4 ms·

I could see a future where Amazon does general shipping like FedEx as a side business to subsidize its real business.

mcpherrinm 7y ago
Much like AWS spun out of their in-house experience running flexible computing infrastructure, this would be a natural fit for them to flex their logistics strengths. Via their multi-channel fulfillment offerings, you can already use Amazon's logistics network to ship your products sold on or off of Amazon. This would just be supporting more type of shipments than just fulfillment. On the other hand, Fedex, DHL, UPS etc have built a big part of their strengths of shipping worldwide overnight. That's very different than what Amazon does, where they try to warehouse products close to customers to minimize shipping distance and time. Great when you want to buy an iPhone, but not suitable for shipping a document from New York City to Tokyo.
- muddi900 7y ago
  Yeah, but most ecommerce operators have no incentive to use Amazon, because you are paying your competitor. There is a reason most grocery stores are shifting, or have already shifted to, Google or Microsoft for their cloud infrastructure.
  - bb611 7y ago
    It's a major issue with AWS across a bunch of sectors. I work at a large SaaS company transitioning to public cloud, the number of companies that contractually obligate us not to host on AWS is at least an order of magnitude higher than any other cloud provider.
  - blevo 7y ago
    >paying the competitor it's a good point, yet many still use Amazon/AWS regardless. Netflix, for instance (AWS). Then, on the micro-scale: FBA[0] sellers (Amazon Marketplace). I assume it has to do with the ultra low barrier to entry which Amazon/AWS provides. The convenience factor is off the charts. Nevertheless, I assume Netflix has ideations of following in Dropbox's footsteps.[1] [0] "Fulfilled by Amazon" [1] abandoning AWS for self-owned dedicated infrastructure
- gumby 7y ago
  > Much like AWS spun out of their in-house experience running flexible computing infrastructure Actually that’s a myth (https://www.networkworld.com/article/2891297/the-myth-about-how-amazon-s-web-service-started-just-won-t-die.html https://www.networkworld.com/article/2891297/the-myth-about-... ). Oddly, unlike most corporate founding myths (e.g. eBay and Pez) it wasn’t invented by company marketing.
Inconel 7y ago
I believe this is what SWA, Shipping with Amazon, aims to do.
thesuperbigfrog 7y ago
"Transportation By Amazon" (TBA) has been a concept at Amazon since around 2010 or so. Originally the concept was that Amazon would accept shipments from business customers and inject those shipments into Amazon's sorting and shipping network using the rates negiotated with various carriers. Since most of Amazon's negiotated rates with carriers are lower than what carriers offer to consumers directly, customers get lower prices and would benefit from Amazon's scale and customer service. Now with Amazon's own transportation network finally taking off, Transportation By Amazon has gone from a concept that would have relied exclusively on third-party carriers (e.g. UPS, FedEx, USPS, etc.) to a likely reality with primary reliance on Amazon's infrastructure and supported by third-party carriers where Amazon does not have a robust prescence.
- saltminer 7y ago
  Given how often I've had packages thrown haphazardly by Amazon drivers, I will gladly pay extra to have USPS handle my packages with slightly more care. It's an interesting idea, but their drivers are destroying their image before they've entered the market.
  - sturgill 7y ago
    Additionally, I have yet to ever have a driver ring the doorbell. They throw it at the house, mark it as complete, and trust that I’ll stumble across it later.
    - thesuperbigfrog 7y ago
      I would recommend signing up for the Amazon TextTrace delivery notifications. There is a prompt to sign up whenever you place an order. The notifications will send you a text message to your mobile phone or a push notification to the Amazon app on your smartphone as soon as your shipment gets delivered.
      - sturgill 7y ago
        I don’t mind text notices, but it will always have a higher latency than ringing my doorbell. The best though is getting alerts about a delivery and then going on a scavenger hunt to find the package. Will it be on the front porch? Will it be tucked behind a bush? Maybe I left my garage door open so the driver helpfully left it there...

Much like AWS spun out of their in-house experience running flexible computing infrastructure, this would be a natural fit for them to flex their logistics strengths. Via their multi-channel fulfillment offerings, you can already use Amazon's logistics network to ship your products sold on or off of Amazon. This would just be supporting more type of shipments than just fulfillment. On the other hand, Fedex, DHL, UPS etc have built a big part of their strengths of shipping worldwide overnight. That's very different than what Amazon does, where they try to warehouse products close to customers to minimize shipping distance and time. Great when you want to buy an iPhone, but not suitable for shipping a document from New York City to Tokyo.

muddi900 7y ago
Yeah, but most ecommerce operators have no incentive to use Amazon, because you are paying your competitor. There is a reason most grocery stores are shifting, or have already shifted to, Google or Microsoft for their cloud infrastructure.
- bb611 7y ago
  It's a major issue with AWS across a bunch of sectors. I work at a large SaaS company transitioning to public cloud, the number of companies that contractually obligate us not to host on AWS is at least an order of magnitude higher than any other cloud provider.
- blevo 7y ago
  >paying the competitor it's a good point, yet many still use Amazon/AWS regardless. Netflix, for instance (AWS). Then, on the micro-scale: FBA[0] sellers (Amazon Marketplace). I assume it has to do with the ultra low barrier to entry which Amazon/AWS provides. The convenience factor is off the charts. Nevertheless, I assume Netflix has ideations of following in Dropbox's footsteps.[1] [0] "Fulfilled by Amazon" [1] abandoning AWS for self-owned dedicated infrastructure
gumby 7y ago
> Much like AWS spun out of their in-house experience running flexible computing infrastructure Actually that’s a myth (https://www.networkworld.com/article/2891297/the-myth-about-how-amazon-s-web-service-started-just-won-t-die.html https://www.networkworld.com/article/2891297/the-myth-about-... ). Oddly, unlike most corporate founding myths (e.g. eBay and Pez) it wasn’t invented by company marketing.

Inconel 7y ago

I believe this is what SWA, Shipping with Amazon, aims to do.

thesuperbigfrog 7y ago

"Transportation By Amazon" (TBA) has been a concept at Amazon since around 2010 or so. Originally the concept was that Amazon would accept shipments from business customers and inject those shipments into Amazon's sorting and shipping network using the rates negiotated with various carriers. Since most of Amazon's negiotated rates with carriers are lower than what carriers offer to consumers directly, customers get lower prices and would benefit from Amazon's scale and customer service. Now with Amazon's own transportation network finally taking off, Transportation By Amazon has gone from a concept that would have relied exclusively on third-party carriers (e.g. UPS, FedEx, USPS, etc.) to a likely reality with primary reliance on Amazon's infrastructure and supported by third-party carriers where Amazon does not have a robust prescence.

saltminer 7y ago
Given how often I've had packages thrown haphazardly by Amazon drivers, I will gladly pay extra to have USPS handle my packages with slightly more care. It's an interesting idea, but their drivers are destroying their image before they've entered the market.
- sturgill 7y ago
  Additionally, I have yet to ever have a driver ring the doorbell. They throw it at the house, mark it as complete, and trust that I’ll stumble across it later.
  - thesuperbigfrog 7y ago
    I would recommend signing up for the Amazon TextTrace delivery notifications. There is a prompt to sign up whenever you place an order. The notifications will send you a text message to your mobile phone or a push notification to the Amazon app on your smartphone as soon as your shipment gets delivered.
    - sturgill 7y ago
      I don’t mind text notices, but it will always have a higher latency than ringing my doorbell. The best though is getting alerts about a delivery and then going on a scavenger hunt to find the package. Will it be on the front porch? Will it be tucked behind a bush? Maybe I left my garage door open so the driver helpfully left it there...