For two decades, the story of Amazon was about what it sold. From now on, the story is about how it moves its own and others’ goods, and for whom. Companies like DHL, FedEx, and UPS have a new, very serious concern.
Amazon pulled back a curtain that few in the logistics industry wanted to see opened. The company announced the launch of Amazon Supply Chain Services, a full-stack logistics offering that any business can now access, whether or not they sell on Amazon. Freight, warehousing, fulfillment, last-mile delivery, the whole chain is open for hire.
The news immediately hit the stock ratings of traditional logistics companies. UPS dropped 10%, and FedEx fell more than 9% in a single session.
‘Like Amazon Web Services’
In a way, Amazon’s ‘logical’ move has been in the works for a long time. With entertainment production, digital services, AI bots, gaming, grocery retail, and so on, the company has already overstretched its core activity as a webshop for a long time. Expanding its in-house logistics arm to an external business could easily have been its first venture into new territory.
Speaking to journalists, Peter Larsen, Vice President of Amazon Supply Chain Services, stated that the company is bringing its logistics capabilities to outside businesses “much like Amazon Web Services did for cloud computing.” This was a software system developed internally, due to a lack of a suitable solution outside the company, and was later sold externally.
As such, AWS went from being an internal cost center to a $100 billion business that powers half the internet. What Larsen signal is that Amazon intends to do the same thing now in the logistics sector, including warehouses, trucks, and delivery vans. It’s a genuine threat to established players.
Single largest parcel carrier
Because the numbers behind the ambition are staggering. Amazon already operates more than 200 fulfillment centers across the United States alone, alongside 80,000 trailers, 24,000 intermodal containers, and a fleet of 100 cargo aircraft. In 2025, the company delivered an estimated 13 billion items worldwide. In the U.S., it’s the single largest parcel carrier by volume. Bigger than USPS, UPS, and FedEx.
First customers include Procter & Gamble, which is routing raw materials through Amazon’s freight network, and American Eagle Outfitters, which is using Amazon for last-mile delivery of orders that have nothing to do with Amazon.com.
Mercedes eActros
There is also a dimension to this story that the financial press largely glossed over: Amazon’s delivery fleet is still increasingly electric, despite the national and government-led throwback to fossil fuels in the U.S. Amazon has put orders for 200 eActros models from Mercedes, 20 from Volvo, next to the well-known Rivian electric delivery vans. Amazon (13%) is an important shareholder of Rivian, though it is no longer the major owner, as Volkswagen has recently increased its stake to 15.9%.
Rivian announced a next-generation commercial van with a larger battery pack, available all-wheel drive, and a range exceeding 200 miles per charge. It addresses one of the main operational constraints that had limited EV deployment in colder northern regions and longer suburban routes.
Boost for electrification
Amazon has consistently argued that scale and electrification are not in tension; they are mutually reinforcing. The larger the network, the more it can optimize routes and reduce deadhead mileage. Every new customer who joins Amazon Supply Chain Services adds volume to a network that was already designed around electric.
The ripple effects extend well beyond the United States. If Amazon Supply Chain Services scales the way AWS did – and there is barely any reason to think otherwise – the world’s last-mile delivery network will tip towards Amazon’s infrastructure. Which is a good thing for electrification, but a doubtful one for market dominance.
