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Amazon wants to do for the supply chain what it did for fulfillment.
At its seller conference last week, the tech giant announced a fully automated supply chain solution for merchants.
Amazon is betting that sellers will use its logistics services like Amazon Warehousing and Distribution (AWD) centers, Fulfillment by Amazon, and Multi-Channel Distribution to deliver orders beyond Amazon. In short, Amazon is taking steps to open up its supply chain to deliver orders placed on other platforms. While these paid features have been available to brands selling on the platform piecemeal, this year, Amazon is integrating everything under one dashboard.
Supply chain takeover: Sellers just need to feed in product details and pickup locations and Amazon “oversees” the rest—from carrier pickup to inventory consolidation to finding fulfillment centers closest to the client, wrote Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s VP of worldwide selling partner services, in a company blog post.
“It’s as easy as pushing a button,” Mehta said.
Amazon has been testing this tool for roughly one year and all US sellers will be able to use it starting next month.
Ryan Craver, founder of e-commerce agency Commerce Canal, told Retail Brew in an email the “dirt and grime” that came out of the two-day Amazon event was the supply chain. “Amazon wants to ‘own’ the supply chain and become the toll booth of commerce whether shipping to a TikTok, Temu, Costco, or Amazon consumer,” he said.
Supply Chain by Amazon might simplify the entire supply chain journey for brands, while potentially lowering shipping costs. “When sellers use this service, they qualify for AWD integrated rates, including a 25% discount on AWD storage fees and a 15% reduction in AWD transportation and processing costs—making it an even greater value,” Mehta added.
Testing Amelia: Supply chain is not the only thing Amazon is automating. Amazon also announced Project Amelia, a new generative AI-powered personal assistant for sellers.
Project Amelia is meant to give brands personalized, data-driven guidance on their business, with things like inventory status, traffic metrics including conversion rates, and offer advice on say—how to prepare for the holiday season.
Project Amelia is being tested with a small set of US sellers, and is expected to have a wider rollout in the coming weeks. Later this year, Project Amelia will begin a phased rollout outside the US in languages other than English.