Amazon is making its logistics services available to businesses across retail, health care and manufacturing with the launch of Amazon Supply Chain Services (ASCS).
The online retailer said it will bundle its freight, warehousing, fulfillment and parcel deliveries into a single platform available to any business, not just those that sell on its marketplace.
“Amazon is bringing the infrastructure, intelligence and scale of its supply chain services — proven over decades — to businesses everywhere, much like Amazon Web Services did for cloud computing,” said Peter Larsen, vice president of Amazon Supply Chain Services, in a written statement.
“And with the launch of ASCS, we’re confident we can give any other business access to the same cost efficiency, reliability, and speed that we’ve built for Amazon customers,” he continued.
Amazon ranks No. 1 in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 2000 Database. That database tracks the largest North American online retailers by their annual ecommerce sales.
Amazon is also No. 3 in Digital Commerce 360’s Global Online Marketplaces Database. That database ranks the 100 largest such marketplaces by third-party gross merchandise value (GMV).
What Amazon Supply Chain Services includes
Amazon Supply Chain Services (ASCS) is built around three service areas:
- Freight.
Customers will gain access to Amazon’s transportation network across ocean, air, ground and rail. Amazon operates more than 80,000 trailers, 24,000 intermodal containers and 100 aircraft. Freight services will also include customs support, a range of shipping speeds, and shipment visibility for customers. - Distribution and fulfillment.
ASCS will allow businesses to import inventory from overseas, store it in bulk, and move it closer to customer demand using Amazon’s warehouse network. The service will also provide a single unified inventory pool and forecasting abilities to improve operational agility, inventory accuracy and delivery reliability. - Parcel Shipping.
Amazon’s delivery network will be available for orders placed on any sales channels, with a promise of two- to five-day delivery and seven-day-a-week service. That will also include flexible pickup options and shipment tracking features like photo-on-delivery.
Amazon competes for B2B fulfillment
Previously, Amazon offered its fulfillment services only to third-party sellers on its online marketplace. Now, businesses will be able to hire Amazon for their full supply chain needs beyond just ecommerce. That includes B2B companies, some of which are already using ASCS.
Procter & Gamble is using Amazon’s freight services to move raw materials to production facilities and ship finished goods across its distribution network. 3M is using Amazon freight services to move products from manufacturing sites to distribution centers across the world, Amazon said.
This puts Amazon in competition with other logistics providers, including UPS and FedEx. Both carriers saw shares fall more than 9% following the ASCS announcement.
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