Amazon Orders 20,000 Vans from Mercedes-Benz Vans for Delivery Service

Amazon certainly doesn’t roll small — particularly in light of a Wall Street Journal report that notes that the company will order 20,000 Mercedes-Benz vans to expand its delivery fleet.

Here’s what’s also new: The online giant reported it would allow entrepreneurs to create delivery companies employing up to 100 drivers and leasing between about 20 and 40 vans — naturally with the Amazon logo.

Not surprisingly, Amazon wants to handle more of its own deliveries to keep pace with growth.  In turn, it will reduce its dependence on FedEx Corp. and the Postal Service.

The Journal notes that “Amazon is indicating it expects at least 500 delivery companies to join the program initially.”

Even more interesting: The company won’t own any of the trucks.  Rather, it will ostensibly lease them to the small delivery-service providers.

In terms of scale: Amazon now accounts for nearly half of every dollar spent online in the U.S.

 

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