The TRUTH About Starting an Amazon FBA Prep & Fulfilment Business (What No One Tells You)

Have you ever wondered what it’s really like to run a prep and fulfilment centre?

Not the tidy version you might imagine when you send off your inventory to a warehouse. I’m talking about the real behind-the-scenes experience:
The 5am starts. The courier no-shows. The joy of watching a client quit their job. The unexpected systems breakdowns. The relationships with people—some you’ve never even met in person—that shape your business forever.

This is that story. A raw, unfiltered look into what it’s like to build and run a prep service. Whether you're a seller wondering what happens after you click “Send to Amazon,” or someone dreaming of launching your own service, this post is for you.

What Is a Prep Service, Really?

At the surface level, a prep service sounds simple: we receive your products from your suppliers, inspect and prepare them to meet Amazon’s (or another marketplace’s) requirements, and ship them out. Simple, right?

Behind that simplicity is a machine of moving parts—like being the air traffic controller of your own logistics airport. Products are flying in from different locations, each with its own instructions. Some need bubble wrap, others need polybags or bundles. Some need shipping within 24 hours. Some turn up damaged or wrong.

We become the middleman in your business—the heartbeat between your suppliers and your customer-facing platforms. And just like your own heart, it’s a part of the system you only really notice when something goes wrong.

How It All Started: From a Whiteboard in 2016

Rewind to 2016.

We’d just made the leap. Left our 9–5s. Built our Amazon FBA business from the ground up. And finally, we’d moved into our first warehouse—a modest 2,000 sq ft unit, but to us, it felt like we’d moved into Buckingham Palace.

Then came a question that changed everything:

“Kev, you’ve got a warehouse. Can I send my products to you?”

At the time, the term “prep centre” didn’t really mean anything to me. We were just focused on shipping our own products with speed and accuracy. But I went away, wrote on the whiteboard, and asked myself: If we were to create a service—what would it look like?

Four words kept coming back to me:

• Speed

• Quality

• Clarity

• Communication

We didn’t know it then, but that was the start of Systemise Fulfilment.

Starting from Scratch: Building Something from Nothing

Those first days in the warehouse? Chaos.

I still remember working on a giant fold-out table, surrounded by cardboard, shipping labels, and dreams. We were manually tracking inbound stock, unpacking supplier boxes by torchlight in the winter, and wondering whether Amazon would accept our first pallet.

There were moments of triumph—like our first partner shipment going out and being received without issue. But there were also moments of complete confusion.

One time, I remember receiving a shipment from a supplier where every item was not what was ordered. Red mugs instead of blue. Multipacks instead of singles. It was our first proper experience with “unhealthy units”—stock we couldn’t prep or send.

What do you do then?

You build a system. You create a new status, a new tag, a new SOP. You figure it out.

Systems, Not Stress

Every prep centre eventually realises: you can’t scale chaos.

We created what we now call our Healthy Unit System—tracking the oldest, healthiest unit in the warehouse at any given time. It sounds boring, but it’s one of the most powerful KPIs we use. If a unit can be shipped, and hasn’t, something’s wrong. That insight helps us stay aligned on what matters most: getting our partners’ products in and out quickly and correctly.

But systems aren’t just for logistics. They’re for people, too.

When we onboard a new partner, it’s not just about where they send their stock. It’s about how they feel during the process. Like when you check into a hotel—are you welcomed? Do you know where you’re going? Is the bed made?

We wanted that same clarity. So we built onboarding videos, welcome packs, internal dashboards, and made sure every new partner knows who’s who in our team.

The Hardest Part No One Talks About

People often ask, “What’s the hardest part of running a prep centre?”

They expect me to say inventory tracking or Amazon policy updates.

But honestly? It’s expectation management.

One of the most painful moments I’ve experienced was during the early days of COVID. Amazon restricted non-essential shipments, and suddenly our entire warehouse became a holding pen. Partners were asking, “Why isn’t my stock moving?” And all we could say was: Amazon won’t take it.

I remember the front of the warehouse being so full, we had to hire shipping containers just to store overflow. Every delay, every conversation felt personal. And as a service provider, you feel every ounce of that pressure.

But it also teaches you resilience. You build new processes. You hire better. You create escalation paths. And you never stop improving.

The Messages That Keep You Going

And then… there are the moments that fill you up.

Like when a gentleman who'd been with us for 18 months sent us a voice note, almost in tears, thanking us for helping him quit his job and go full-time with his Amazon business.

Or a new partner who had been burned by another service. Her products had gone missing, she’d lost money, and her confidence was shattered. After onboarding with us, she said:

“You’ve restored my trust in this business. Just seeing every line, every product status… I finally feel in control again.”

Those are the moments you don’t forget.

The Team Is Everything

People talk about automation and AI—but in our world, it’s the team that makes or breaks the operation.

You can have the best systems in the world, but if the team isn’t aligned, it falls apart. So we invest in training, communication, culture, and accountability.

We’ve seen it all: from unexpected absences to emergencies, to moments of extraordinary kindness.

One of the stories that will stay with me forever was about a UPS driver—our first regular guy. He used to collect parcels from our home, always cheerful. Then one day, he vanished. Two weeks later, he returned, visibly broken. He’d lost his wife unexpectedly.

They’d been planning to buy a cabin on the coast, to enjoy sunsets together in Whitby.

He never did return to UPS. He said life was too short. That story has stayed with me ever since. It reminded me that every box, every label, every handshake—there’s a person on the other side.

Fulfilment Is a People Business

When it comes down to it, this business isn’t about cardboard boxes. It’s about people.

You’ve got sellers chasing their freedom.
You’ve got team members working to build careers.
You’ve got service providers solving daily fires.
You’ve got couriers doing their best despite backlogs and traffic jams.

It’s a dance. And every day, we try to choreograph it better.

There are inefficiencies—what we call “leaking taps.” Tasks that eat time and steal focus. So we spend hours in planning rooms, staring at whiteboards, asking, How do we fix this?

Sometimes, the answer is another system. Sometimes, it’s a tough conversation. Sometimes, it’s just giving someone a coffee and a thank you.

So, Is It Worth It?

If you’re thinking of starting your own service, or you’re just curious, here’s what I’ll tell you:

It’s hard.
It’s emotional.
It’s unpredictable.
But it’s also one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.

You get to see people grow, businesses thrive, systems evolve. You get messages that move you. You build real partnerships. You learn about yourself in the trenches—how you lead, how you break, how you come back stronger.

And in those quiet moments, when you see a full pallet leave your dock—knowing it represents someone’s dream—that’s the magic.

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re just starting out, scaling your own service, or looking for a prep centre you can actually trust—I hope this gave you a real window into our world.

It’s not always glamorous. But it’s real.
And it’s built every day by people taking massive action.