Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/949884
20 commercial carrier journal | march 2018 America, Walmart and Costco all rolled into one is further entrenching itself in the supply chain. Amazon's goal of becoming a logistics and transportation behemoth may be the worst-kept secret in trucking. e company has purchased thousands of trailers and leases a small fleet of cargo planes in support of its Prime Air service. Late last year, Amazon jumped into the "Uber for Trucking" space with the debut of Relay, an app designed to make it easier to pick up and drop off at its warehouses by allowing drivers to check-in with QR codes at security gates rather than flashing a badge and paperwork. rough services such as Amazon Flex, a pizza-delivery-meets-Uber- like shipping service, Amazon already is tackling home delivery in select markets. Last month, Amazon finally acknowledged long-suspected plans of a company-operated delivery option by making it available in Los Angeles for vendors that sell merchandise online through its website. J ust about anyone who follows the stock market has a favorite company, usually tech-savvy consumer brands such as Apple or Tesla because they make cool stuff we all can use. Mine is Amazon. At about $1,300 per share, I can afford to own exactly 0.0 shares of the company, but for years I have been amazed by its ability to consistently figure out how to make mundane and awful experiences that come with shopping feel less painful. Amazon doesn't really make anything, but they sell everything, and if you hate shopping as much as I do, they make it far less terrible. In the last two months, I have purchased sparring gear for my youngest daughter's taekwondo classes and wood pellets for my barbeque grill from the same place: my couch. And I'm not alone in loving the simplicity. Research and advisory firm Forrester fore- casts that 17 percent of all U.S. retail sales will be made online by 2022, up about 5 percent from the nearly 13 percent share that e-com- merce held of retail last year. With that many transactions daily – some estimates suggest Amazon closes 3 million deals a day – a company that is basically e Mall of PRODUCT REVIEWS, OEM & SUPPLIER NEWS AND EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT TRENDS BY JASON CANNON PAINLESS EXPERIENCE: Amazon has removed most, if not all, of the angst from shopping. WORST-KEPT SECRET: The online retailer plans to become a logistics and transportation giant. COSTLY SHIPPING: Amazon's attempts to handle its own deliveries is about self-preservation. The big getting bigger? All eyes on Amazon as it tackles delivering its own orders