Packages from Amazon may soon be delivered in dedicated Amazon delivery vans rather than through services like UPS.
The Expansion of Amazon
Amazon, while originally a small online company focused on selling books, is now the largest online retailer in the world. You can get access to pretty much anything you can think of – delivered to your door within just two days in most cases, and the company has been reaping the rewards of being a dominant force in the online marketplace arena.
However, the majority of the profit Amazon has been seeing has been put right back into the company – propelling its growth at an incredible rate to the point where no online service can really threaten their hold on the market. With the recent acquisition of Whole Foods, Amazon reaffirmed their attentions to spread into into the food industry, and the company is hoping to edge out clothing retailers with fast shipping and easy returns.
All in all, there are very few industries that Amazon isn’t involved in, and it appears as if Amazon is hoping to keep more of their infrastructure focused on in-house development with the introduction of Amazon delivery vans.
Amazon Delivery Vans
Amazon is one of the largest customers for services like UPS, shipping millions of packages around the world each day. It’s safe to say that a large portion of Amazon’s expenses comes through shipping and the infrastructure surrounding it, so the addition of Amazon delivery vans may position the company to move further away from reliance on other organizations and focus instead on growing their own fleet of vehicles.
With a new program rolling out on Thursday, contractors around the country will be able to launch businesses that deliver Amazon packages – giving the company a number of ways to ship its packages without having to rely on traditional delivery services.
With more Amazon delivery vans on the road, Amazon has said that shoppers will be able to track packages on a map, contact the drive, or change here a package is left – all of which are currently impossible with the current relationship with a UPS or FedEx truck. Amazon is obviously focused primarily on profit, but providing a more convenient service to their buyers may drive more sales over the long run – and cutting out the middleman with Amazon delivery vans is probably a healthy decision for the company in the long run.
In addition to the Amazon delivery vans, the company has beefed up their delivery network with a fleet of cargo planes called “Prime Air”, and a service that pays drivers as much as $25 an hour to deliver packages with their cars through the Amazon Flex service.
Contractors who wish to start a delivery business using Amazon delivery vans may be able to do so for as little as $10000, and they will have access to lease the blue vans with the Amazon logo, buy Amazon uniforms from drivers, and receive key support from Amazon as they work to grow their business.
Overall, it’s looking like the introduction of Amazon delivery vans could be a great boon for both Amazon and local businesses that want to expand their service by delivering a steady stream of packages. It will be interesting to see how this affects the delivery process moving forward as the program is rolled out on a wider scale.
