14 ms·

Amazon Is Testing Its Own Delivery Service to Rival FedEx and UPS

206 points by SREinSF 9y ago

mc32 9y ago
I'm sure they know their own numbers... that said, how is it cheaper to have warehousing run by your sellers (who distributed as they may be, do not have the efficiencies/automation AMZ has) and, as it pertains couriers, I had thought the likes of them had vertically integrated into warehousing services for their customers? Or have they been outflanked by AMZ despite having decades of logistics experience for very diverse industries?
- UnoriginalGuy 9y ago
  > how is it cheaper to have warehousing run by your sellers When you think about the people selling on Amazon's platform as "partners" then your point is very valid. When you think about those other sellers as "competitors" then this strategy makes a lot more sense. A lot of third parties have complained that they joined Amazon's platform, did well, but then had an "AmazonBasics" version of their product turn up, under-cut them, and appear at the top of rankings squeezing the original product out. For example, search on Amazon for "Ladder Golf." Top ranked result and "Amazon Choice" is an AmazonBasics set for $26.99, added in May 2016, with only 51 reviews. The second result, by GoSports, has 748 reviews, has sold since October 2012, but for $49.99. You'll note that Amazon's product added four years after GoSport's product has a strikingly similar design. My point is, this is what Amazon does. It waits for sellers to do well, clones their product, and then competes with them on price (which Amazon can due to its sheer scale). You could legitimately argue customers benefit from lower prices, which is undeniable, but customers also benefit from a competitive marketplace. Once Amazon has no competition they can increase prices again. PS - I have absolutely no association with any of the products or companies listed above. I picked "Ladder Golf" as an example as a lot of people don't realise AmazonBasics has expanded well beyond electronics/cables/batteries into things like toys, household goods, garden supplies, and so on...
tfinniga 9y ago
In the UK, some Amazon deliveries were sent via 'Amazon Logistics', which was usually someone in a little car full of packages. I think it's been going on for at least the last 3 or 4 years?
- bdcravens 9y ago
  They've had the same in the US for a while as well. What makes this different is that they are handling both sides of the delivery, whereas before they were delivering from their own warehouse.
- gordeh 9y ago
  Yeah, most of our amazon parcels are delivered directly by them to us. I order a load of amazon parcels, usually 3-4 a week minimum and they are ok. They started out terribly, but Amazon seems to have got their head round it nowadays.
ocdtrekkie 9y ago
This has to be a nightmare scenario for FedEx and UPS. From my understanding, a decent number of their flights are pretty much paid for on Amazon deliveries alone: The scale that Amazon ships at makes it feasible to quickly deliver many other packages economically. If Amazon chooses to cut FedEx and UPS out of the deal (even partially), how much will that impact those companies' ability to operate two-day shipping affordably?
- skynetv2 9y ago
  no kidding. about four UPS flights land in my city's airport everyday, which happens to be one of the distribution centers / warehouse locations for Amazon for norther CA.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
williw 9y ago
Amazon Logistics have lost my packages several times. I had to call them every time they use their own delivery service. I told them to use Google Maps, but was told they don't have a smartphone. Luckily their customer service rep was great, and either refunded or shipped replacements.
- skynetv2 9y ago
  yes, same experience here. the only time my packages did not arrive on time / got delayed / refunded was on Amazon delivery service.
- dawnerd 9y ago
  > but was told they don't have a smartphone Every time they've delivered to me they've had their phone out with the Amazon app with directions and a button to mark delivered so someone was lying to you.
tehwebguy 9y ago
Amazon delivers like 25% of the stuff we order directly in Venice. They get the address wrong far more often then USPS, UPS and FedEx, in our experience. A neighbor 5 houses down has the same street number, technically on a different street, but it faces the same way as ours so if you just eyeball it without verifying on the map it's easy to mess up. I'm sure they will improve but it's obvious having a consistent driver for an area is important, especially if addresses are weird. Also they have to scan the package and my front door is basically a cellular dead zone, it costs them a lot of time trying to find the sweet spot to scan on their mobile device before taking off to the next stop.
- megablast 9y ago
  Wow, didn’t know they were big outside the US?
  - 24gttghh 9y ago
    I'm pretty sure the United States Postal Service doesn't deliver to Venice, Italy. He's probably referring to Venice, California; a suburb of LA.
    - tehwebguy 9y ago
      Yep, sorry for the confusion!
  - yourfate 9y ago
    Here in Munich, Germany I get most of my amazon packages via amazon logistics, and have for at least a year. They are great here, they usually find a way to leave the package, I haven't had to go pick it up yet.
legitster 9y ago
The crazy thing is Amazon keeps entering these hyper-competetive, low margin industries. It's pretty tough to cry foul that they are acting like a trust when they constantly position themselves as the third or fourth player breaking up an oligopoly.
- chii 9y ago
  Or, if you're cynical, you can say they are playing the long game. Once amazon controls the full vertical for everything, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone else to do business with. Then, they can turn up the money faucet.
  - 201709User 9y ago
    I will use baby boomer approach - benefit today, screw the future.
  - beauzero 9y ago
    Books is a good indicator. We have about 100k+ listings at any given point. We have seen at least 50% of our competitors go out of business since the last rate hike (mid summer). ...you are now paying about $3 more per book and the majority of that now goes to Amazon. Not the third party seller. They raised % taken and also began taking a percentage of shipping fee which is why you see a bunch of third party sellers listing free shipping. Basically they caught up to Ebay in that regard. "Used" books are not really profitable to sell on Amazon anymore. If you want better prices go to Abebooks.com. Same sellers and generally $2-3 cheaper now.
    - jotato 9y ago
      Abebooks.com? Never heard it it. thank you!
    - ghaff 9y ago
      Though note that Amazon owns Abebooks.
    - olegkikin 9y ago
cmsimike 9y ago
I have a < 50% delivery rate to my apartment when Amazon delivers it and the past two deliveries to work were "delivery attempted" even though they never tried to deliver it into the office.
- adamnemecek 9y ago
  Call them up and give them devivery instructions. I used to have the same problem, it’s gotten better.
  - daveFNbuck 9y ago
    I have the same issue, and I don't have instructions to solve it. All I know is that every other delivery company has managed to figure this out without my help.
- eqmvii 9y ago
  Whenever an Amazon contracted courier tries to deliver a package, they call my cellphone because they can't get into the apartment's lobby. It's so frustrating, and a ridiculous step backward - UPS, USPS, and FedEx are all completely fine. But if Amazon's Algorithm decides to send it via an Amazon contracted courier instead, I'd better be home and near my phone, or no delivery for me!
  - shitlord 9y ago
    Same here, and I live next to an Amazon building. Whenever I have a grocery delivery, even if I do an unattended delivery, I have to be home.
  - dawnerd 9y ago
