Amazon to launch its own delivery service: report

E-commerce giant Amazon is reportedly planning to launch its own delivery service that would compete directly with major couriers like FedEx and UPS.

The US online retailer expects to begin a delivery service in Los Angeles in the coming weeks with third-party merchants that sell goods on its website, and the service is likely to expand to other cities, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources.

Over time, the service could be expanded to other businesses, putting Amazon in direct competition with delivery companies, according to the report.

Amazon did not directly comment on the report but said "We're always innovating and experimenting on behalf of customers and the businesses that sell and grow on Amazon to create faster lower-cost delivery choices."

Amazon has already delivered some orders in parts of the US and relies on its complex logistics network, but it uses third-party firms for many deliveries.

The latest effort to expand into delivery service will give Amazon better control over the timing and cost of deliveries, the report said.

However, Patrick Fitzgerald, FedEx senior vice president of integrated marketing and communications, told Bloomberg that the report’s headline, which said Amazon’s delivery service would “vie with” FedEx and UPS “demonstrates a lack of basic understanding of the full scale of the global transportation industry.”

(AFP & CGTN)