Who’s really driving your current Amazon strategy? Because if it’s your Vendor Manager, let’s have a rethink…
What’s good for Amazon isn’t always what’s good for you.
But too many brands confuse Amazon’s internal guidance with sound strategy – we’ve lost count of how many times we’ve heard clients say, “Our Vendor Manager told us to do it this way…”
While your Vendor Manager might be helpful, their role isn’t to grow your business – it’s to make your account work for Amazon.
And that’s a distinction that matters.
Amazon’s KPIs aren’t your KPIs
Begin by looking at the KPIs you’re being steered towards.
Your Vendor Manager is being measured on:
- The profitability of your account – from Amazon’s perspective.
- Your inventory health – their job is to minimise overstock, not maximise your availability.
- Your participation in programmes – whether that’s AVNs, Subscribe & Save or brand-funded promotions, their priority is to get you enrolled.
None of these are inherently bad, and all have benefits for your brand.
But if you’re not evaluating them through the lens of your own commercial targets, you risk being pulled into initiatives that eat away at your margins or skew your strategy.
Tie your Strategy to your own business goals
A winning Amazon strategy doesn’t come from a checklist of Amazon’s preferred programmes – it comes from you.
Begin by asking yourself:
- What are your commercial priorities for the year? (Revenue, profit, cash flow, market share?)
- Which SKUs or categories are you focused on growing – and why?
What does success look like across all your channels, and how do you want Amazon to contribute to that mix? - How can Amazon Ads support your wider funnel, not just Amazon’s margin?
When you start from your own P&L, it becomes much easier to assess whether Amazon’s recommendations actually make sense for your brand.
Sometimes, a programme or term does align with your goals.
But when it doesn’t? You need to be confident enough to push back – with the data and direction to back up your decisions.
Collaboration, not compliance
Please don’t get us wrong – we’d never tell you to ignore your Vendor Manager, many are helpful, knowledgeable and genuinely want to support their brands.
But they’re also navigating their own internal pressures to deliver for Amazon – and those don’t always translate to value for you.
Successful Vendor brands treat the VM relationship as a collaboration, not a command structure, challenging advice that doesn’t serve their goals, backing their decisions with clear commercial logic and building strong internal alignment first – before bringing Amazon along for the ride.
The Bottom Line
You just need a Vendor strategy that’s led by your commercial priorities, not someone else’s sales targets.
The smartest Vendor brands know when to say yes, when to say no and when to reframe the conversation around their own goals and metrics.
So, if your strategy feels like it’s been shaped for you, not by you – now’s a great time to regain control. Our Vendor experts are on hand to set your brand in the right direction and get Amazon working for you – not the other way round. Love to chat? Get in touch today.