    Contact amazon and tell them to mark your account to not use them. I had to because for some reason the drivers couldn't figure out the entrance to my apartment was around the corner and an unmarked emergency exit wasn't the entrance. Would get called early in the morning demanding me to go meet them on the street. The Amazon rep I talked to was able to make sure all my packages came from the "old" services and haven't had a problem since. Guess this is what happens when you hire people that have no experience with delivery goods and are not paid what real delivery people are.
chewyland 9y ago
Now they need to get into manufacturing.
- lucaspiller 9y ago
  They already have you covered: https://qz.com/1039381/amazon-owns-a-whole-collection-of-secret-brands/ https://qz.com/1039381/amazon-owns-a-whole-collection-of-sec...
tmnvix 9y ago
Product design, logistics, warehousing, delivery, IT infrastructure, physical stores, ecommerce. Plenty of companies have this kind of vertical integration too (e.g Apple) but none that I'm aware of do this across such a large range of products - nor do they then offer these as services to third parties (e.g. IT infrastructure, ecommerce). What else will Amazon decide to bring in-house? Manufacturing? Energy production? Consumer finance? EDIT: As an aside, I find it ironic that Amazon started out selling books. I know plenty of people (myself included) that have daydreamed about owning a little bookstore as a way of escaping the rat race. Success for most would look more like Bernard Black Than Jeff Bezos.
- pelario 9y ago
  Social networks?
- moduspol 9y ago
  They do have their "AmazonBasics" program [1] where they're selling their own "store brand" of things. I guess that's probably not their own manufacturing (they're likely just buying in bulk and branding it) but it might be. [1] https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics/pages/2528919011 https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics/pages/2528919011
_Codemonkeyism 9y ago
We have the receiving end of this for quite some time in Berlin. This is a huge pain compared to DHL and not working at all for me (Prime customer since beginning). Missed delivery dates. Didn't find the address several times, no one else had that problem. Software not working or drivers who had no clue about the software. Delivery to business address up until 9pm (!) Lost deliveries. Had many calls with Amazon customer support, they can't blacklist me for Amazon Logistics and they can't help in any way. Customer support told me on several occasions they know, they get this often but can't help. Weird thing: I saw several people who rented e.g. Enterprise vans for delivery, how is that paying?
- ErrantX 9y ago
  Thw business addresses thing was so ridiculous, I had to start paying for weekend deliveries at one point after a driver turned up to the office 7 days straight outside of work hours. (and yes it was the same driver)
- a254613e 9y ago
  I've had all those issues in Munich too. And I've managed to have amazon blacklist them for my account. One support rep told me that they have that option if you have more than 3 deliveries that they messed up. I've filed a complaint after every time they didn't deliver the package properly (as in, not delivered at all, even though it was possible), and then I sent an email with 5 or so order numbers, descriptions of what was wrong, and asked them to blacklist amazon logistics. Here's the quote from an email: >Since you mentioned that this is not the first time this has happened, please reply to my email, giving us 3 order numbers which you feel were improperly delivered by Amazon Logistics, together with the issues for each. >As soon as we receive them, we will file an official complaint against this carrier, trying to exclude them from future deliveries of your orders. Note: Some support reps insisted that it's not possible to blacklist a single delivery company.
- michaelt 9y ago
  I saw several people who rented e.g. Enterprise vans for delivery, how is that paying? At least in my country, companies that use "self employed" drivers have deals with vehicle hire companies so you can hire a vehicle to drive for the company - such as [1] and [2]. The hire is at the driver's risk, so there's lots of ways they can lose money, some outside of their control. For example [2] reports an undercover journalist being charged for a week's van hire but only given three days' worth of work - resulting in an hourly wage well below minimum wage. [1] https://xuberance.uber-vs.com/london https://xuberance.uber-vs.com/london [2] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37708996 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37708996
cjensen 9y ago
Today Amazon delivered a package to me at work. They ignored the "deliveries in rear" sign which directs them to the shipping dock. Went to front desk instead. They parked across a handicapped space in front. Not "in" the space, but askew so that it also blocked the handicap loading area between the two handicapped spaces. I like UPS. They're professionals.
- mypalmike 9y ago
  https://disabledaccessdenied.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/ups-shame1.jpg https://disabledaccessdenied.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/ups...
  - dovdovdov 9y ago
    See, pros park two spaces.
- prawn 9y ago
  Isn't it funny that we consider the "last mile" or even last few feet the difficult part of deliveries, something that can't possibly be automated, but there are countless cases of presumably capable humans failing at basic but organic tasks like reading a sign or opening a gate.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - lucaspiller 9y ago
    I suspect this (and a lot of the issues often associated with deliveries) are because drivers are pressured into making as many deliveries as possible, so saving 30 seconds per delivery really adds up over a day.
    - simonbarker87 9y ago
      Yeah, it's this. all the Amazon logistics guys drive around like lunatics in my area and my company's daily DPD collection driver says they are penalized for bringing a package back so they absolutely have to find somewhere to leave it. Whats annoying is all of the big UK delivery companies offer a live tracking feature now and a one-hour delivery window with interactive SMS systems to manage delaying delivery etc. Amazon offers nothing, it's like going back 10 years as the parcel will arrive sometime between 8am and 8pm
dakotasmith 9y ago
Just attempting to do this will give them a hand in negotiating with FedEx and UPS.
jmspring 9y ago
Rural high sierras town for me, an hour from Reno and Truckee. Amazon delivers just fine, FedEx too (Chewy). The bigger hiccup moving up here was for Amazon’s logistics to realize my Bay Area locale wasn’t suitable to my new location...things come via Reno Now. They adapted well. Chewy using FedEx has been great too.
rgbrenner 9y ago
Amazon now has 43% of all ecommerce sales... Shipped: 30% UPS, 30% FedEx, and 40% USPS. This article says Amazon accounts for $1B of UPS 60B revenue -- only 1.67%[0]. And Amazon cut out almost all of the profits from those deliveries, with discounts over 70%... so Amazon contributed little to their income. Wasn't able to find numbers for Fedex.. but they say no single customer accounts for more than 3 percent of revenue[1]. And it would be safe to assume that they negotiated just as hard with Fedex as UPS. USPS might actually be subsidizing Amazon's packages because of how their costs are calculated[2]. So not so bad for the other carriers.. and unless Amazon opens it up to other companies to use, they aren't going to rival UPS or even FedEx in revenue. 0. https://www.thestreet.com/story/13433347/2/59-billion-reasons-amazon-is-not-a-threat-to-ups.html https://www.thestreet.com/story/13433347/2/59-billion-reason... 1. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/05/amazons-new-delivery-program-may-not-hurt-ups-and-fedex-experts.html https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/05/amazons-new-delivery-program... 2. http://fortune.com/2017/07/16/amazon-postal-service-subsidy/ http://fortune.com/2017/07/16/amazon-postal-service-subsidy/ Edit: since the first link was written... Amazon has doubled their shipping expenses to $16B (of course, some of that cost is setting up their own shipping service): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000101872417000011/amzn-20161231x10k.htm https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000101872417... If they can get that entirely under their service, that'll be significant.. but for comparison, Fedex has $50B/yr revenue.
