellers often lose 10–30% of their margins to fulfillment fees, storage costs, and returns processing.

For growing brands, those costs can become difficult to sustain.

Many sellers also realize they have limited ability to:

• Build brand loyalty
• Customize customer experiences
• Access meaningful customer data
• Expand fulfillment flexibility

Over time, this creates growth limitations.

Why Omnichannel Brands Need More Flexibility

Brands focused on long-term growth rarely want to sell only on Amazon.

They often expand into retail partnerships like Walmart Marketplace, Target or Nordstrom.

The challenge is that many retailers discourage or prohibit Amazon fulfillment because they do not want customer data tied to Amazon’s ecosystem.

That means brands relying exclusively on FBA can struggle to scale outside Amazon.

The Rise of Hybrid Fulfillment

Instead of abandoning Amazon completely, many sellers are adopting a hybrid fulfillment strategy.

In this model:

• Amazon may fulfill select products or regions
• A third-party logistics provider (3PL) handles other fulfillment needs
• Sellers maintain Prime eligibility while gaining more operational control

This allows brands to:

• Reduce shipping costs
• Improve margins
• Expand into retail
• Diversify fulfillment operations

Most importantly, it reduces dependency on a single platform.

Fulfillment Is Becoming a Growth Strategy

The fastest-growing e-commerce brands no longer treat fulfillment as a backend operational task.

They view logistics as a competitive advantage.

Brands that balance Amazon’s reach with independent fulfillment flexibility are often better positioned to:

• Protect profitability
• Support omnichannel growth
• Improve customer experience
• Scale sustainably

For many sellers, the future is not choosing between Amazon and independent logistics. It is learning how to use both strategically.