Unlocking the Secrets of Amazon’s Last Mile Delivery Operations

Recorded to have 150 million Amazon Prime members as of 2020, Amazon has become a booming platform and household name! With its competitive pricing, wide selection, and lightning-fast deliveries, it continues being the people’s favorite. However, Amazon’s last mile delivery is the star that drives these amazing results and helps the company meet the rising customer demands. 

In this blog, we are going to discuss Amazon last mile delivery that helps them ensure timely and reliable order delivery. We will dive into the sea of key aspects and operations that make up the entire last mile delivery work for Amazon. Any logistics industry, big or small, will get valuable insights into the critical role of last mile delivery in eCommerce. So, let’s get started!

Understanding Amazon Last Mile Delivery Ecosystem

Last mile delivery is the final leg of the entire delivery process, which starts from the final fulfillment center to the customer’s doorstep. It is one of the most critical steps in ensuring timely and safe delivery of packages. Being a complex process, it involves planning optimal delivery routes, navigating traffic, and managing parcel security. 

While companies hire a third party delivery service partner, Amazon does the last mile delivery with their own team of delivery drivers. The company has invested largely in last mile delivery and developed innovative solutions to deliver packages. Through its in-house logistics, free one-day deliveries, and other programs, it has made significant contributions to the world of eCommerce. 

Past Accomplishments of Amazon

Key Amazon Last Mile Delivery Services and Initiatives

Amazon different kinds of last mile delivery methods for efficient and timely delivery of packages. Moreover, by helping businesses through their partnership programs, the eCommerce giant is bridging the gaps between these businesses and their customers. This has allowed Amazon to grow its reach and make its last-mile delivery process faster. 

Here are some of the common Amazon last mile delivery services:

Amazon Flex 

Flex is an on-demand delivery service that is used to deliver products directly from Amazon warehouses to a customer’s doorsteps. The delivery program allows independent contractors to deliver packages using their vehicles. 

Amazon Fresh 

This is a grocery delivery service wherein customers get same-day or next-day delivery of fresh items. The same-day grocery delivery is offered for free to Prime members for orders meeting a certain criteria. 

Amazon Logistics 

Amazon logistics is its own delivery network and caters to delivering packages through Amazon delivery team and independent contractors. This part of Amazon’s last mile delivery service was launched to reduce its fulfillment and shipping costs

Amazon Prime Now

This delivery service offers a one or two-hour delivery window on specific products across select cities. It was an attempt by Amazon to create a last-mile delivery system that is cost-efficient and lean.

Amazon Lockers 

These are self-service kiosks placed in public areas from where customers can collect their parcels at their own time and remain relaxed about its safety. It offers free shipping to Prime members.

Optimizing Your Last-Mile Deliveries with Upper Route Planner

Carrying out deliveries is very responsible work to do as you are bound by time and a lot of deliveries every day. So, it is crucial to use a routing software like Upper instead of planning routes manually. Here is how Upper Route Planner can help you streamline the last-mile delivery process.

1. Easy route optimization

Upper provides easy, fast, and reliable route optimization solutions for your amazon last mile delivery business. You don’t need physical maps and hours of time to plan routes manually. 

With Upper, you can plan multi-stop routes considering traffic flows, weather conditions and avoidance zones. By following those customized routes, Upper enables you to save on fuel costs and cut out on delivery time..

2. Excel file import

Upper makes your job easier by enabling you to import stops directly from your system so you don’t have to feed them manually into it. All you need is an Excel or CSV file ready having a list of stops and other details. You can import it by selecting from your system or by directly dragging & dropping it.

3. Proof of delivery

Being a business owner, it is crucial to keep a record of your past deliveries. So, with Upper you can generate proof of deliveries in-app only once you deliver the package successfully. 

Either by clicking and uploading a picture of the package delivered to customers’ doorstep or by collecting e-signature, you can easily get proof of delivery. This will help you keep a record of the delivered packages that can prove helpful in case of false claims.

4. One click dispatch

Once your route has been optimized and planned, you can dispatch your routes to the assigned drivers with just a one-click dispatch software. Following dispatching, customers will get notifications and updates of their expected package. This advanced feature reduces risk of human errors so that your delivery process runs smoothly. 

5. EOD & Summary report

Upper is designed to help you monitor delivery performance by analyzing data and statistics of past deliveries. This will help you enhance your drivers and delivery crew’s performance by closely monitoring EOD as well as summary reports on a daily or weekly basis.

Industry Insights: Amazon’s Last Mile Delivery Enhancements

Past Accomplishments and Future Innovations

To enhance its delivery system and serve customers more quickly, Amazon has developed a number of key last-mile initiatives such as:

1. DSP (Delivery Service Partner Program)

The DSP (Delivery Service Partner Program) is one of these programs, which links Amazon with promising logistics start-ups. While Amazon meets demand for products to be delivered from their warehouses, the delivery partner invests about $10,000 to build a delivery team. To serve even more customers more quickly and effectively, Amazon currently works with over 2,000 third-party delivery partners in the US alone.

2. Amazon Prime Air

Amazon Prime Air is another initiative that has been in development since 2013. The Federal Aviation Administration has given permission for this technology to test the use of drones for package delivery. According to Amazon, utilizing drones is eco-friendly because they are powered by electricity and clean energy. The business has pledged to make all of its deliveries carbon-free, and it hopes to reach half of this target by 2030.

3. Amazon Scout

Another last-mile project is Amazon Scout, a totally electric robot created to carry packages right to customers’ doorsteps. This service is currently offered only in Snohomish County, Washington. But, the locals there have overwhelmingly praised it.

Conclusion

Amazon’s last mile delivery is a vital component of the company’s logistics network, which helps them ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty. As we saw in this blog, delivering orders to customers’ doorsteps is not a simple process. Moreover, it comes with challenges, such as delivery windows, priority levels, traffic congestion, and package theft. That is where a reliable route optimization software like Upper comes as a savior. 

Upper is an intelligent route planning solution that plans the best and optimized sequence of delivery routes for a single or multiple drivers. It helps save dispatch managers’ trouble and time over figuring out the best route and scheduling them in advance. By creating efficient routes based on priority levels and delivery constraints, it helps drivers make superfast deliveries. Start saving time and costs over fuel by optimizing delivery routes through Upper’s 3 days free trial today!