David Brackin, managing director of Stuff U Sell, the leading eBay trading assistant in the UK and a regular Tamebay contributor reports on Amazon Shipping at TDC Global 2020 and what they had to share.
At the morning coffee break at this year’s TDC Global, it was clear there was a lot of interest in the newest courier offering being offered through Metapack. The Amazon Shipping stand was heaving with retailers finding out more about the service and the UK Country Demand Lead, Ines Van Gennip together with Andreas Marschner, VP Amazon Transportation Services spoke before lunch to introduce the service.
Andreas started with a top level view of Amazon’s ambitions to approach delivery in the same customer-centric way that it sells. He described efforts to improve aspects of the delivery operation from the first mile, though to the last. He said how Amazon’s technology-strong approach could improve routing for pick-ups and by connecting-in live information could avoid risks to slow delivery (such as traffic or flooding) while providing live tracking of vehicles in the network. He also re-affirmed Amazon’s overall ambition to be entirely carbon neutral by 2040 including the delivery service.
Ines spoke in more detail about how delivery excellence is important for consumers and drives conversion and retention of buyers – delivery that is reliable, quick and seven days a week. She felt that excellent delivery was an unmet need – and that Amazon could raise the bar in carriage and grow a long-term solution. I’m sure that there were more than a few raised eyebrows in the audience from longer-standing couriers at these comments – although they wouldn’t be the first to under-estimate this disruptive industry entrant.
Van Gennip went on to outline the five things that she says are at the core of the Amazon Shipping service:-
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Speed and Quality
Building a network for the most demanding customers
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Transparent Rates
No surcharges!
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Recipient experience
Based on years of Amazon marketplace experience
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Innovation
Through deep pockets to invest in technology for the long term
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Customer obsession
Treating sellers with the same focus as they do buyers
These are high ambitions, and we all of us – sellers and buyers – want to see innovation and improvement in the delivery industry. With the launch of the Metapack integration, more retailers will be able to judge for themselves whether the service lives up to the ideals laid out at this year’s TDC. Have you tried using Amazon Shipping? How have you found the experience? Does it live up to Ines’ claims?
