Amazon Supply Chain Services: Now Open for Business

Over the past few years, Amazon has been trusted by hundreds of thousands of sellers around the world as a major player in their logistics journeys.

The global giant has been trusted to move, store and deliver hundreds of millions of packages across warehouses, facilities and more. Now, it is going one step further, having launched its Amazon Supply Chain Services (ASCS) to businesses of all size and type.

Through this, smaller sellers will have greater access to freight, distribution, fulfilment and parcel shipping capabilities, making logistics around the world much more streamlined.

This service aims to provide invaluable support for sellers around the world, helping transform their businesses. 

Expanding portfolios

Almost three decades ago, Amazon wanted to prove that fast delivery went hand in hand with reliability and exceptional service. To do so, it created its vast network, utilising air, land and sea freight, innovative fulfilment centres and a precise parcel shipping network. Ensuring it went above and beyond, Amazon embraced new technologies and formed strong strategies to execute this plan.

Since then, the company built and released Amazon Web Services (AWS), transforming how software is used by governments, individuals and companies. After the success of the service, Amazon is now aiming to revolutionise the supply chain.

The company is now sharing its global portfolio of freight, distribution, fulfilment and parcel shipping capabilities to businesses of all types and sizes, without the need for them to be Amazon sellers. In doing so, it is growing its third-party logistics capacity and uplifting businesses in a range of industries.

The expansion is now enabling it to empower businesses in retail, manufacturing, healthcare and automotive – whether they are a small, independent business, or a global giant looking to grow even further with 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.”

Supply chain offerings

Amazon has spent more than 20 years "building a customer-centric supply chain', utilising its more than 200 US fulfilment centres and 100k in-network trailers, containers and aircraft.

Now, it is sharing its supply chain, helping transform businesses around the world. It has a suite of services to offer solutions for every type of operation, working to mitigate disruption so business leaders can focus on scaling the company and growing a loyal customer base.

Offerings include:

• Reliable multimodal ground freight which utilises GPS-powered tracking
• Air freight support which helps with time-critical and specialised cargo
• Storage and fulfilment capabilities
• Trusted 2 to 5 day ground shipping, with photo on delivery assurance and easy returns.

This service builds off Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), where Amazon has handled the picking, packing, shipping and returns for independent sellers since 2006. This had limited impact, as there were less capabilities in getting the product to the fulfilment centres in the first place.

As such, Amazon has been building its services and embracing technology in order to grow its network capabilities. Now, it moves billions of items around the world every year. 

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

Network adoption

Its time working with selling partners has empowered Amazon to grow its capabilities – opening its services up for retail, wholesale and commercial businesses of all types. 

From first mile to last, Amazon Supply Chain Services can tailor its support in order to transform business operations. For enterprise businesses, it can streamline costs and supply chain touchpoints, or it can unlock growth for small and medium sized businesses. 

ASCS offers the flexibility so that businesses can choose the services and support they need. This includes the distribution of raw materials, or the growing of customer base. 

Already, major sellers have signed up to utilise its services. Procter & Gamble is transporting raw materials to production facilities utilising its freight services. 3M is is moving products from its manufacturing sites to distribution centres around the world, with Amazon's help.

With Amazon, Lands' End is fulfilling orders across multiple sales channels, with 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,” said Andrew McLean, CEO 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.”