How Amazon Supply Chain Services Will Transform Businesses

Hundreds of thousands of sellers have used Amazon as part of their logistics operations over the past few years. The company has moved, stored and delivered hundreds of millions of packages through its network of warehouses and facilities.

Amazon has now launched Amazon Supply Chain Services to businesses of all sizes and types. The service extends beyond existing sellers on its marketplace.

Smaller sellers will gain access to freight, distribution, fulfilment and parcel shipping capabilities through the offering. This could streamline logistics operations for companies around the world.

The service is designed to provide support for sellers globally and help transform their business operations.

Building a logistics network

Amazon created its network almost three decades ago to demonstrate that fast delivery could align with reliability and service quality. The company built infrastructure using air, land and sea freight alongside fulfilment centres and parcel shipping operations.

The company adopted new technologies and formed strategies to execute this approach. Amazon later built and released Amazon Web Services, which changed how software is used by governments, individuals and companies.

Following the success of that service, Amazon is now applying a similar model to supply chain operations. The company is sharing its portfolio of freight, distribution, fulfilment and parcel shipping capabilities with businesses of all types and sizes.

Businesses do not need to be Amazon sellers to access the services. The expansion grows its third-party logistics capacity and could support businesses across multiple industries.

The service enables Amazon to work with businesses in retail, manufacturing, healthcare and automotive sectors. This includes small independent businesses and large companies looking to expand using Amazon's capabilities.

"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," says Peter Larsen, Vice President of Amazon Supply Chain Services.

"Supply chain wasn't just a function at Amazon, it was core to providing an exceptional shopping experience. Our differentiator.

"The reason we could offer fast, dependable delivery that nobody else could. 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."

Services on offer

According to Amazon, the company has spent more than 20 years building a customer-focused supply chain. This includes more than 200 US fulfilment centres and 100,000 in-network trailers, containers and aircraft.

The company is now sharing its supply chain infrastructure to help transform businesses globally. It offers a suite of services designed to provide solutions for different types of operations.

The services aim to help mitigate disruption so business leaders can focus on scaling operations and building customer loyalty. Offerings include:

• Multimodal ground freight with GPS-powered tracking
• Air freight support for time-critical and specialised cargo
• Storage and fulfilment capabilities
• Two to five day ground shipping with photo on delivery assurance and easy returns.

The service builds on Fulfillment by Amazon, where Amazon has handled picking, packing, shipping and returns for independent sellers since 2006. That service had limitations as there were fewer capabilities for getting products to fulfilment centres initially.

Amazon has been developing its services and adopting technology to expand network capabilities. The company now moves billions of items around the world each year.

This has created new value for businesses and helped sellers increase their sales capacity.

Expanding to new customers

Working with selling partners has enabled Amazon to grow its capabilities and open services to retail, wholesale and commercial businesses of all types. From first mile to last mile, Amazon Supply Chain Services can tailor support to transform business operations.

For enterprise businesses, the service can streamline costs and supply chain touchpoints. For small and medium-sized businesses, it could unlock growth opportunities.

ASCS offers flexibility so businesses can select the services and support they need. This ranges from distributing raw materials to growing customer bases.

Major sellers have already signed up to use its services. Procter & Gamble is transporting raw materials to production facilities using its freight services.

3M is moving products from its manufacturing sites to distribution centres around the world with Amazon's support. Lands' End is fulfilling orders across multiple sales channels with Amazon, using a unified inventory pool.

"Amazon is one of our key ecommerce partners, and we're excited to leverage Amazon Supply Chain Services to position inventory closer to customers so we can reach them even faster," says Andrew McLean, Chief Executive Officer of Lands' End.

"This consistency is central to our solutions-based approach, enabling us to serve customers with confidence and agility, especially during peak seasons."