YCD News – Amazon recently said it is going to launch an end-to-end global supply chain service called “Supply Chain by Amazon”.
Amazon said it will acquire inventory from manufacturing plants around the world, arrange cross-border shipments, take over customs clearance and ground transportation, while managing inventory and completing last-mile deliveries. Amazon’s customers will enjoy a reduced Amazon Warehousing and Distribution (AWD) discount of up to 25 percent on cross-border shipments.
AWD is Amazon’s warehousing service that enables sellers to store inventory and deliver products in bulk at Amazon distribution centers. Amazon says this will reduce costs for partners using Amazon’s supply chain.
Amazon is also launching a simplified AWD domestic inbound shipping service through its Partnership Carrier Program (PCP), which sellers can use to shorten domestic shipping times to AWD centers.
Amazon says sellers can rely on trusted carriers to provide reliable, fast transit times and cost reductions of up to 25 percent compared to other alternatives.
Flexport simultaneously releases end-to-end logistics tool
After Flexport founder Ryan Petersen returned to the CEO’s role following the recent firing of former Amazon executive Karak from the board, he said that Flerport’s fundamentals will return to the freight industry while Petersen tries to get the tech-centered business back on a growth track.
Karraker was reportedly fired because he ignored customer and freight growth, focusing instead on expensive technology development for Amazon-like last-mile deliveries.
On Tuesday, Flexport announced that it would be launching a new e-commerce tool that would allow customers to manage the availability and delivery of their shipments. The tool’s basic system is free, but Flexport is also launching a membership program, Flexport +, which offers supply chain financing, priority shipping services and additional service support.
Merchants on the e-commerce platform will also have access to Shopify and Amazon’s Seller Fulfilled Prime program as well as their own e-commerce store’s fulfillment and last-mile delivery services, Flexport said.
The new service will link the freight forwarder’s international services with its e-commerce fulfillment business, which it acquired from Shopify last year, enabling customers to ship products directly from the factory to their retail networks.
Flexport will offer two-day and next-day delivery on more than 20 e-commerce platforms, including Shopify, Walmart and eBay.