FBA inbound planning in India: capacity limits and which fulfilment centre gets what
By Nitesh Sharma · 15/10/2026 · 7 min read
Plan inbound in three steps: know your capacity limit, send the units that will sell soonest first, and split them across fulfilment centres by where your customers are. Shipping everything to one centre looks cheap and often causes slower delivery and more stock-outs in the other regions.
Start with the limit, not the wish list
Amazon limits how much stock a seller can send in. The limit is based on the space your products use and your account's history, and it can change. Look at the inventory capacity or limits page in Seller Central before you build a plan, and note the number.
A reorder plan that says 3,000 units for next month is only a wish if your limit lets 2,000 in. Plan inside the limit, and put the units in the order of how soon they will sell.
Decide what goes first
When space is tight, do not split capacity evenly. Rank products by weeks of cover, lowest first. A product with 2 weeks of cover gets space before one with 9 weeks. Among products with equal cover, the one with the higher profit per unit goes first.
- Out of stock or under 2 weeks of cover: first.
- Between your lead time and 6 weeks: second.
- Above 8 weeks of cover: not this month.
Why fulfilment-centre placement matters
A customer in Delhi who orders a product stored in Bengaluru waits longer and costs more to ship than one stored in a Delhi-region centre. If the product is only stored in one region, the other regions get slower delivery or lose the fast-delivery badge, and that hurts conversion.
Where Amazon decides the receiving centre at shipment creation, you work with what you are given: send the shipment that is offered, and use the next shipment to balance. Where you can choose, or can send to more than one centre, split by demand.
How to split by regional demand
Take the last 6 to 8 weeks of shipped orders for the product and group the delivery pin codes by region: North, South, West, East. Each region's share of units is the split to aim for.
Do not chase a perfect split on slow products. Every extra centre means another carton, another booking and another freight bill. For a product that sells under a handful of units a day, one or two centres is usually enough. Use the full split for your top sellers.
| Region | Share of orders | Units to send | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| North | 35% | 210 | Highest share, one carton run |
| South | 30% | 180 | |
| West | 25% | 150 | |
| East | 10% | 60 | Small: send in the next shipment if the freight is not worth it |
| Total | 100% | 600 | Inside a capacity limit of 2,000 for the month |
The split follows orders, not the size of the city. Re-run it every month; demand moves.
Cartons, freight and the cost of splitting
Splitting has a price. Each destination needs its own cartons and its own booking, and small loads cost more per unit to move. Before you split a product five ways, check what the extra freight adds per unit and compare it with the margin on that unit.
A practical rule: if a region would get fewer units than it sells in two weeks, fold it into the next shipment instead. Your top products justify the full split; your slow products do not. Keep a short list of which products are split fully, which go to two centres and which go to one, and review that list each month.
Timing: the shipment is not stock until it is checked in
A shipment on a truck is not sellable. Add the days to travel, wait for a slot, unload and be checked in. Count the product as sellable only from the check-in day, and build that gap into your lead time. If a shipment sits at receiving for a week, your cover is a week shorter than your sheet says.
Common inbound mistakes
Four things cause most of the pain we see with inbound shipments.
- Sending the whole month's stock in one shipment, so one delay empties the shelf.
- Filling the limit with slow products because they were easy to pack.
- Counting units as sellable when they are still on the truck.
- Using last year's regional split for a product whose buyers have moved.
What to watch after you ship
Check each shipment every few days: units sent, units received, units still pending. A gap between sent and received is stock you cannot sell and may need to chase. Do this weekly for the full list, daily for any product under 2 weeks of cover.
Do this weekly
- Note your current inbound capacity limit and what is already used.
- Rank products by weeks of cover; fill the limit from the lowest up.
- Group last 8 weeks of orders by region for each top product.
- Build shipments by the split; skip a region if the freight is not worth it.
- Check every open shipment: sent vs received vs pending.
- Update lead time if check-in is taking longer than your sheet says.
Quick questions
Can I choose which fulfilment centre gets my shipment?
Often Amazon decides the receiving centre when you create the shipment, based on your settings and its own space. Where you can choose or send to several, use the regional split in this guide.
What if my capacity limit is too low?
Plan inside it. Send products with the lowest cover first, and ask Amazon about the limit if it is stopping a best-seller.
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