It sounds strange at first, but it could very well be true. Amazon is after the momentum that Apple has and are analyzing what they can do to issue more blows to their greatest competitor. Amazon's next possible move is to become a courier.
Amazon is the world's largest retailer; doing business online with products we have come to love crave for. The kindle fire sold an estimated $5 million units last year and is doing well the first quarter of 2012. The company sell e-books by the millions and has control of this specialty market. The online business industry grew over 15% and Amazon is one reason why. The online giant shows dominance in the retail world.
A recent Forbes reported how Amazon already performs Fed-ex like services to its' customers. They provide third-party logistic services to businesses that utilize Amazon for selling their products. They also spent over $4 billion last year building 17 fulfillment centers. This enabled Amazon to offer their retail business clients warehousing and shipping services for product stored. According to the Mercent Corporation, online sales specialty company, Amazon commissions about 10 percent on any item sold by a third party as 100 percent profit and also charges fees to those same retailers that utilize their warehousing.
Amazon is providing services just like shipping giant Fed Ex, which is a global courier. Colin Gillis, a BGC Partners LP analyst, stated in an interview, "They're building out fulfillment because they realize that fast and predictable delivery of product is a huge driver of their business". Essentially, Amazon can meet all their customers' needs. The only service left is the actual physical transportation and product delivery. It would make sense to gradually begin to deliver their products to the end user themselves. The Forbes report mentions Amazon is testing pick up stations where customers can have packages delivered.
Either way, Amazon's success is only complete when that product arrives at the customer's front door. Even if Amazon does not involve itself in delivering product themselves, the consumer wants it fast and desires no delays in their shipment. This type of fulfillment within the supply chain is ideal for using couriers like A-1 Express The company is a nationwide courier and can provide same-day delivery, which is very beneficial when it comes not only the order fulfillment, but shipment returns and replacements.
References: 3.24.12, San Francisco Chronicle, Danielle Kucera, Associated Press-Amazon.com wrings profit from fulfillment. 3.26.12, Forbes, Michael Canellos-Will Amazon Become The Next FedEx?