Order a package through Amazon and you may expect a UPS or FedEx truck to pull up outside your door bearing the goods. What if, in the future, it was Amazon that was delivering goods that you orders through its online marketplace? Word on the street is that Amazon is currently testing its own delivery service for the “last mile,” which is the final leg of a package’s journey to the customer’s doorstep. The service is reportedly being tested in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York where trucks with packages are going around, driven by contractors that Amazon supervises.
Obviously it is going to take Amazon a lot of time to develop a service that can truly take on UPS or FedEx. When it does though, Amazon will effectively be a full-service logistics company. Greater control over the process would even allow it to deliver packages on the same day, and may even cut costs.
Shoppers would get more control over when their packages are delivered. If Amazon has its own trucks, it can even offer late night deliveries or drop off goods at specific times. The big win for customers would be same day shipping, giving them yet another reason to avoid physical stores altogether.
Industry observers tell the Wall Street Journal that it would be hard for Amazon to match the efficiency of UPS and FedEx primarily because it will be delivering less packages in a significantly wider area. Conventional logistics companies have a big head start on the online retailer and it may not be that easy to tackle them head on. Maybe it should stick to the vision of using drones?
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