What is the difference between Sell-In and Sell-Out reporting?

Sell-In and Sell-Out reporting both relate to an Amazon Vendor business, but they measure activity at different points in the supply chain.

What is Sell-In?

Sell-In covers the wholesale relationship between the Vendor and Amazon.

It measures the products Amazon buys or receives from the Vendor, rather than products purchased by end customers.

Sell-In reporting can help you understand:

Amazon purchase-order activity
Quantities requested, accepted and received
The value of inventory supplied to Amazon
Amazon’s wholesale demand for a product
Changes in Amazon’s inventory purchasing patterns

Sell-In is most useful when assessing how much inventory Amazon is ordering and how effectively the Vendor is supplying it.

What is Sell-Out?

Sell-Out covers the retail relationship between Amazon and the end customer.

It measures products Amazon sells or ships to consumers after purchasing the inventory from the Vendor.

Sell-Out reporting can help you understand:

Consumer demand
Shipped retail sales and units
Product performance
Seasonal or promotional sales changes
The relationship between advertising activity and customer sales

Sell-Out is most useful when assessing how products are performing with consumers.

Sell-In and Sell-Out begin from different events in the Amazon Vendor supply chain.

Why do Sell-In and Sell-Out numbers differ?

Amazon can purchase inventory from a Vendor in one reporting period and sell it to customers in another.

For example, Amazon may buy 1,000 units from the Vendor in January but sell those units gradually across January, February and March.

Differences may also be caused by:

Inventory already held within Amazon’s network
Changes in consumer demand
Amazon increasing or reducing its stock position
Seasonal or promotional purchasing
Purchase-order and receiving timing
Customer-order and shipment timing
Returns, cancellations or other adjustments

Sell-In and Sell-Out should therefore not be expected to match exactly for the same period.

Which view should I use?

If you want to understand…	Use
What Amazon is ordering from the Vendor	Sell-In
How much inventory the Vendor is supplying to Amazon	Sell-In
Purchase-order and receiving performance	Sell-In
What customers are buying from Amazon	Sell-Out
Consumer demand and retail product performance	Sell-Out
Sales outcomes associated with advertising activity	Sell-Out

How should the two views be used together?

Sell-In and Sell-Out are most useful when reviewed together.

For example:

Sell-In increasing and Sell-Out increasing may indicate growing consumer demand and Amazon replenishing inventory.
Sell-In increasing faster than Sell-Out may indicate Amazon is building its inventory position.
Sell-Out increasing while Sell-In remains low may indicate Amazon is selling through existing stock.
Sell-Out declining while Sell-In remains high may create a risk of excess inventory within Amazon’s network.

These patterns provide context, but they should be reviewed across a suitable timeframe before conclusions are drawn.

Important note

Always confirm that the marketplace, Vendor account, Vendor code, ASIN and reporting period are consistent when comparing Sell-In and Sell-Out performance.

Need help?

Contact support@merchantspring.io and include the relevant account, Vendor code, ASIN, reporting period and any helpful screenshots or exports.