Amazon Seller Inventory Stuck in Closed Warehouse

Sellers counting on Amazon to fulfill their orders during the Christmas holiday shopping season discovered some of their inventory is stuck in a warehouse in Arkansas. Amazon informed sellers last week that it had to temporarily closed the LIT1 fulfillment center "to perform a building assessment after the structural engineering firm that designed the building notified us of design errors."

Amazon had to shut the facility because Little Rock is located in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, according to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. The publication said Amazon confirmed it closed the warehouse on October 22 and that it would remain closed indefinitely because of ""significant structural repairs" that need to be undertaken to "meet seismic codes.""

Sellers discussed the issue on a thread on the discussion boards, with one seller posting the letter they received from Amazon on November 20th:

This email was translated using machine translation technology to ensure that you are receiving information without delay. If you encounter any issues with the text, please let us know by clicking the contact us link in the footer.

Hello,

We wanted to let you know that we have temporarily closed the LIT1 fulfillment center to perform a building assessment after the structural engineering firm that designed the building notified us of design errors. We've been working with third-party experts to conduct the building assessment and determine if we need to make any modifications. Like with any inspection, it can take time and, as a result, the building will remain closed until it is complete.

Our records indicate you have inventory stored at this facility. We recognize this may have an impact on your business and are working as quickly as possible to resolve the situation. We'll let you know as soon as we're able to resume operations. You can review the current location of your inventory and confirm what's stored at LIT1 using the Inventory Ledger report.

If you have shipments in transit to LIT1, we'll redirect them to another fulfillment center to process your inventory, and any new shipments will not be impacted. If you have available inventory stored in other fulfillment centers across our network, your listing will remain sellable. To keep track of your inventory levels and view replenishment recommendations, go to Restock Inventory report.

We've adjusted your capacity limits and ASIN restrictions to account for this disruption. If you're concerned that you may not have enough inventory to meet customer demand, you can send additional inventory. We'll continue to monitor your Inventory Performance Index (IPI) to ensure that your capacity limits aren't negatively influenced during this period. To view your IPI and capacity limits, go to the FBA Dashboard.

You may see monthly storage fees or aged inventory surcharges associated with affected inventory during the closure period. If this occurs, we'll issue you a refund within one month of the charge date.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation during this time.

An Amazon moderator confirmed the closure and reiterated, "You are not responsible for any storage or aged inventory fees during the LIT1 facility closure. We will refund your account any storage fees applied during the closure, within one month of the charge date." The moderator also told sellers, "To review your inventory's current location and confirm what's stored at LIT1, you can visit your Inventory Ledger report."

It may be a prolonged closure. Amazon told FreightWaves: 

"There's no safe way to keep the building open during these repairs, and we're left with no choice but to shut it down, which unfortunately impacts our entire team at LIT1. We're working to support our teammates in either finding a new role at Amazon or another company and offering a transitional period with 90 days of full pay and six months of existing medical benefits, as well as a dedicated support team on the ground. We'll also provide severance to those who aren't able to find a new role at Amazon."

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