Amazon’s new initiative allows you to save more goods with less money
Cloud Merchants Cross-border has learned that Amazon is currently testing a new logistics initiative in the United States, that is, in its A new "warehousing layer" is added upstream of the operation center to supply goods from the upstream warehouse to the operation center to achieve more seamless replenishment. Amazon has already started piloting this project for goods imported from China.
According to Amazon, these upstream warehouses will be located within a day’s drive of these fulfillment centers and are mainly used to share Amazon’s warehousing pressure, reduce the time to transfer inventory to the fulfillment centers, and maintain inventory sales.
Amazon’s system will automatically replenish inventory from upstream warehouses to fulfillment centers, and the storage costs of these warehouses will be 47% to 63% lower on average than those of its fulfillment centers.
The reason is that compared with fulfillment centers, Amazon’s upstream warehouses have relatively little investment in automation. In addition, these warehouses are usually located in low-rent locations and are relatively low-cost.
In the past two years, Amazon has indeed been limited by warehouse capacity, and has had to reduce the pressure on third-party sellers by compressing the storage capacity and raising storage prices, which has caused great harm to third-party sellers. Troubled.
According to logistics expert Haber, since the new facility provides significantly more storage space than the fulfillment center, it will allow FBA sellers to maintain larger inventories in the United States, and the footprint of these upstream warehouses is very large.
However, some analysts pointed out that this project still has certain limitations, that is, goods in upstream warehouses can only be transferred to Amazon fulfillment centers, but not to other distribution points and delivery points, or other Last mile channel.
Amazon has not said how long the trial will last, nor how many upstream warehouses it plans to build if the project goes ahead. But demand for more warehousing capacity, coupled with Amazon's pursuit of faster delivery, is likely to make the project official.
Amazon’s locker network in Japan has now expanded to 23 prefectures in Japan, covering more than 1,800 locations
Amazon recently announced a significant expansion of its locker network in Japan, and Increased the number of lockers installed at more than 1,800 locations in 23 prefectures nationwide, including Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba and Osaka.
Amazon said that with this expansion, it will provide more customers with an easy, convenient and reliable way to pick up their orders. In addition to the expansion, Amazon has also added and improved locker functionality. The new lockers are more compact, can fit into smaller spaces, and can hold more goods.
The lockers are completely contactless and users can now use Bluetooth to open the locker without having to read a barcode or touch screen. Additionally, the app’s guidance has been streamlined to make it easier to find pick-up locations.
Amazon emphasizes the convenience and security of receiving in a locker. Buyers shopping on Amazon.co.jp select the desired locker as the delivery destination. The service also allows buyers to pick up items at convenience stores, train stations, supermarkets and other places buyers use daily.
When an item is shipped from Amazon and delivered to a locker, buyers are notified that they are ready to receive the item. Use the locker's scanner to scan the incoming barcode in your email, or enter the 6-digit authentication key to open the locker and receive items.
Through this expansion, Amazon Japan has installed lockers at nearly 130 partner companies to meet the diverse lifestyles of customers, and is said to be able to receive ordered products.
Last-mile delivery can be said to be the lifeline of EC, and improving the convenience of picking up goods is directly related to the reliability of the service itself. It can be said that Amazon, as the leading platform in the EC market, will be able to steadily increase its value by adopting this pickup method.
Aterian incident, a well-known consumer manufacturing company
Aterian, a well-known consumer product manufacturing company, needs to ship a batch of humidifiers from China to the United States, but because the company quoted US$25,000, there is no shipping company Willing to serve, the goods have been delayed in being shipped.
At this time, Amazon actively contacted Aterian and expressed its willingness to help it transport this batch of goods at a very low cost (the details have not yet been disclosed).
Michal Chaouat-Fix, Aterian’s chief product officer, said he is pleased that Amazon can help him ship products to U.S. ports, which solves an “urgent need” and enables products to be sold on Amazon, Walmart, eBay and Amazon in a timely manner. For sale on the hOmeLabs website.
According to reports, ocean shipping service is one of the many logistics and transportation services Amazon provides to sellers. For an additional fee, Amazon also stores goods in its warehouses and ships products through its fulfillment network. Although it sounds very convenient, the cost is extremely high, so fewer sellers will do it.