Inbox Routing

Overview

SellerCentral Inbox Routing allows you to automatically forward customer messages (such as Amazon Buyer Messages) to your suppliers. When enabled, suppliers can respond directly to customer inquiries without needing access to SellerCentral. This feature streamlines communication, reduces manual forwarding, and ensures suppliers can handle customer support efficiently and securely.

Message Workflow

1. Customer Message: A buyer asks a question about an order on Amazon.
2. Routing: The message is sent to your ShipmentBot routing address.
3. Supplier Forwarding: ShipmentBot identifies the supplier and forwards the message (with attachments) to the supplier’s configured email.
4. Supplier Response: The supplier replies to the email. ShipmentBot receives the reply and relays it back to the customer via Amazon.

Use Cases

• Automated Customer Support: Forward Amazon customer questions directly to the supplier responsible for the item.
• Supplier-Managed Inquiries: Allow suppliers to reply to customers without exposing your SellerCentral credentials.
• Seamless Attachments: Forward attachments (images, PDFs, etc.) from customers to suppliers automatically.
• Order-Specific Routing: Route messages based on order ID, SKU, or ASIN to the correct supplier.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• You must have at least one supplier set up in your ShipmentBot account.
• Your supplier(s) must have the Inbox Proxy feature enabled.

Setup Steps

1. Enable Inbox Proxy for a Supplier

   • Go to the supplier’s settings in ShipmentBot.
   • Under Inbox Proxy, toggle the feature to Active.
   • Enter the supplier’s forwarding email address if you want messages to go to a specific address (optional).
   • Save your changes.

2. Configure Amazon SellerCentral

   • Visit the Buyer-Seller Messaging Preferences in SellerCentral.
   • Add your ShipmentBot-provided routing email address (found in your Email Inbox dashboard) to the Buyer Messages notification.
   • Save your changes.

3. Verify Routing

   • Send a test message from Amazon Buyer Messaging to your routing address.
   • Confirm that the supplier receives the forwarded message and can reply.

Configuration Options

Setting	Description	Default
Inbox Proxy Active	Enables/disables automatic forwarding for this supplier	false
Email Proxy	Forwards all inbound emails to the specified address	false
Email Proxy Email	The email address to forward messages to (if not set, uses supplier’s email)	(blank)
Extra Email Proxy	Enable/disable additional external recipients	false
Extra Email Proxy Tags	Comma-separated list of additional external email addresses	(blank)

Note: Both the top-level active flag and the email_proxy flag must be enabled for routing to occur.

How Routing Works

1. Message Reception

   • When a customer sends a message to your Amazon Buyer Messaging address, Amazon forwards it to your ShipmentBot routing email (e.g., [email protected]).

2. Order/SKU/ASIN Matching

   • ShipmentBot parses the message for order IDs, SKUs, or ASINs to determine which supplier is responsible.

3. Supplier Feature Check

   • For each matched supplier, ShipmentBot checks if the supplier has enabled the Inbox Routing.

4. Forwarding

   • If enabled, the message (including attachments) is forwarded to the supplier using the MailboxBusinessMessageMailer mailer.
   • If multiple suppliers match, the system raises an error to prevent duplicate forwarding.

5. Supplier Reply

   • The supplier can reply directly to the forwarded email. ShipmentBot routes the reply back to the original customer via Amazon Buyer Messaging, maintaining privacy and compliance.

Example: Enabling Inbox Proxy for a Supplier

To enable Inbox Proxy for a supplier, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your ShipmentBot account
2. Click “Edit” next to the supplier you want to configure.
3. In the supplier settings, find the Inbox Proxy section.
4. Toggle the Active switch to enable Inbox Proxy.
5. Optionally, enter a specific forwarding email address in the Email Proxy field.