Where the term comes from
The Wall Street Journal first reported on Amazon's "Project CRaP" in December 2018. Low priced, low margin items such as small packs of bottled water were uneconomic once Amazon paid for picking, packing and shipping them. Coca Cola could not make a 6 pack of Smartwater at $6.99 work, shipped a 24 pack at $37.20 instead, and later moved to direct fulfillment. Seventh Generation redesigned wipe packs and built a 6 pack dish soap to escape suppression.
How brands find out
There is no report in Vendor Central called "CRaP risk." Brands see the consequences first: the Buy Box disappears, an item becomes add on only, purchase orders on a fast moving SKU drop to zero, or an item goes inactive with no clear cause. By the time the vendor manager is asked, the SKU has often been suppressed for four to eight weeks and the volume is gone.
Why it is a P&L problem
CRaP is unit economics. Amazon compares what it earns on a unit against what it costs to handle, and the comparison includes your allowances and funding. That is why Net PPM per ASIN is the number to watch. Treating CRaP as a content problem sends the fix to the wrong team.
What fixes it
Pack format engineering so the unit ships profitably. Multipack consolidation so the basket value rises. A price floor that protects the margin. Assortment trimming so low value SKUs stop dragging the average. All four are finance and supply chain decisions, which is why they rarely happen inside an e commerce team.