Amazon to lean on local businesses for "last mile" delivery

[Shawn Knight]

In brief: Amazon is inundated with packages to deliver, and will soon reach out to local businesses for a helping hand. Interested companies don't need delivery experience to become a partner. Indeed, Amazon is reportedly going after a range of businesses including clothing stores, coffee shops and even florists.

In an exclusive report, Axios claims Amazon will start recruiting existing business in roughly half of the country's states on Monday including Alabama, California, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, and Washington to participate. Dense cities like Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, and New York will be among the primary targets.

To be eligible, participating businesses must be able to deliver an average of 30 packages per day for seven days a week (excluding major holidays). An Amazon delivery service partner will drop of the workload to local businesses, who will be required to have a secure area set aside for shipment storage. Axios estimates businesses would earn about $2.50 per package on average, or about $27,000 a year.

Beryl Tomay, VPt of Amazon Last Mile Delivery and Technology, told Axios the program – dubbed Amazon Hub Delivery – could help create opportunities for partners interested in growing a business and help supplement their income. By the end of the year, Amazon hopes to be working with some 2,500 small business drivers.

A similar program called "I Have Space" launched in India in 2015 before later finding its way to Spain and Japan. Amazon even conducted a small trial in rural regions of the US near the end of 2020.

It is a risky proposition for Amazon, but one that could be quite beneficial should it work as intended. Any time you bring in a third-party, you run the risk of introducing hiccups in a well-oiled machine. Such is especially true with "last mile" delivery. Amazon could do everything right with an order but if a third-party flubs the final step, Amazon is ultimately responsible and takes the ding from the customers' perspective.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/99196-amazon-lean-local-businesses-last-mile-delivery.html

 

[MasterMace]

You used to buy on Amazon, and Amazon delivered in 2 days by UPS. As time goes on, you're no longer buying from Amazon but companies using their marketplace, the delivery time is getting longer, and instead of using UPS you get who knows, all while Bezos is still getting his bucks.

Amazon is becoming more and more like eBay.

 

[Underdog]

Yes, and the website is still a total nightmare. After you waste your time searching it for what you want, you get to the set of hurdles to the checkout avoiding getting sucked into the Prime trap.

 

[Bl00dyMinded]

As someone who stopped selling on Amazon two months ago. Amazon is just horrible for 3rd party sellers. Their support is awful and doesn't back its sellers. Buyer is always right even if they are stealing and lying. So went to ebay where it's actually more profitable and support is more friendlier. Oh and unless you sign up for seller professional which is like $30 a month. You get no perks what so ever for selling on their marketplace.

 

[UdyrL]

"VPt of Amazon Last Mile Delivery and Technology"

These made up positions are getting ridiculous.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

"It is a risky proposition for Amazon"

What? Stop making up drama Shawn.

I've had the "pros" at UPS, FedEx, and USPS routinely abuse and lose my packages. My local florist could hardly do worse.

 

[Uncle Al]

Sure couldn't hurt but they better make sure these folks are liable for lost, damaged, or stolen packages.....