Dive Brief:
- Amazon aims to have more than 2,500 small businesses, ranging from florists to plumbers, deliver packages for it by the end of 2023, the company confirmed Monday.
- Partners with the company's "Hub Delivery" program commit to delivering 20 to 50 packages daily for Amazon customers in their area, using their own staff and vehicles. They will be paid for each package delivered and deliveries can be made "when you have time during the day," according to the company's website.
- Amazon is actively looking for partners in 23 states, according to a company spokesperson. The company is focusing on rural areas and five large cities — New York City, Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles and Hoboken, New Jersey — for partnerships in particular.
Amazon targets small businesses for delivery help in 23 states
Dive Insight:
Amazon Hub Delivery adds to the mix of ways the company can complete last-mile deliveries outside of using traditional parcel carriers. Amazon also leverages contractors with its Delivery Service Partner program and gig drivers via Amazon Flex.
The company had been recruiting small businesses for its Hub Delivery program since at least 2021 in a push to reduce rural delivery costs, Vox reported last year.
While Amazon has a massive logistics network with a mix of fulfillment centers and delivery stations, its footprint is limited in more sparsely populated areas, resulting in it handing off deliveries to carriers like UPS and the U.S. Postal Service.
"As customers’ needs evolve, we’ve seen differences in how we deliver in towns and cities we serve and the need to find a nimbler solution in specific geographies, like super rural areas or congested large cities," Beryl Tomay, VP of last-mile delivery and technology at Amazon, said Monday.
For small businesses participating in the Hub Delivery program, its formal launch, first detailed by Axios, offers up another source of income outside their main products and services. Partners are able to earn up to $27,000 per year, according to Amazon. Businesses the company is interested in working with for Hub Delivery include florists, coffee shops, clothing boutiques, gas stations, plumbers and hair salons.
Amazon plans to have multiple partners in each area covered by the program. Although there are a handful of requirements the company lists on its website like a certificate of insurance and business entity documents to become a partner, no delivery experience is necessary.
Once a business becomes a partner, it commits to delivering packages 7 days a week for Amazon, according to its website. Amazon will drop off packages at the partner's location for delivery. The designated location must provide access for a 24-foot box truck to park and unload the packages.
"The number of packages you deliver each day depends on the availability in your area and what works best for your business," Amazon said.
