eDelivery rounds up some of the main ecommerce logistics stories of the last week.
FedEx ends Amazon contract
FedEx will allow its contract with Amazon for US express delivery services to expire come 30 June. The decision does not affect contracts outside the US in other countries or for international services.
The delivery firm said that ending its relationship with Amazon would allow it to focus on serving the broader ecommerce market, saying it already had the capacity to serve thousands of ecommerce retailers. It said Amazon contributed only 1.3% of total FedEx revenue in 2018.
FedEx’s share price had previously been under pressure after Morgan Stanley analyst Ravi Shanker claimed in December that Amazon’s air freight business could sap revenue from FedEx and UPS, which currently handle up to 50% of Amazon’s package volumes.
Amazon announces robot plans at Mars conference
Amazon hosted the re:Mars conference last week. Amazon’s CEO of global consumer, Jeff Wilke, used the event to demonstrate the company’s new Prime Air drone.
The vehicle is designed to be able to fly 15 miles, delivering packages of up to five pounds to customers in less than 30 minutes.
Wilke said the device would be delivering packages “within months”.
Amazon also announced new fulfilment centre robots, including the Pegasus drive. This offers Amazon’s highest ever drive density in its network, allowing greater sortation efficiency.
PostNL collaborates with municipality to launch emission-free street
Dutch carrier PostNL has launched its next emission-free zone in Groningen.
The programme, which first launched in 2017, sees business goods being stored at SimplyMile’s hub near the outskirts of a city. PostNL then delivers them to the city centre through an emission-free option such as electric cargo bikes and electric vans.
2019 will also see the initiative expand to The Hague, Maastricht, Utrecht and Nijmegen.