- kennethologist 9y ago
  "So not so bad for either company.. and unless Amazon opens it up to other companies to use, they aren't going to rival UPS or even FedEx in revenue." Seems they will at some point in the future. They already allow any packages to be delivered to their lockers [0]. So it's not too far-fetched they'll soon allow any shipper to use their "delivery" service. 0. https://thehub.amazon.com/ https://thehub.amazon.com/
  - mcny 9y ago
    I imagine ideally Amazon.com would prefer merchants use "fulfilled by Amazon" and leave the logistics of shipping from Amazon to the customer up to Amazon.
williamscales 9y ago
In Santa Clara, CA, Amazon logistics has been good for me. The drivers will consistently call me on my cellphone if they can't find my (weirdly placed) apartment which is more than I can say for UPS.
- bogomipz 9y ago
  I apologize if this is a silly question but is "Amazon Logistics" just the umbrella term for whatever local courier service they contract with?
  - kevan 9y ago
    Basically, yes: https://logistics.amazon.com/ https://logistics.amazon.com/
  - ErrantX 9y ago
    I believe so. In some parts of the UK this goes all the way down to individual contractors, of the man-with-a-van type. As you can imagine this leads to a mixed exxperience because they are all self employed. Interestingly, about 18 months ago they appeared to change tactics and begin contracting mostly foreign drivers. Ive theorised this was a cost thing; delivery experience went through the floor, I think they are paid a pittance per parcel and so deliveries to my house, which can be hard to locate and therefore takes time, winds them up. Ive had drivers full on scream in my face over how long it has taken to find me.
  - williamscales 9y ago
    I'm not 100% sure. But the drivers are usually operating white panel vans with an Amazon logo (iirc...). The drivers wear high-viz vests and when they call you, it is a Washington area code (which suggests to me they are using an Amazon system). My understanding was that Amazon has been working towards their own courier service for a while.
Animats 9y ago
Is Amazon actually doing delivery with their own people, or are they just rebranding and reselling something?
- kevan 9y ago
  Mostly reselling. Amazon Logistics is larger-scale company level delivery contracting, usually for defined service areas . Amazon Flex is the Uber for package delivery variant.
gt_ 9y ago
the best name for this service would be 'River'
odiroot 9y ago
They are already using their own service here in Germany. I guess in practice it's a subcontractor anyway but they only drive for Amazon (branded cars) and are not associated with any of the big delivery companies.
xedarius 9y ago
I hope Amazon do something great here. Delivery firms are all awful. They only have one job, get the package to me. So why are you delivering it at 11am when you know I'm at work? And then again tomorrow, and again, and then leave it at your depot where the onus is on me to collect it. Why not deliver it at 7pm when I'm home from work? If supermarkets can manage it (and delivery is their secondary business) - I'm sure a delivery company should be able to pull this kind of service out the bag. For once I'm rooting for team Amazon.
- nakedrobot2 9y ago
  Yep, just like taxi drivers, no one has any sympathy whatsoever for these logistics companies. My gripe is that every package I receive, is from abroad. Every single time, fedex (ups, dhl, ...) ask me for the exact same information (address, eori number, ...) even if I have an account with them, they don't know this information about me, even though I told them last week. I thought a logistics company might have a better handle on their processes. But none of them do!
- danmaz74 9y ago
  > Why not deliver it at 7pm when I'm home from work? Maybe because most people would like to get deliveries outside of normal working hours, but you can't (and shouldn't) force all delivery people to work outside normal working hours?
  - xedarius 9y ago
    Agreed, why not let me choose though.
    - KGIII 9y ago
      I think their comment meant that you'd be choosing not just for you, but you would also be making that choice for the employees that had to deliver your stuff. The employees would still need to cover a diverse area and thus they'd need nearly the same number of employees to cover after-hours delivery. Though, maybe there is some sort of potential market there. Get your stuff shipped to a drop location and they will deliver it to you at your convenience.
radicalbyte 9y ago
It's interesting because the biggest Amazon competitor here in The Netherlands - Coolblue - are doing exactly the same thing. Funny thing is is that Amazon can't compete with the local incumbents here so they have a tiny market share.
- ddnb 9y ago
  i'd thought Bol would've been the biggest competitor, no?
  - radicalbyte 9y ago
    In books easily, but CoolBlue are massive in pretty much everything else.
veidr 9y ago
Amazon USA recently started shipping all kinds of shit to Japan (where I live). We use Amazon Japan a lot, but there are all kinds of products that aren't sold here. The shipping is pretty reasonable; a few dollars for 6-10 day delivery. I recently bought a PS4 Pro and had it delivered 2nd day for cheaper than I could buy that same thing here, which was pretty mind-blowing. I've now used it dozens of times. Sometimes its UPS or one of the regular delivery firms, but a few times its been some dude in a muscle shirt and no uniform who just rings the bell and says, "Hello, this is Amazon".
hownottowrite 9y ago
If you're curious about where they're going, have a peek at the job listings for "last mile": https://www.amazon.jobs/en/search?base_query=last+mile https://www.amazon.jobs/en/search?base_query=last+mile
drusepth 9y ago
This seems like a necessary step to automating delivery (like their drone delivery program). I'm not sure anyone thought they were going to convince UPS/USPS/FedEx to start using drones or other mechanical means to deliver mail: they need their own delivery service to test from and roll out to.
nmeofthestate 9y ago
NB: INSTANTLY PLAYING LOUD VIDEO
denisehilton 9y ago
I really like the fact that Amazon it's expanding its horizon so fast. I am really hoping for a global shipping service in the coming years.
acranox 9y ago
I haven’t had ups or fedex deliver an amazon package to me in about two years. But I miss it. Instead some random person pulls up in a beat up minivan and leaves a package on my steps, and now they take a picture of them the porch before leaving. It’s all just too weird. I preferred getting packages from ups.
- abrowne 9y ago
  Here they're in white commercial vans, but otherwise the same. My duplex entrance is around the side, but they always are left on the front steps. At least my Amazon for Business account at work seems to only use USPS or UPS. The Amazon people had no idea where to go inside our large University campus building.
- rmrfrmrf 9y ago
  I’ve never had an issue with Amazon’s couriers. It’s not like our UPS/FedEx drivers go out of their way to differentiate themselves from the competition, and as long as my stuff gets here on time and undamaged, I don’t really care about how it’s getting delivered. Taking a photo of the delivery on the porch doesn’t seem strange to me at all, either.
Dowwie 9y ago
No mention in this story about the Teamsters union supporting UPS drivers. These freelance, gig-economy drivers that Amazon will replace UPS with won't have a leg to stand on unless they organize just as the UPS drivers did.
