Amazon reportedly plans to start its own logistics operations in Austria (Vienna), from October onwards, which is likely to have a negative impact on Austrian Post’s parcel volumes that are generated to a great extent through Amazon’s orders.
Austrian Post’s spokesman David Weichselbaum confirmed the launch of Amazon Logistics in October. "Amazon has informed us that they will also offer their own deliveries in the future. We had already expected this and considered it accordingly in our plans," he told Austrian’s news portal “futurezone”. Amazon didn’t confirm the plans directly just saying: "Amazon has made no announcement about this."
Amazon also plans to build a distribution centre for its own deliveries, with Groß-Enzersdorf in Lower Austria being mentioned as the location. Several job advertisements from Amazon prove that these plans actually exist. Site managers, shift managers, division managers and a logistics team leader are sought for the Groß-Enzersdorf area. The job advertisements were published at the end of last month.
Amazon has been investing for years in the development of its own delivery network. In Germany, Amazon Logistics was launched in 2015, with five Amazon distribution centres operating near conurbations such as Munich, Berlin and Frankfurt.
Although the US e-commerce giant is becoming a direct competitor to Austrian Post, the postal operator will remain Amazon’s partner. "We will continue to deliver for Amazon," Weichselbaum said. However, it is still unclear whether "Amazon Logistics" will reduce its delivery volumes. "We delivered more than 97 million parcels last year. How this will affect our business remains to be seen."
In Germany, Amazon Logistics operates alongside the existing delivery partners including DHL and Hermes.
It is unclear whether Amazon will also offer same-day deliveries via Prime Now or fresh food (Amazon Fresh) in Vienna in the future by setting up its own logistics infrastructure. Amazon announced in 2016 that "Vienna would not be excluded as a location for Prime Now". In theory, Austrian Post could take over the delivery for these services, in a similar way that Deutsche Post makes deliveries for Amazon Fresh in Germany, futurezone speculated.
Austrian Post’s parcel business grew strongly thanks to the e-commerce boom, with a 20% increase in 2017.
In the USA, for exampl,e Amazon is taking a further step in its own delivery capability with the launch of 'Delivery Service Partners' (DSP), a programme designed to enable hundreds of US entrepreneurs to start businesses offering last-mile services for the online retailing giant's packages.
