Amazon GWD expiration-dated products can now sit in China warehouses before restocking FBA if they ship with 365 days of shelf life.
The update covers Beauty, Baby Products, Health and Personal Care, and other eligible categories at GWD facilities in Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Ningbo. Units must still have 180 or more days of shelf life when they are replenished to US FBA fulfillment centers, and Amazon sends an email notice as stored inventory nears that limit.
Using the program requires onboarding to Amazon Global Logistics and following a six-step shipment workflow in Seller Central. Vitamins, supplements, meltables, and several other product types remain excluded, which sellers and the Amazon agency teams managing their inventory will need to account for before booking.
Amazon GWD Expiration-Dated Products Now Qualify for Storage in China
Sellers can now store expiration-dated products in Global Warehousing and Distribution and replenish them to US FBA fulfillment centers, according to Amazon’s Seller Central announcement. The update covers Health and Personal Care, Beauty, Baby Products, and other eligible categories at GWD facilities in Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Ningbo.
Amazon set two shelf life checkpoints for these products, one when inventory enters GWD and one when it leaves for FBA. The table below shows the minimum remaining shelf life required at each stage.
| Stage | Minimum Shelf Life | When Amazon Checks |
|---|---|---|
|
Shipping into GWD
|
365 days
|
When the GWD shipment is created
|
|
Replenishing to FBA
|
180 days
|
When the replenishment order is created
|
The 180-day outbound rule gives replenished units time to sell once they reach US fulfillment centers. A unit that arrives at the 365-day minimum has roughly 185 days in GWD before it drops below that threshold, while products with longer shelf lives get a wider window.
Noah Wickham, VP of Sales and Marketing at My Amazon Guy“The 365-day inbound rule means the shelf life clock now starts at the factory, not at the fulfillment center.”
Dated SKUs are stored alongside the rest of a seller’s GWD inventory, so more of the catalog can be managed from one location. They also move to FBA through the same automatic or manual replenishment options used for other GWD stock.
Requirements for Creating a GWD Shipment on Amazon
Amazon’s Global Warehousing and Distribution help page describes the program as inexpensive storage near the point of manufacture, paired with consolidated cross-border freight rates and replenishment to Prime-ready fulfillment centers. Sellers must onboard to Amazon Global Logistics for the US destination before using GWD, which includes setting up a payment method and an importer of record.
Users who already have AWD permissions need no additional access, while other users need the primary account holder to grant it in User permissions. With access in place, creating a GWD shipment from Shenzhen, Shanghai, or Ningbo takes six steps in the Send to Amazon Warehousing and Distribution workflow.
- Open Send to Amazon Warehousing and Distribution in Seller Central.
- Select a ship-from address located in China.
- Choose Shenzhen, Shanghai, or Ningbo as the GWD distribution center.
- Add the SKUs and quantities to be shipped.
- Complete the required shipment information.
- Submit the booking.
Amazon describes GWD as a low-cost storage option, but the announcement does not compare its rates with those of third-party logistics providers. Whether GWD costs less than a 3PL for dated inventory will depend on each brand’s storage, freight, and replenishment rates.
Amazon GWD Shelf Life Requirements and Category Eligibility
Eligible categories include Beauty, Health and Personal Care, Baby Products, Pet Supplies, and Toys and Games, according to Amazon’s GWD product eligibility page. Vitamins, supplements, food, medication, refrigerated goods, dangerous goods, and meltables remain excluded.
Amazon treats any product that has a shelf life or loses effectiveness over time as expiration-dated. That includes many beauty creams and serums sold on Amazon, even without a printed expiry date.
When GWD inventory nears 180 days from expiration, Amazon emails the seller to send it to FBA or remove it. Units below that mark can no longer be replenished.
GWD shipments must also pass standard FBA checks, including valid listings and no stranded inventory. Sellers with wrongly flagged ASINs can contact Selling Partner Support, and FBA expiration rules still apply once units reach the US.