- Eridrus 9y ago
  FWIW FedEx also classifies their workers as contractors.
peterkshultz 9y ago
Vertical integration at its finest. I feel that this will only embolden people who claim Amazon is becoming a monopoly (even though the numbers don't support it).
macca321 9y ago
Maybe UPS and FedEx should be building huge warehouses of stock next to their delivery centres and opening online stores?
soniman 9y ago
This is the equivalent of Google building a cable company. It's just negotiating leverage and spare capacity for Christmas, Amazon has no intention of building this out.
- yourfate 9y ago
  Here in germany amazon delivers many of it's packages with their own service, and has for more than a year now.
jotato 9y ago
Amazon delivery has been bringing packages to us for nearly a year now. A few things I have noticed: 1) They can never find our house. Now, We do live in a newer neighborhood (3 yrs old) but USPS, UPS, and FedEx don't have a problem. AMZL US will often miss deliveries because they can't find our house. Usually this just sets the delivery back a day, sometimes 2 or 3. The worst case was 3 weeks. 2) They deliver late. Not really a con; just a fact. if AMZL US is delivering the package it won't get to us before 5. 3) Their drivers are not professionals. I get the feeling anyone can deliver for them. I swear half of the people I see are Uber drivers who don't have a route ATM. 4) Just yesterday AMZL US brought me a package. They guy who brought it didn't know how to scan the package to mark it as delivered. He actually had us do it for him. They have a long way to go before if they want to take this seriously
- macspoofing 9y ago
  >Their drivers are not professionals. I get the feeling anyone can deliver for them. I swear half of the people I see are Uber drivers who don't have a route ATM. That's exactly what they are. See more here: https://logistics.amazon.com/ https://logistics.amazon.com/
  - mabbo 9y ago
    http://logistics.amazon.com http://logistics.amazon.com is for small companies to work as contractors for AMZL. AMZL doesn't actually employ any drivers- they hire lots and lots of small companies that work on contracts paid on a per-route basis (1 route is a days work for one driver, generally). Those small companies can find people anywhere they like, so long as they can do the job. https://flex.amazon.com/ https://flex.amazon.com/ on the other hand takes it even further: literally everyone is an uber-style single-person contractor doing n-hour contracts with AMZL or Prime Now to delivery packages. No middle-man contracting company.
    - macspoofing 9y ago
      Thanks. Good info. I assumed the logistics site was for 'independent contractors'
DarronWyke 9y ago
I'll echo many of the problems listed in this discussion with the Amazon Logistics service. Here in DFW, there's 5 main delivery vehicles for Amazon packages: USPS, UPS, Fedex, AMZL US, and LSO (Lonestar Overnight, for some overnight/same day delivery). USPS is...USPS. Never really had a great interaction with them. Our local substation is godawful. Never attempts to deliver large packages (currently in an apartment with parcel lockers). I've found them holding onto boxes of mail with no real warning. UPS used be really good; the same driver would deliver to my apartment that also delivered/took pickups from my work 3mi away. But lately that's changed and UPS can be somewhat hit or miss, usually erring more on the side of hit. Fedex used to be really terrible but they've stepped their game up significantly and hit far more than miss. Amazon Logistics? Hah. I'd say maybe a 30% hit rate if that. Many times packages simply go past their delivery date and I have to spend time with Amazon on the phone getting it resent with same/next day delivery with a reputable carrier. Most of the time they just drop and run, never knock on the door or anything (my wife is home much of the time and I have to tell her that something's been delivered because neither she or the dog know that there's someone at the door). LSO is great. Never had a problem with them. They hustle their asses off and frequently deliver early and without an issue. As are a few of the other contracted couriers I've seen used.
mxuribe 9y ago
(Apologies, maybe i should have posted this as its own blog post...but meh, too late, I've posted it here...) So...maybe it might be silly of me to ask, but why aren't FedEx and UPS attempting to encroach into (at least some of) Amazon's territory? For example, FedEx and UPS could make plays to compete with the AWS/IaaS offering. Oh, i know they would trail far behind AWS for several years - including trailing after google and microsft for that matter - but recall that amazon built their infrastructure for their benefit, and it was only later began selling it to others. I suppose even if FedEx, UPS don't become leaders in the IaaS industry, at least, if they get enough big customers, that would give them massive economies of scale that benefits their core parcel delivery business. Also, beyond simply delivery, what else can these guys do - either to fight Amazon, or build new business for themselves? Here are my admittedly outlandish steps for FedEx, UPS to compete with amazon and build new businesses... Step 1: Change from a company that only ships packages to one that ships packages and datagrams. Basically, build up their tech infrastructure like what amazon did to eventually offer aws. This would enable them to reap plenty of cost-savings over time. Then build up enough to sell to other customers for the long-term; just like Amazon did. (Even if their platform is not as developer-friendly as AWS, they could target legacy-type enterprises.) Step 2: Add services where regular, paper mail is received, scanned in, and delivered electronically to the recipient. Now, this may not be novel, as I know there are already services like this that exist: but this would be implemented on a massive scale...at least until most of humanity's correspondence eventually becomes all digital. I'd like to clarify that I'm of the very paranoid type of person, and would not like this service at all for privacy implications...But i have to acknowledge that there are plenty of people who have no issues with this, and/or in some cases greatly benefit from such a service - one example i can think of: military personnel receiving their regular mail via this service while they are abroad serving. Step 3: I think UPS already does some of the following to some degree (not sure about FedEx), but add warehousing and other distributor-type support activities. Basically move up the supply chain. This positions FedEx, UPS from "just the delivery company", to a strategic partner who "gets my company's products over to my customers". This turns these guys from simply a delivery company into a "logistics, data, and delivery" partner. Step 4: Now this one is ambitious...Add wide-scale, high-production 3-d printing of products. Now, admittedly, there are alot of constraints around this, such as but not limited to the products being printed couldn't be so complex. But if all we're talking about is something simple like hair combs, etc., then why couldn't FedEX, UPS become the producers of such products, and deliver them for me. I come up with ideas for products, submit some 3d printer design files into some sort of FedEx or UPS receiving system, and FedEx, UPS both produces them and delivers them. Some might ask, but couldn't i just purchase my own 3d printer and produce my own hair comb, etc.? Yes, but I'm talking here about massive scale of production. As a product company, if i can save tons of money by having my products produced somewhat local to me, which might avoid transit (especially trans-oceanic) costs, and then delivered by the same company, i can imagine it might save plenty of money across much of the supply (and delivery) chain. Again, it may not apply to all product categories, but i can see a future for a company to be an ad hoc manufacturing provider. (Again, apologies for the length of my post here.)

