Amazon competitor data analysis improves product competitiveness

Convert competitor BSR/velocity into estimated daily sales (use the provided conversion table).

Compute ROP = Lead time × Avg daily sales + Safety stock (copy the spreadsheet formula).

Run a landed cost scenario per SKU (unit price + freight + duty + VAT + insurance + handling).

Pick shipping mode by value density ($/kg or $/CBM), lead time tolerance and stockout cost.

Automate: competitor alert → Zapier/Script → Slack + Freight RFQ → expedite air if urgent.

 

Table of contents

Who should read this

Core metrics & glossary (formulas up front)

Impact map: competitor signal → logistics action (compact table)

Data sources & how to get reliable competitor velocity

Converting BSR to estimated daily sales — practical method + caveats

Reorder point and safety stock — formulas, examples, spreadsheet formulas

Landed cost — components, calculations, downloadable-ready formulas

Shipping decision tree: sea vs air vs rail vs courier (rules & heuristics)

Worked numerical scenarios (3 SKUs with full math)

Monitoring SOP: automation recipes (Zapier + webhook + Google Sheets + Slack)

RFQ template + freight forwarder checklist + negotiation script

KPI dashboard fields & how to use them (CSV/Google Sheets ready)

FAQ (schema-ready answers)

 

1) Who should read this

 

Procurement managers, brand/product teams, 3PL operations, and international freight planners who want to translate Amazon competitor data into concrete replenishment, transport and landed-cost decisions to reduce stockouts and protect margins.

 

2) Core metrics & glossary (formulas up front)

 

BSR — Amazon Best Seller Rank. Not direct sales; use conversion table below.

Estimated daily sales (EDS) — your conversion from BSR or tool output.

Lead time (LT) — total days from order confirmation to goods available for sale (factory lead + in-transit + inland).

Safety stock (SS) — buffer inventory to cover variability.

Reorder point (ROP) — ROP = LT_days × AvgDailySales + SafetyStock.

Days of inventory (DOI) — DOI = OnHand / AvgDailySales.

Value density — $ per kg or $ per CBM. Helps choose transport mode.

Landed cost — UnitCost + Freight + Insurance + Duty + VAT + Clearance + Inland.

 

3) Impact map: competitor signal → logistics action

 

Competitor signal	Immediate logistics decision	Time window	Example action
Sudden BSR improvement (+30% rank) or buy box price drop	Investigate; raise reorder priority	0–48 hrs	Trigger alert; if velocity sustained, request expedited air top-up
Small, sustained BSR rise (slow growth)	Monitor; prepare next sea restock	3–14 days	Increase reorder frequency; no immediate air
Seasonal promo announced (competitor coupon)	Short term buffer (safety stock)	0–7 days	Split container: send partial by air for safety, rest by sea
Recurrent out-of-stock competitor	Opportunity to raise price & maintain supply	ongoing	Keep larger FCLs; lower reorder frequency variability

 

4) Data sources & how to get reliable competitor velocity

 

Tools: JungleScout, Helium10, Keepa, Sellics — they estimate units/day from rank and category. Use 3 sources and cross-check.

Seller Central reports: Your own historical sell-through (truth). Use it to calibrate BSR→sales heuristics per category.

Public signals: Sponsored ad changes, listing edits, reviews velocity. Combine for contextual signal.

Smoothing window: use 7/30/90-day rolling averages to distinguish spikes vs trend. For replenishment decisions prefer 30-day avg + 7-day for urgency.

Validation: sample 10 SKUs where you know actual sales and test your BSR→sales conversion. Adjust coefficients by category.

 

5) Convert BSR to estimated daily sales — a pragmatic approach

 

Important: no single universal formula exists. Below is a practical, conservative heuristic used widely by operators. Calibrate with your own data.

BSR → estimated daily sales — approximate conversion table (example)

(These are rough ranges — calibrate to category and season)

BSR 1–10 → >100 sales/day

BSR 11–50 → 30–100 sales/day

BSR 51–200 → 10–30 sales/day

BSR 201–1,000 → 1–10 sales/day

BSR 1,001–10,000 → 0.1–1 sales/day

Practical formula (category-adjusted)
A safe working formula:

EstimatedSalesPerDay = K / (BSR^α)

Where K and α are calibration constants. Typical starting values: K = 1000, α = 0.9.
Example: BSR = 500 → EDS = 1000 / (500^0.9)
Compute step-by-step:

500^0.9: compute 500^0.9 ≈ e^(0.9ln(500)). ln(500)=6.214608; 0.96.214608=5.5931472; e^5.5931472≈268.5.

1000 / 268.5 ≈ 3.723 → ~3.7 sales/day.

Tip: use tools to estimate K & α for each category by regression on known SKU historical sales.

 

6) Reorder point & safety stock — precise formulas and spreadsheet formulas

 

Base formulas

ROP = LT_days × AvgDailySales + SafetyStock

SafetyStock (simple) = z × σDemand × sqrt(LT_days)

z = normal z-score for desired service level (e.g., 1.65 for 95% service level).

σDemand = standard deviation of daily demand.

 

Simple pragmatic method (if σ unknown)

SafetyStock = AvgDailySales × LT_days × Buffer%

Typical Buffer%: 20% for reliable supply, 50% for variable supply.

