Amazon is testing a delivery service that would compete with shipping giants UPS and FedEx, it was announced today. The service is being tested in Los Angeles and would only be available to businesses selling goods on Amazon’s platform, to start.
Under the new service, “Shipping with Amazon,” Amazon would send a truck to pick up a seller’s products. The truck would then take the inventory either to an Amazon fulfillment center, the U.S. Postal Service or couriers like FedEx, depending on what is the least expensive option. The service is intended to reduce barriers some sellers face in getting their goods to Amazon’s facilities.
In a statement, Amazon said it was “always innovating and experimenting on behalf of customers and the businesses that sell and grow on Amazon to create faster lower-cost delivery choices.”
FedEx and UPS customers should not expect to see affect changes in their business any time soon, however. Experts estimate that Amazon would have to invest tens of billions of dollars to build a global infrastructure of facilities, vehicles and airplanes, to compete with companies like FedEx, and UPS seemed unthreatened by today’s announcement.
“There is tremendous opportunity in the business-to-customer market and more growth coming to the sector and UPS, irrespective of how other companies shift strategies,” a spokesman for UPS spokesman said.