206 points by SREinSF 9y ago

mc32 9y ago

I'm sure they know their own numbers... that said, how is it cheaper to have warehousing run by your sellers (who distributed as they may be, do not have the efficiencies/automation AMZ has) and, as it pertains couriers, I had thought the likes of them had vertically integrated into warehousing services for their customers? Or have they been outflanked by AMZ despite having decades of logistics experience for very diverse industries?

UnoriginalGuy 9y ago
> how is it cheaper to have warehousing run by your sellers When you think about the people selling on Amazon's platform as "partners" then your point is very valid. When you think about those other sellers as "competitors" then this strategy makes a lot more sense. A lot of third parties have complained that they joined Amazon's platform, did well, but then had an "AmazonBasics" version of their product turn up, under-cut them, and appear at the top of rankings squeezing the original product out. For example, search on Amazon for "Ladder Golf." Top ranked result and "Amazon Choice" is an AmazonBasics set for $26.99, added in May 2016, with only 51 reviews. The second result, by GoSports, has 748 reviews, has sold since October 2012, but for $49.99. You'll note that Amazon's product added four years after GoSport's product has a strikingly similar design. My point is, this is what Amazon does. It waits for sellers to do well, clones their product, and then competes with them on price (which Amazon can due to its sheer scale). You could legitimately argue customers benefit from lower prices, which is undeniable, but customers also benefit from a competitive marketplace. Once Amazon has no competition they can increase prices again. PS - I have absolutely no association with any of the products or companies listed above. I picked "Ladder Golf" as an example as a lot of people don't realise AmazonBasics has expanded well beyond electronics/cables/batteries into things like toys, household goods, garden supplies, and so on...

tfinniga 9y ago

In the UK, some Amazon deliveries were sent via 'Amazon Logistics', which was usually someone in a little car full of packages. I think it's been going on for at least the last 3 or 4 years?

bdcravens 9y ago
They've had the same in the US for a while as well. What makes this different is that they are handling both sides of the delivery, whereas before they were delivering from their own warehouse.
gordeh 9y ago
Yeah, most of our amazon parcels are delivered directly by them to us. I order a load of amazon parcels, usually 3-4 a week minimum and they are ok. They started out terribly, but Amazon seems to have got their head round it nowadays.

ocdtrekkie 9y ago

This has to be a nightmare scenario for FedEx and UPS. From my understanding, a decent number of their flights are pretty much paid for on Amazon deliveries alone: The scale that Amazon ships at makes it feasible to quickly deliver many other packages economically. If Amazon chooses to cut FedEx and UPS out of the deal (even partially), how much will that impact those companies' ability to operate two-day shipping affordably?

skynetv2 9y ago
no kidding. about four UPS flights land in my city's airport everyday, which happens to be one of the distribution centers / warehouse locations for Amazon for norther CA.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

williw 9y ago

Amazon Logistics have lost my packages several times. I had to call them every time they use their own delivery service. I told them to use Google Maps, but was told they don't have a smartphone. Luckily their customer service rep was great, and either refunded or shipped replacements.

skynetv2 9y ago
yes, same experience here. the only time my packages did not arrive on time / got delayed / refunded was on Amazon delivery service.
dawnerd 9y ago
> but was told they don't have a smartphone Every time they've delivered to me they've had their phone out with the Amazon app with directions and a button to mark delivered so someone was lying to you.

tehwebguy 9y ago

Amazon delivers like 25% of the stuff we order directly in Venice. They get the address wrong far more often then USPS, UPS and FedEx, in our experience. A neighbor 5 houses down has the same street number, technically on a different street, but it faces the same way as ours so if you just eyeball it without verifying on the map it's easy to mess up. I'm sure they will improve but it's obvious having a consistent driver for an area is important, especially if addresses are weird. Also they have to scan the package and my front door is basically a cellular dead zone, it costs them a lot of time trying to find the sweet spot to scan on their mobile device before taking off to the next stop.

megablast 9y ago
Wow, didn’t know they were big outside the US?
- 24gttghh 9y ago
  I'm pretty sure the United States Postal Service doesn't deliver to Venice, Italy. He's probably referring to Venice, California; a suburb of LA.
  - tehwebguy 9y ago
    Yep, sorry for the confusion!
- yourfate 9y ago
  Here in Munich, Germany I get most of my amazon packages via amazon logistics, and have for at least a year. They are great here, they usually find a way to leave the package, I haven't had to go pick it up yet.

legitster 9y ago

The crazy thing is Amazon keeps entering these hyper-competetive, low margin industries. It's pretty tough to cry foul that they are acting like a trust when they constantly position themselves as the third or fourth player breaking up an oligopoly.

chii 9y ago
Or, if you're cynical, you can say they are playing the long game. Once amazon controls the full vertical for everything, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone else to do business with. Then, they can turn up the money faucet.
- 201709User 9y ago
  I will use baby boomer approach - benefit today, screw the future.
- beauzero 9y ago
  Books is a good indicator. We have about 100k+ listings at any given point. We have seen at least 50% of our competitors go out of business since the last rate hike (mid summer). ...you are now paying about $3 more per book and the majority of that now goes to Amazon. Not the third party seller. They raised % taken and also began taking a percentage of shipping fee which is why you see a bunch of third party sellers listing free shipping. Basically they caught up to Ebay in that regard. "Used" books are not really profitable to sell on Amazon anymore. If you want better prices go to Abebooks.com. Same sellers and generally $2-3 cheaper now.
  - jotato 9y ago
    Abebooks.com? Never heard it it. thank you!
  - ghaff 9y ago
    Though note that Amazon owns Abebooks.
  - olegkikin 9y ago

cmsimike 9y ago

I have a < 50% delivery rate to my apartment when Amazon delivers it and the past two deliveries to work were "delivery attempted" even though they never tried to deliver it into the office.

adamnemecek 9y ago
Call them up and give them devivery instructions. I used to have the same problem, it’s gotten better.
- daveFNbuck 9y ago
  I have the same issue, and I don't have instructions to solve it. All I know is that every other delivery company has managed to figure this out without my help.
eqmvii 9y ago
Whenever an Amazon contracted courier tries to deliver a package, they call my cellphone because they can't get into the apartment's lobby. It's so frustrating, and a ridiculous step backward - UPS, USPS, and FedEx are all completely fine. But if Amazon's Algorithm decides to send it via an Amazon contracted courier instead, I'd better be home and near my phone, or no delivery for me!
- shitlord 9y ago
  Same here, and I live next to an Amazon building. Whenever I have a grocery delivery, even if I do an unattended delivery, I have to be home.
- dawnerd 9y ago
  Contact amazon and tell them to mark your account to not use them. I had to because for some reason the drivers couldn't figure out the entrance to my apartment was around the corner and an unmarked emergency exit wasn't the entrance. Would get called early in the morning demanding me to go meet them on the street. The Amazon rep I talked to was able to make sure all my packages came from the "old" services and haven't had a problem since. Guess this is what happens when you hire people that have no experience with delivery goods and are not paid what real delivery people are.

