QBR

 In Amazon’s Vendor Management and Retail operations, a QBR serves as a structured review session where performance data, operational metrics, and financial outcomes are analysed for the past quarter.
The main goal is to ensure that both Amazon and the vendor are aligned on strategy, execution, and profitability for the upcoming months.

Core Focus Areas in a QBR:

1. Sales Performance & Growth Metrics:
   • Revenue and units sold
   • Year-over-Year (YoY) and Quarter-over-Quarter (QoQ) trends
   • Best-performing ASINs and growth drivers
2. Profitability & Financial Health:
   • Pure Profit Margin (PPM), Pure Profit Per Unit (PPPU), and Pure Profit Value (PPV)
   • Funding agreements (VIR, PPA, PPV)
   • Cost optimisation and trade term compliance
3. Operational Performance:
   • Instock rates, OOS (Out of Stock), PPOOS (Procurable OOS)
   • Supply chain metrics such as PIB (Perfect Inbound) and PIBDR (Inbound Defect Rate)
   • Lead times (VLT, PLT) and forecast accuracy
4. Marketing & Advertising:
   • Amazon Ads performance (ACoS, ROAS, CTR, CPC)
   • Brand Store traffic and conversion
   • Promotions, coupons, and Prime Day (PD) campaign results
5. Strategic Roadmap:
   • Category expansion and product launches
   • Packaging, sustainability, or compliance initiatives
   • Joint planning for the next quarter (e.g., Q4 readiness or Prime Day prep)

Benefits for Amazon:

• Alignment: Keeps Retail, Supply Chain, and Ads teams aligned with vendor objectives.
• Performance tracking: Evaluates vendor contribution to Amazon’s category growth.
• Accountability: Ensures vendors meet KPIs and address operational gaps.
• Data-driven planning: Uses business intelligence dashboards for forecasting.

Benefits for Vendors:

• Visibility: Direct access to Amazon Retail teams and decision-makers.
• Strategic insights: Understands how Amazon measures and prioritises success.
• Negotiation leverage: Opportunity to discuss pricing, funding, and promotional support.
• Partnership strengthening: Builds collaboration for long-term growth.

Typical QBR Participants:

• Vendor Manager (VM) or Category Manager
• Supply Chain Manager
• Advertising / Marketing Lead
• Vendor-side Account Manager or Commercial Director
• Finance / Operations stakeholders

Typical Outputs:

• Quarterly summary report
• Agreed Vendor Improvement Plan (VIP) or Vendor Growth Plan (VGP)
• Updated sales forecast and promotional calendar
• Action plan for next quarter’s KPIs

Why It Matters:
The QBR is one of the most important relationship and performance management tools in Amazon’s vendor ecosystem. It transforms data-driven insights into concrete actions that improve profitability, supply chain reliability, and brand visibility.

Example:
During the Q3 QBR, a vendor’s team meets with their Amazon Vendor Manager to review Prime Day results, identify top-performing SKUs, and agree on increasing advertising investment ahead of Q4’s Black Friday event.

In short:
QBR (Quarterly Business Review) is a structured quarterly meeting between Amazon and a vendor to evaluate sales, profitability, and operational performance, and to align on growth strategies and priorities for the next quarter.