The platform and delivery network of Amazon have long been used by many small enterprises to grow their operations.
Now, Amazon wants to use them for deliveries as well.
A program that pays small business owners to transport products during the “last mile” of delivery to consumers’ doorsteps, which has been in beta testing since 2020, was formally introduced by the e-commerce behemoth on Monday.
The launch was initially reported by Axios.
For a long time, Amazon has been looking for innovative approaches to delivering products more quickly and effectively.
These include collaborating with other delivery services, expanding its warehouse, and taking other actions.
The Amazon Hub Delivery initiative, which will run in 23 states, will concentrate on rural areas and big, crowded cities like Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, Boston, and Hoboken, New Jersey.
Small firms can apply for the program without having any prior delivery expertise.
Amazon, however, insisted that companies must be able to make deliveries every day, distribute items using their current personnel and trucks, receive shipments every day, and keep them in a safe location until delivery.
The exact compensation is unknown, but according to Amazon, making the deliveries may bring in up to $27,000 per year for a small firm.
Including weekends but omitting major holidays, a business would charge roughly $2.50 to deliver 30 shipments each day, which is about what Amazon estimates they will get on average.
Amazon stated that it is open to working with additional companies in addition to florists, coffee shops, clothes stores, gas stations, plumbers, and hair salons.
The program will be modest for the time being. By the end of 2023, Amazon intends to collaborate with 2,500 small companies. According to the Small Business Administration, there are over 33 million small enterprises in the United States.
Small companies that are interested can apply at amazon.com/hubdelivery.
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