chewyland 9y ago

Now they need to get into manufacturing.

lucaspiller 9y ago
They already have you covered: https://qz.com/1039381/amazon-owns-a-whole-collection-of-secret-brands/ https://qz.com/1039381/amazon-owns-a-whole-collection-of-sec...

tmnvix 9y ago

Product design, logistics, warehousing, delivery, IT infrastructure, physical stores, ecommerce. Plenty of companies have this kind of vertical integration too (e.g Apple) but none that I'm aware of do this across such a large range of products - nor do they then offer these as services to third parties (e.g. IT infrastructure, ecommerce). What else will Amazon decide to bring in-house? Manufacturing? Energy production? Consumer finance? EDIT: As an aside, I find it ironic that Amazon started out selling books. I know plenty of people (myself included) that have daydreamed about owning a little bookstore as a way of escaping the rat race. Success for most would look more like Bernard Black Than Jeff Bezos.

pelario 9y ago
Social networks?
moduspol 9y ago
They do have their "AmazonBasics" program [1] where they're selling their own "store brand" of things. I guess that's probably not their own manufacturing (they're likely just buying in bulk and branding it) but it might be. [1] https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics/pages/2528919011 https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics/pages/2528919011

_Codemonkeyism 9y ago

We have the receiving end of this for quite some time in Berlin. This is a huge pain compared to DHL and not working at all for me (Prime customer since beginning). Missed delivery dates. Didn't find the address several times, no one else had that problem. Software not working or drivers who had no clue about the software. Delivery to business address up until 9pm (!) Lost deliveries. Had many calls with Amazon customer support, they can't blacklist me for Amazon Logistics and they can't help in any way. Customer support told me on several occasions they know, they get this often but can't help. Weird thing: I saw several people who rented e.g. Enterprise vans for delivery, how is that paying?

ErrantX 9y ago
Thw business addresses thing was so ridiculous, I had to start paying for weekend deliveries at one point after a driver turned up to the office 7 days straight outside of work hours. (and yes it was the same driver)
a254613e 9y ago
I've had all those issues in Munich too. And I've managed to have amazon blacklist them for my account. One support rep told me that they have that option if you have more than 3 deliveries that they messed up. I've filed a complaint after every time they didn't deliver the package properly (as in, not delivered at all, even though it was possible), and then I sent an email with 5 or so order numbers, descriptions of what was wrong, and asked them to blacklist amazon logistics. Here's the quote from an email: >Since you mentioned that this is not the first time this has happened, please reply to my email, giving us 3 order numbers which you feel were improperly delivered by Amazon Logistics, together with the issues for each. >As soon as we receive them, we will file an official complaint against this carrier, trying to exclude them from future deliveries of your orders. Note: Some support reps insisted that it's not possible to blacklist a single delivery company.
michaelt 9y ago
I saw several people who rented e.g. Enterprise vans for delivery, how is that paying? At least in my country, companies that use "self employed" drivers have deals with vehicle hire companies so you can hire a vehicle to drive for the company - such as [1] and [2]. The hire is at the driver's risk, so there's lots of ways they can lose money, some outside of their control. For example [2] reports an undercover journalist being charged for a week's van hire but only given three days' worth of work - resulting in an hourly wage well below minimum wage. [1] https://xuberance.uber-vs.com/london https://xuberance.uber-vs.com/london [2] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37708996 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37708996

cjensen 9y ago

Today Amazon delivered a package to me at work. They ignored the "deliveries in rear" sign which directs them to the shipping dock. Went to front desk instead. They parked across a handicapped space in front. Not "in" the space, but askew so that it also blocked the handicap loading area between the two handicapped spaces. I like UPS. They're professionals.

mypalmike 9y ago
https://disabledaccessdenied.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/ups-shame1.jpg https://disabledaccessdenied.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/ups...
- dovdovdov 9y ago
  See, pros park two spaces.
prawn 9y ago
Isn't it funny that we consider the "last mile" or even last few feet the difficult part of deliveries, something that can't possibly be automated, but there are countless cases of presumably capable humans failing at basic but organic tasks like reading a sign or opening a gate.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- lucaspiller 9y ago
  I suspect this (and a lot of the issues often associated with deliveries) are because drivers are pressured into making as many deliveries as possible, so saving 30 seconds per delivery really adds up over a day.
  - simonbarker87 9y ago
    Yeah, it's this. all the Amazon logistics guys drive around like lunatics in my area and my company's daily DPD collection driver says they are penalized for bringing a package back so they absolutely have to find somewhere to leave it. Whats annoying is all of the big UK delivery companies offer a live tracking feature now and a one-hour delivery window with interactive SMS systems to manage delaying delivery etc. Amazon offers nothing, it's like going back 10 years as the parcel will arrive sometime between 8am and 8pm

dakotasmith 9y ago

Just attempting to do this will give them a hand in negotiating with FedEx and UPS.

jmspring 9y ago

Rural high sierras town for me, an hour from Reno and Truckee. Amazon delivers just fine, FedEx too (Chewy). The bigger hiccup moving up here was for Amazon’s logistics to realize my Bay Area locale wasn’t suitable to my new location...things come via Reno Now. They adapted well. Chewy using FedEx has been great too.

rgbrenner 9y ago

Amazon now has 43% of all ecommerce sales... Shipped: 30% UPS, 30% FedEx, and 40% USPS. This article says Amazon accounts for $1B of UPS 60B revenue -- only 1.67%[0]. And Amazon cut out almost all of the profits from those deliveries, with discounts over 70%... so Amazon contributed little to their income. Wasn't able to find numbers for Fedex.. but they say no single customer accounts for more than 3 percent of revenue[1]. And it would be safe to assume that they negotiated just as hard with Fedex as UPS. USPS might actually be subsidizing Amazon's packages because of how their costs are calculated[2]. So not so bad for the other carriers.. and unless Amazon opens it up to other companies to use, they aren't going to rival UPS or even FedEx in revenue. 0. https://www.thestreet.com/story/13433347/2/59-billion-reasons-amazon-is-not-a-threat-to-ups.html https://www.thestreet.com/story/13433347/2/59-billion-reason... 1. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/05/amazons-new-delivery-program-may-not-hurt-ups-and-fedex-experts.html https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/05/amazons-new-delivery-program... 2. http://fortune.com/2017/07/16/amazon-postal-service-subsidy/ http://fortune.com/2017/07/16/amazon-postal-service-subsidy/ Edit: since the first link was written... Amazon has doubled their shipping expenses to $16B (of course, some of that cost is setting up their own shipping service): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000101872417000011/amzn-20161231x10k.htm https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000101872417... If they can get that entirely under their service, that'll be significant.. but for comparison, Fedex has $50B/yr revenue.

