Amazon shores up logistics in China as talk of global delivery business poses threat to Alibaba and FedEx, too
Seattle-based e-commerce giant throws down gauntlet to China’s Alibaba in hunt for bigger slice of cross-border e-commerce market
Amazon is expanding its logistics services into mainland China and other major shipping hubs to reduce logistics costs as it seeks to expand into the cross-border e-commerce market.
This would see it take on domestic market leader Alibaba Group in the global cross-border e-commerce market, which is projected to reach US$1 trillion by 2020, according to data supplied by Accenture and AliResearch.
However, its ambitions may be grander yet. One rumour doing the rounds this month maintains that Amazon has even begun leasing planes - under the radar, so to speak - to further its ambitions that may extend to taking on its current delivery partners like FedEx and the United Parcel Service.
Seattle-based e-commerce juggernaut Amazon filed an application with the Shanghai Shipping Exchange last year that would allow its Chinese subsidiary, Beijing Century Joyo Courier Service, to serve as a shipping broker to countries in Europe, Japan and the United States.
A broker takes care of cargo and customs issues on behalf of merchants so make sure goods reach their final destination.