Amazon is launching its latest innovative delivery solution in the USA with the start of ‘Amazon Flex’, a crowd-sourced ‘on demand’ delivery service using consumers to deliver “ultra-fast” Prime Now parcels.
The service is now available in Seattle and “coming soon” to Manhattan, Baltimore, Miami, Dallas, Austin, Chicago, Indianapolis, Atlanta, and Portland, the e-commerce giant announced.
The service is an Uber-style so-called ‘on demand delivery’ operation using private persons – and their vehicles – to make deliveries, rather than own staff or third-party parcel carriers.
This controversial asset-free model has been pioneered by the likes of Uber and Airbnb to disrupt the taxi and accommodation sectors and is the business model for several US start-ups such as Postmates, Instacart, Deliver, and others, experts noted. But there are ongoing legal dispute over the status of ‘on demand’ workers, and whether they should be recognized as part-time staff or not.
Explaining the service, Amazon told potential drivers on a new ‘Amazon Flex’ website: “Make $18–25/hr delivering packages for Amazon with your car and smartphone. Be your own boss: deliver when you want, as much as you want.” Drivers will benefit from flexible hours and can decide their own work times, it added.
Outlining the ‘job profile’, Amazon said: “We are looking for drivers who are at least 21 years old and have a car and a valid driver’s license. You will also need an Android phone and will need to pass a background check. We’ll provide access to the app and opportunities to deliver.”
In terms of working time, the firm said: “You can choose any available 2, 4, and 8 hour blocks of time to work the same day, or set availability for up to 12 hours per day for the future. You can work as much or as little as you want.”
Explaining the workload, Amazon said: “You’ll deliver ultra-fast Amazon Prime Now packages. In the future, you may deliver other types of Amazon packages as well….You can pick up deliveries at a location near you. You’ll receive items to deliver in a local radius, based on length of the delivery block you signed up for.”
“There is a tremendous population of people who want to work in an on-demand fashion,” said Dave Clark, senior vice president of world-wide operations, told the Wall Street Journal. Amazon would route packages using either one of its regular carriers or a Flex driver, he said.