kennethologist 9y ago
"So not so bad for either company.. and unless Amazon opens it up to other companies to use, they aren't going to rival UPS or even FedEx in revenue." Seems they will at some point in the future. They already allow any packages to be delivered to their lockers [0]. So it's not too far-fetched they'll soon allow any shipper to use their "delivery" service. 0. https://thehub.amazon.com/ https://thehub.amazon.com/
- mcny 9y ago
  I imagine ideally Amazon.com would prefer merchants use "fulfilled by Amazon" and leave the logistics of shipping from Amazon to the customer up to Amazon.

williamscales 9y ago

In Santa Clara, CA, Amazon logistics has been good for me. The drivers will consistently call me on my cellphone if they can't find my (weirdly placed) apartment which is more than I can say for UPS.

bogomipz 9y ago
I apologize if this is a silly question but is "Amazon Logistics" just the umbrella term for whatever local courier service they contract with?
- kevan 9y ago
  Basically, yes: https://logistics.amazon.com/ https://logistics.amazon.com/
- ErrantX 9y ago
  I believe so. In some parts of the UK this goes all the way down to individual contractors, of the man-with-a-van type. As you can imagine this leads to a mixed exxperience because they are all self employed. Interestingly, about 18 months ago they appeared to change tactics and begin contracting mostly foreign drivers. Ive theorised this was a cost thing; delivery experience went through the floor, I think they are paid a pittance per parcel and so deliveries to my house, which can be hard to locate and therefore takes time, winds them up. Ive had drivers full on scream in my face over how long it has taken to find me.
- williamscales 9y ago
  I'm not 100% sure. But the drivers are usually operating white panel vans with an Amazon logo (iirc...). The drivers wear high-viz vests and when they call you, it is a Washington area code (which suggests to me they are using an Amazon system). My understanding was that Amazon has been working towards their own courier service for a while.

Animats 9y ago

Is Amazon actually doing delivery with their own people, or are they just rebranding and reselling something?

kevan 9y ago
Mostly reselling. Amazon Logistics is larger-scale company level delivery contracting, usually for defined service areas . Amazon Flex is the Uber for package delivery variant.

gt_ 9y ago

the best name for this service would be 'River'

odiroot 9y ago

They are already using their own service here in Germany. I guess in practice it's a subcontractor anyway but they only drive for Amazon (branded cars) and are not associated with any of the big delivery companies.

xedarius 9y ago

I hope Amazon do something great here. Delivery firms are all awful. They only have one job, get the package to me. So why are you delivering it at 11am when you know I'm at work? And then again tomorrow, and again, and then leave it at your depot where the onus is on me to collect it. Why not deliver it at 7pm when I'm home from work? If supermarkets can manage it (and delivery is their secondary business) - I'm sure a delivery company should be able to pull this kind of service out the bag. For once I'm rooting for team Amazon.

nakedrobot2 9y ago
Yep, just like taxi drivers, no one has any sympathy whatsoever for these logistics companies. My gripe is that every package I receive, is from abroad. Every single time, fedex (ups, dhl, ...) ask me for the exact same information (address, eori number, ...) even if I have an account with them, they don't know this information about me, even though I told them last week. I thought a logistics company might have a better handle on their processes. But none of them do!
danmaz74 9y ago
> Why not deliver it at 7pm when I'm home from work? Maybe because most people would like to get deliveries outside of normal working hours, but you can't (and shouldn't) force all delivery people to work outside normal working hours?
- xedarius 9y ago
  Agreed, why not let me choose though.
  - KGIII 9y ago
    I think their comment meant that you'd be choosing not just for you, but you would also be making that choice for the employees that had to deliver your stuff. The employees would still need to cover a diverse area and thus they'd need nearly the same number of employees to cover after-hours delivery. Though, maybe there is some sort of potential market there. Get your stuff shipped to a drop location and they will deliver it to you at your convenience.

radicalbyte 9y ago

It's interesting because the biggest Amazon competitor here in The Netherlands - Coolblue - are doing exactly the same thing. Funny thing is is that Amazon can't compete with the local incumbents here so they have a tiny market share.

ddnb 9y ago
i'd thought Bol would've been the biggest competitor, no?
- radicalbyte 9y ago
  In books easily, but CoolBlue are massive in pretty much everything else.

veidr 9y ago

Amazon USA recently started shipping all kinds of shit to Japan (where I live). We use Amazon Japan a lot, but there are all kinds of products that aren't sold here. The shipping is pretty reasonable; a few dollars for 6-10 day delivery. I recently bought a PS4 Pro and had it delivered 2nd day for cheaper than I could buy that same thing here, which was pretty mind-blowing. I've now used it dozens of times. Sometimes its UPS or one of the regular delivery firms, but a few times its been some dude in a muscle shirt and no uniform who just rings the bell and says, "Hello, this is Amazon".

hownottowrite 9y ago

If you're curious about where they're going, have a peek at the job listings for "last mile": https://www.amazon.jobs/en/search?base_query=last+mile https://www.amazon.jobs/en/search?base_query=last+mile

drusepth 9y ago

This seems like a necessary step to automating delivery (like their drone delivery program). I'm not sure anyone thought they were going to convince UPS/USPS/FedEx to start using drones or other mechanical means to deliver mail: they need their own delivery service to test from and roll out to.

nmeofthestate 9y ago

NB: INSTANTLY PLAYING LOUD VIDEO

denisehilton 9y ago

I really like the fact that Amazon it's expanding its horizon so fast. I am really hoping for a global shipping service in the coming years.

acranox 9y ago

I haven’t had ups or fedex deliver an amazon package to me in about two years. But I miss it. Instead some random person pulls up in a beat up minivan and leaves a package on my steps, and now they take a picture of them the porch before leaving. It’s all just too weird. I preferred getting packages from ups.

abrowne 9y ago
Here they're in white commercial vans, but otherwise the same. My duplex entrance is around the side, but they always are left on the front steps. At least my Amazon for Business account at work seems to only use USPS or UPS. The Amazon people had no idea where to go inside our large University campus building.
rmrfrmrf 9y ago
I’ve never had an issue with Amazon’s couriers. It’s not like our UPS/FedEx drivers go out of their way to differentiate themselves from the competition, and as long as my stuff gets here on time and undamaged, I don’t really care about how it’s getting delivered. Taking a photo of the delivery on the porch doesn’t seem strange to me at all, either.