 

Spreadsheet formulas (Google Sheets / Excel)

Assume columns: ,,,D: Z (e.g., 1.65)

ROP:=A2*B2 + D2*C2*SQRT(B2)

Safety Stock (simple %): =A2*B2*0.25 (25% buffer)

Worked micro example

Avg daily sales = 5 units

Lead time = 30 days

Std dev daily = 2 units

Service level 95% → z = 1.65

SafetyStock = 1.65 × 2 × sqrt(30)
Compute sqrt(30)=5.4772256; 1.65×2=3.3; 3.3×5.4772256=18.0744 → ~18 units
ROP = 30×5 + 18 = 150 + 18 = 168 units

 

7) Landed cost — components, calculation and formulas (copy-ready)

 

Components (standard):

Unit cost (ex-factory)

Packing cost (per unit)

Freight (sea/air/rail) allocated per unit

Insurance (% of CIF)

Customs duty (% of CIF depending on HS code)

VAT / GST (applies in many markets)

Clearance & brokerage fees

Inland transport to warehouse/FBA inbound prep

Misc. (bank fees, inspection fees)

 

Step-by-step example (full arithmetic, exact)

Scenario: 1,000 units ordered, unit cost = $3.50, sea freight for container allocated per unit = $0.80, insurance 0.5% of goods, duty 6% CIF, VAT 20% (applied to goods + freight + duty), clearance & inland = $200 total.

Goods = 1,000 × $3.50 = $3,500.00

Freight = $800.00 (given)

Insurance = 0.005 × Goods = 0.005 × 3,500 = $17.50

CIF = Goods + Freight + Insurance = 3,500 + 800 + 17.50 = $4,317.50

Duty = 6% × CIF = 0.06 × 4,317.50 = $259.05

VAT base = Goods + Freight + Duty = 3,500 + 800 + 259.05 = $4,559.05

VAT = 20% × VAT base = 0.20 × 4,559.05 = $911.81

Clearance & inland = $200.00

Total landed = Goods + Freight + Insurance + Duty + VAT + Clearance = 3,500 + 800 + 17.50 + 259.05 + 911.81 + 200 = $5,688.36

Per unit landed cost = 5,688.36 / 1,000 = $5.68836 → $5.69

 

Make it automated:Spreadsheet columns: ,,,,,,. Use formulas:

Goods = UnitPrice*Qty

Insurance = Insurance% * Goods

CIF = Goods + FreightTotal + Insurance

Duty = Duty% * CIF

VAT = VAT% * (Goods + FreightTotal + Duty)

TotalLanded = Goods + FreightTotal + Insurance + Duty + VAT + OtherFees

PerUnit = TotalLanded / Qty

 

8) Shipping decision tree—rules, heuristics, and thresholds

 

Key drivers

Value density (USD/kg or USD/CBM)—higher density favors air for speed.

Lead time tolerance—how quickly you must restock.

Stockout cost—margin lost per day of OOS.

Variability of demand—if high, favor faster modes or higher safety stock.

Seasonality & promos—in promo windows, prefer speed to capture demand.

Heuristics (practical)

If value density > $30/kg and stockout cost > freight delta → air for replenishment.

If value density < $5/kg and lead time tolerance > 30 days → sea (FCL).

If shipping to Europe from China and moderate urgency (15–25 days acceptable) → rail (cost < air, time ≈ 15–20 days).

For samples/small urgent top-ups → courier.

Use a split strategy: forward ~70% by sea and 30% by air as a safety top-up for your top SKUs.

Decision tree (short)

Calculate per-unit landed cost by mode.

Calculate lost margin per day of stockout.

If (lost margin/day × expected days saved by air) > (air freight delta / units moved), choose air. Else sea/rail.

 

9) Worked numerical scenarios—full math and recommended action

 

Scenario 1—SKU A (High value, fast moving)

Unit ex-factory = $12.00

Monthly demand (from competitor data) = 900 units → AvgDailySales = 900 / 30 = 30 units/day

Lead time sea = 45 days; lead time air = 7 days

Qty reorder = 2 × LT × daily sales for sea (safety) = choose 1,000 units for sea full container allocation simplicity. Use smaller air top-ups.

 

Landed cost inputs (approx.)

Sea freight per unit = $1.20

Air freight per unit = $6.00

Insurance, duties, VAT & fees: sum sea = $2.50 / unit, sum air = $2.50 / unit (same duty/VAT structure, freight differs)

 

Per unit total

Sea per unit = 12 + 1.20 + 2.50 = $15.70

Air per unit = 12 + 6.00 + 2.50 = $20.50

 

Stockout cost estimate

Gross margin per unit at selling price $35 (example): margin = 35 − shipped landed cost (assume other costs) ≈ 35 − 15.70 = $19.30

Expected lost margin per day if OOS = AvgDailySales × margin = 30 × 19.30 = $579/day

 

Decision logic

Air reduces lead time by 45 − 7 = 38 days. If switching to air prevents 38 days of stockout for 500 units, the value of the avoided stockout far exceeds the air freight delta. For high-velocity & high-margin SKUs, use air for urgent top-ups and sea for base stock (split strategy).

Recommended action: Keep a base of 1,000 units by sea; keep an air safety buffer (e.g., 210 units = 7 days of sales) prebooked monthly to avoid stockouts.