Amazon has announced the launch of Amazon Supply Chain Services (ASCS), a platform that allows companies like Procter & Gamble, 3M, and American Eagle to use its network of warehouses, planes, and trucks. The idea is to replicate the AWS model, but with packages instead of servers. Logistics, once an internal cost, is now offered as an external service to compete with FedEx and UPS.
Logistics infrastructure as a software platform 🚚
Behind ASCS is a technical development that integrates inventory management systems, transportation routes, and automated distribution centers. Amazon uses its own supply chain planning software, powered by demand data and machine learning, to optimize the flow of third-party products. This includes everything from factory pickup to final delivery, using its fleet of planes and electric vehicles. The customer only pays for the space and service used.
Now Bezos also wants to be your trusted delivery person 📦
Because, of course, what the world needed was for Amazon not only to control what you buy, but also how it gets to your door. Now, when you order a soap from Procter & Gamble, it's likely that an Amazon truck will take it to an Amazon warehouse, and an Amazon delivery person will leave it at your house. And if the package arrives broken, at least you'll know who to blame: the same algorithm that recommended the deal to you.