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- Amazon delivers packages to over 100 million Amazon Prime members in the US as well as many other customers.
- We’ve identified nine vehicles Amazon uses to get its packages from its fulfillment centers to customer’s front doors.
- From two kinds of home delivery vans to autonomous robots, Amazon’s methods of delivery in its growing logistics empire are varied.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Amazon has been increasingly relying more heavily on its own delivery systems as of late.
The e-commerce retailer has over 100 million Amazon Prime members in the United States, according to a January report from the Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.
Fulfilling the company’s two and one-day Prime shipping promises for these members has meant Amazon Logistics has needed to streamline and expand its delivery services, resulting in the company relying on both conventional and unconventional ways to deliver and transport goods.
The company has faced other issues, including FedEx opting not to renew its contract in June, meaning it can’t rely on some delivery partners like it once did.
From its own cargo airline to autonomous drones, here are all the vehicles Amazon uses to deliver its own packages to your front door.
Amazon Air
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Amazon announced in June it is leasing 15 converted Boeing 737-800 planes from partner GE Capital Aviation Services.
This is in addition to the fleet of 50 Boeing 767 freighter aircraft Amazon has been building up since 2016. The company also announced plans to increase its fleet to 70 planes total by 2021 in preparation to continue to fulfill its Prime delivery promises.
Amazon Air’s hub is in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, and it also has more than 20 gateway operations around the US, including Chicago and Riverside, California.
Ocean freight
Reuters
Amazon handles imported goods from China by reserving space on ocean vessels and organizing its own logistics. Wholesalers that manufacture in China can reserve spaces in these containers through Amazon to ship to the west coast of the US.
In 2018, Amazon shipped more than 5,300 containers from China to the US, according to USA Today.
This eases some of the retailer’s reliance on global shipping companies. Amazon does not own any of its own ships.
Amazon truck trailers
Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
Amazon purchased several thousand truck trailers in 2015 to transport goods between fulfillment centers.
They may only have around 300 tractor portion of the trucks to move those trailers, however, according to Transport Topics News. It mostly relies on trucking partners to supply that capability, according to Recode.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- DoorDash is buying its competitor Caviar from Square for $410 million as the red-hot delivery space continues to heat up
- 2 Amazon drivers were involved in a theft ring involving millions of dollars’ worth of stolen goods
- The Alibaba of India is armed with Modi’s blessing and is poised to knock Amazon out of the subcontinent — so now Bezos is considering spending billions to buy a stake in it
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Source: Business Insider – bchang@businessinsider.com (Brittany Chang)