E-commerce delivery specialist ParcelHero says Amazon’s launch of its revolutionary Uber-style Amazon Flex App in Birmingham this month will transform home deliveries in the UK.
The app’s launch, first revealed in yesterday’s Financial Times, means car owners can use their smartphone to help deliver Prime Now/Same Day items directly to customers’ homes.
David Jinks, head of public relations, ParcelHero, said, “By launching its new crowdsourced driver scheme in the UK, Amazon steals a march on Uber, which has been slow to get its UberRUSH ‘Uber for things’ delivery service off the ground here. Turning its local customers into delivery drivers means Amazon can give even more delivery choices to shoppers while slashing its own logistics overheads.”
Amazon’s Prime Members are 50% more likely to order items through Amazon than elsewhere, and it is the choice of delivery options that keeps them loyal. Amazon estimates that its Flex drivers will be paid between £13 (US$) and £15 (US$) an hour including tips, although this depends on the number of deliveries made in that time.
The e-commerce giant has been advertising on jobsites since June, and the Flex App will allow the company’s part-time drivers to choose when and where they want to work, as well as guiding them to customers’ homes and allowing customers to track their orders just as they would an Uber cab. Amazon says it’s a great opportunity for drivers to “Be your own boss: make great money, delivering when you want.”
Jinks added, “Last year our report, Amazon’s Prime Ambition, highlighted Amazon’s far-sighted plans for its beta ‘My Way’ app, which enabled everyday people to deliver items. It led to the successful roll-out of Amazon Flex in cities across the USA. UK cities such as London and Birmingham are an ideal scale for Prime Now one hour deliveries, so the UK is a natural fit for the expansion of Flex.”
Amazon began testing its Flex App in Seattle last year and has since spread the service to nearly 30 cities across the USA. However, the company could face potential employment challenges when rolling out the service in the UK, depending on the outcome of two court cases being heard in London this week regarding the legal employment status of Uber drivers.
For more information on Amazon’s logistics plans click here.
July 21, 2016
