Amazon has quietly begun offering its transportation and logistics network as a service to Indian third-party merchants, businesses and direct-to-consumer brands, and as an e-commerce group to drive revenue in key overseas markets. to leverage its large distribution chain. I’m trying to replicate a model I’ve been testing in the US for several months.
Called Amazon Shipping, the service “provides extensive delivery coverage and the highest reliability, all at the lowest logistics costs,” the company explains on its website. Amazon Shipping “receives packages and delivers them to customers seven days a week,” the company added.
The retailer, which has poured more than $6.5 billion into India over the past seven years, says it offers delivery at “competitive rates” and includes dedicated support channels. There is no extra charge for weekend deliveries and customers are not bound by consignment agreements and can cancel the service at any time.
The site says it has partnered with local companies Shiprocket, Unicommerce, Easyecom, Clickpost, and Vinculum for its order and shipping management system. The company has been testing the service in India for at least several months, according to an archived page analysis.
As Amazon expands its delivery services, it could become a headache for local companies such as Delhi, Ecom Express, and even legacy logistics giants such as Blue Dart and India Post. Flipkart, a Walmart-backed Indian rival to Amazon, also began opening up its logistics network to third-party firms earlier this year.
Indian newspaper Economic Times first reported on Amazon Shipping, adding that Amazon Shipping covers all kinds of goods, both hazardous and non-hazardous. Amazon’s policy page says that Shipping is currently offering ground shipping mode, and that he limits the number of items that can be shipped per order to 99.
Earlier this year, Amazon opened up its logistics network to third-party merchants in the US with a service called Buy with Prime. Analysts say Amazon could pose a bigger challenge to rivals like Shopify with the move.
“Today Amazon’s logistics are massive and fully integrated from fulfillment center to doorstep. ,” Stratechery’s Ben Thompson wrote earlier this year.
