Amazon is further expanding its delivery business with the official rollout of Amazon Shipping, a service for sellers that picks up items directly from their warehouses and delivers them to customers.
The service, which the company has offered in various forms in the past, is now available in 15 U.S. metro areas, with plans to expand the footprint in the future, the company said Wednesday morning.
Amazon Shipping is notable in part because it operates independently from the company’s fulfillment network, targeting businesses that would normally use UPS, FedEx or other traditional shipping services.
The company says Amazon Shipping is designed for sellers who manage and fulfill their own orders, including items purchased on Amazon.com or direct-to-consumer websites or other sales channels.
The service offers delivery in two to five days, with no extra cost for residential or weekend delivery. It also provides package tracking and the ability to receive a photo of a delivery when completed.
It’s part of a broader push by Amazon to expand its own business by offering a broader set of services for Amazon sellers. The company said Tuesday that it will offer sellers the ability to distribute products in bulk from Amazon’s warehouses to fulfillment channels and physical stores not affiliated with the e-commerce giant.
Amazon is holding its annual conference for sellers, Accelerate, in Seattle this week. The conference coincides with reports that the Federal Trade Commission is poised to sue Amazon on allegations including unfair business practices in its logistics services for sellers and pricing for third-party products.
Separately, Amazon this week announced an additional $840 million investment in its Delivery Service Partner program, designed in part to help the independent companies that deliver packages for Amazon to boost wages for drivers.