Dowwie 9y ago

No mention in this story about the Teamsters union supporting UPS drivers. These freelance, gig-economy drivers that Amazon will replace UPS with won't have a leg to stand on unless they organize just as the UPS drivers did.

Eridrus 9y ago
FWIW FedEx also classifies their workers as contractors.

peterkshultz 9y ago

Vertical integration at its finest. I feel that this will only embolden people who claim Amazon is becoming a monopoly (even though the numbers don't support it).

macca321 9y ago

Maybe UPS and FedEx should be building huge warehouses of stock next to their delivery centres and opening online stores?

soniman 9y ago

This is the equivalent of Google building a cable company. It's just negotiating leverage and spare capacity for Christmas, Amazon has no intention of building this out.

yourfate 9y ago
Here in germany amazon delivers many of it's packages with their own service, and has for more than a year now.

jotato 9y ago

Amazon delivery has been bringing packages to us for nearly a year now. A few things I have noticed: 1) They can never find our house. Now, We do live in a newer neighborhood (3 yrs old) but USPS, UPS, and FedEx don't have a problem. AMZL US will often miss deliveries because they can't find our house. Usually this just sets the delivery back a day, sometimes 2 or 3. The worst case was 3 weeks. 2) They deliver late. Not really a con; just a fact. if AMZL US is delivering the package it won't get to us before 5. 3) Their drivers are not professionals. I get the feeling anyone can deliver for them. I swear half of the people I see are Uber drivers who don't have a route ATM. 4) Just yesterday AMZL US brought me a package. They guy who brought it didn't know how to scan the package to mark it as delivered. He actually had us do it for him. They have a long way to go before if they want to take this seriously

macspoofing 9y ago
>Their drivers are not professionals. I get the feeling anyone can deliver for them. I swear half of the people I see are Uber drivers who don't have a route ATM. That's exactly what they are. See more here: https://logistics.amazon.com/ https://logistics.amazon.com/
- mabbo 9y ago
  http://logistics.amazon.com http://logistics.amazon.com is for small companies to work as contractors for AMZL. AMZL doesn't actually employ any drivers- they hire lots and lots of small companies that work on contracts paid on a per-route basis (1 route is a days work for one driver, generally). Those small companies can find people anywhere they like, so long as they can do the job. https://flex.amazon.com/ https://flex.amazon.com/ on the other hand takes it even further: literally everyone is an uber-style single-person contractor doing n-hour contracts with AMZL or Prime Now to delivery packages. No middle-man contracting company.
  - macspoofing 9y ago
    Thanks. Good info. I assumed the logistics site was for 'independent contractors'

DarronWyke 9y ago

I'll echo many of the problems listed in this discussion with the Amazon Logistics service. Here in DFW, there's 5 main delivery vehicles for Amazon packages: USPS, UPS, Fedex, AMZL US, and LSO (Lonestar Overnight, for some overnight/same day delivery). USPS is...USPS. Never really had a great interaction with them. Our local substation is godawful. Never attempts to deliver large packages (currently in an apartment with parcel lockers). I've found them holding onto boxes of mail with no real warning. UPS used be really good; the same driver would deliver to my apartment that also delivered/took pickups from my work 3mi away. But lately that's changed and UPS can be somewhat hit or miss, usually erring more on the side of hit. Fedex used to be really terrible but they've stepped their game up significantly and hit far more than miss. Amazon Logistics? Hah. I'd say maybe a 30% hit rate if that. Many times packages simply go past their delivery date and I have to spend time with Amazon on the phone getting it resent with same/next day delivery with a reputable carrier. Most of the time they just drop and run, never knock on the door or anything (my wife is home much of the time and I have to tell her that something's been delivered because neither she or the dog know that there's someone at the door). LSO is great. Never had a problem with them. They hustle their asses off and frequently deliver early and without an issue. As are a few of the other contracted couriers I've seen used.

mxuribe 9y ago

(Apologies, maybe i should have posted this as its own blog post...but meh, too late, I've posted it here...) So...maybe it might be silly of me to ask, but why aren't FedEx and UPS attempting to encroach into (at least some of) Amazon's territory? For example, FedEx and UPS could make plays to compete with the AWS/IaaS offering. Oh, i know they would trail far behind AWS for several years - including trailing after google and microsft for that matter - but recall that amazon built their infrastructure for their benefit, and it was only later began selling it to others. I suppose even if FedEx, UPS don't become leaders in the IaaS industry, at least, if they get enough big customers, that would give them massive economies of scale that benefits their core parcel delivery business. Also, beyond simply delivery, what else can these guys do - either to fight Amazon, or build new business for themselves? Here are my admittedly outlandish steps for FedEx, UPS to compete with amazon and build new businesses... Step 1: Change from a company that only ships packages to one that ships packages and datagrams. Basically, build up their tech infrastructure like what amazon did to eventually offer aws. This would enable them to reap plenty of cost-savings over time. Then build up enough to sell to other customers for the long-term; just like Amazon did. (Even if their platform is not as developer-friendly as AWS, they could target legacy-type enterprises.) Step 2: Add services where regular, paper mail is received, scanned in, and delivered electronically to the recipient. Now, this may not be novel, as I know there are already services like this that exist: but this would be implemented on a massive scale...at least until most of humanity's correspondence eventually becomes all digital. I'd like to clarify that I'm of the very paranoid type of person, and would not like this service at all for privacy implications...But i have to acknowledge that there are plenty of people who have no issues with this, and/or in some cases greatly benefit from such a service - one example i can think of: military personnel receiving their regular mail via this service while they are abroad serving. Step 3: I think UPS already does some of the following to some degree (not sure about FedEx), but add warehousing and other distributor-type support activities. Basically move up the supply chain. This positions FedEx, UPS from "just the delivery company", to a strategic partner who "gets my company's products over to my customers". This turns these guys from simply a delivery company into a "logistics, data, and delivery" partner. Step 4: Now this one is ambitious...Add wide-scale, high-production 3-d printing of products. Now, admittedly, there are alot of constraints around this, such as but not limited to the products being printed couldn't be so complex. But if all we're talking about is something simple like hair combs, etc., then why couldn't FedEX, UPS become the producers of such products, and deliver them for me. I come up with ideas for products, submit some 3d printer design files into some sort of FedEx or UPS receiving system, and FedEx, UPS both produces them and delivers them. Some might ask, but couldn't i just purchase my own 3d printer and produce my own hair comb, etc.? Yes, but I'm talking here about massive scale of production. As a product company, if i can save tons of money by having my products produced somewhat local to me, which might avoid transit (especially trans-oceanic) costs, and then delivered by the same company, i can imagine it might save plenty of money across much of the supply (and delivery) chain. Again, it may not apply to all product categories, but i can see a future for a company to be an ad hoc manufacturing provider. (Again, apologies for the length of my post here.)