Amazon.com Inc.’s call for entrepreneurs to help expand its package-delivery network is a cry for help.
The online retailer’s Prime service, offering free two-day shipping on many goods for $119 a year, is spurring annual growth of 25% on product sales. As other retailers also fuel the surge of e-commerce, UPS Inc., FedEx Corp. and the U.S. Postal Service are straining under the load.
UPS ranks No. 1 and FedEx No. 2 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest North American for-hire carriers.
Enter Amazon’s new effort to expand its capacity to drop off packages at customers’ homes. The company envisions hundreds of small contractors employing thousands of drivers across the U.S. What remains to be seen is whether such would-be delivery impresarios can fill the seats of vans emblazoned with Amazon’s logo — especially in a tight labor market.
“The Amazon business model of delivering to your doorstep is under pressure,’’ said Marc Wulfraat, president of MWPVL International, a logistics consulting firm. “This is a signal that they’re actually very starved for resources to get this type of work done.’’