Over the past year, Amazon has been busy building logistic facilities. The company has added 21 new logistics facilities globally over the last 12 months, up 14% from last year, bringing the total to 173 facilities worldwide according to ChannelAdvisor, as reported by Eugene Kim, of Business Insider.
Amazon is continuing to bulk up its fulfillment-center network, indicating it's serious about stepping into a territory historically owned by companies like UPS, FedEx, and DHL: the logistics and transportation business.
According to new data by the e-commerce software maker ChannelAdvisor, Amazon has added 21 new logistics facilities globally over the last 12 months, up 14% from last year, bringing the total to 173 facilities worldwide.
The majority of the facilities, 104, are in North America. The rest are located across Europe and Asia.
The facilities include the large fulfillment-center warehouse; sortation centers, where packages get presorted for shipping; and Prime Now hub, a separate building to store one-hour delivery items.
“It seems that Amazon is doing the math and is cutting out third party carriers like UPS and FedEx in Prime Heavy areas," ChannelAdvisor CEO Scot Wingo said.
The potential for Amazon to be a full-fledged logistic company is huge.
“We believe Amazon may be the only company with the fulfillment/distribution density and scale to compete effectively with global UPS/FedEx/DHL, and with an investor base that historically is tolerant of margin volatility relative to the 'profit mandates' of traditional Transportation & Logistic shareholders, a significant competitive advantage in our view," said Baird Equity Research, as reported by Business Insider.
