Logistics: Amazon Wants Independent Contractors For 'Last Mile' Delivery (Amzn)

In snazzy AMZN livery.*

From GeekWire:

Amazon’s novel bluish crew: Tech giant enlists entrepreneurs to ain the ‘last mile,’ delivering packages inwards Prime vans as well as uniforms

Amazon is expanding farther into bundle delivery as well as promising to back upwards a novel moving ridge of modest trace of piece of employment concern owners with the launch of a program that helps entrepreneurs offset as well as run their ain companies — delivering items purchased on Amazon.com inwards distinctive bluish Prime-branded shirts as well as vans.

It’s “the adjacent large edifice block of our end-to-end furnish chain,” said Dave Clark, the Amazon executive who oversees the worldwide delivery logistics infrastructure for the e-commerce giant, inwards an interview amongst GeekWire, after a preview of the service for reporters inwards Seattle on Wednesday.

Amazon is announcing the novel “Delivery Service Partners” computer programme tonight. It’s the company’s latest motion to gear upwards its ain option to (if non nonetheless a replacement for) UPS, FedEx, the U.S. Postal Service as well as other traditional transportation companies as well as postal services.
From Prime-branded planes to smile bluish delivery trucks, the Seattle tech giant is increasingly treatment the transportation as well as delivery of items purchased on its site.
The proclamation comes a few months after Amazon’s economical deport on on the USPS was publicly questioned past times President Donald Trump in a serial of widely discussed tweets.

The novel computer programme lets anyone run their ain bundle delivery fleet of upwards to twoscore vehicles amongst upwards to 100 employees. Amazon plant amongst the entrepreneurs — referred to equally “Delivery Service Partners” — as well as pays them to deliver packages spell providing discounts on vehicles, uniforms, fuel, insurance, as well as more. They operate their ain businesses as well as hire their ain employees, though Amazon requires them to offering healthcare, paid fourth dimension off, as well as competitive wages. Amazon said entrepreneurs tin conk started amongst equally depression equally $10,000 as well as earn upwards to $300,000 annually inwards profit.

Amazon is increasingly relying on its ain logistics infrastructure as shipping costs conk along to spike with growing demand, especially from Prime members who pay $119 per yr for costless 2-day transportation as well as access to Amazon’s 2-hour Prime Now delivery service. It at nowadays has 7,000 truck trailers as well as twoscore jumbo jets that shuttle packages to as well as from 125 fulfillment centers across the world.

In the past, Amazon relied on third-party providers for costly “last mile” deliveries — those from the warehouse to the customer. But at nowadays it is experimenting amongst novel delivery methods. In 2015, the company launched a computer programme called Amazon Flex, the company’s Uber-like platform that lets everyday people packages amongst their ain cars. One yr afterwards it started experimenting amongst its ain delivery operation. Amazon too final yr reportedly tested a service called “Seller Flex” inwards the U.S. that consists of the companionship picking upwards packages sold on its site straight from third-party warehouses.

Clark, a 19-year Amazon veteran who oversees worldwide delivery logistics infrastructure, said the novel “Delivery Service Partners” computer programme is non then much an development of Amazon Flex — which volition conk along to be — simply to a greater extent than of an add-on to the company’s overall delivery network....MUCH MORE

*Livery—

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