Amazon ships 5 billion packages globally every year and now the company wants to give you a piece of the pie. It just doesn’t want you to help deliver some of those packages, but it wants you to start, run, and own your own delivery service while doing it through its Amazon Delivery Service Partners.
The company announced the launch of its “Delivery Service Partners” that will take an active role in helping interested entrepreneurs build and manage their own companies while delivering Amazon packages. The e-commerce giant will provide individuals with little to no logistics experience the opportunity to run their own company with access to its sophisticated delivery technology, offer hands-on training, and discounts on a suite of assets and services, including vehicle leases and comprehensive insurance.
“I had prior experience running my own business but not in logistics. I was driving for Amazon Flex when I learned about the opportunity to start my own delivery company,” said Olaoluwa Abimbola, one of Amazon’s beta participants in the new offering.
Amazon said it will help keep startup costs as low as $10,000 by offering entrepreneurs discounts on Amazon-branded vehicles, branded uniforms, fuel, lower insurance rates, and more.
Successful owners, the company said, can earn as much as $300,000 in annual profits operating a fleet of up to 40 delivery vehicles while individual operators can build out their business knowing they will have the delivery volume from Amazon. Over time, Amazon wants business owners to hire tens of thousands of delivery drivers across the United States, joining a swath of existing community of traditional carriers, as well as small-and-medium-sized businesses that already employ thousands of drivers delivering Amazon packages.
“Backed by Amazon’s resources and logistics experience, and its encouragement to ‘learn while I earn,’ this opportunity was a no-brainer. In just five months, I have hired more than 40 employees, and it’s encouraging to know that any driven individual can use Amazon’s support and the Delivery Service Partner community to build a successful, thriving business,” Abimbola said.