Amazon Launches Same-Day Delivery in 6 Major Cities

It hasn't been an easy race for many e-retailers to keep up with Amazon, as the robust online company has outpaced many with its' marketing and distribution expertise. One of the areas Amazon began becoming very vocally aggressive about since last year was same-day delivery. From same-day delivery drone use to Sunday deliveries, Amazon is now withholding nothing. From it's latest major move, it's very clear that the Amazon and nationwide same-day delivery assumptions of many experts have been right all along.

Amazon has announced the expansion of same-day delivery in 6 major US cities. The "Get It Today" same-day service will be offered in New York City, Dallas, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Washington DC and Philadelphia within the metro-populated city areas. The e-retailer will be offering a million eligible items beginning today. Seven days a week, all orders placed by noon will receive their online items the same day. Customers will have at their disposal numerous of products, including video games, movies, last-minute travel needs, fix-it needs, back-to-school supplies, baby wipes,electronics, and more.

Prime members will have the first good draw at a low price for the same-day service. For $5.99, members will be able to order all of the items they want. Non-prime customers can still get their items same day, yet their charge is $9.98 for the first item and $0.99 for each additional item.

The same-day service will be easy for shoppers to get to on Amazon's site. Within the Amazon product selection, shoppers will have available a "Get It Today" filter, which shows all of the items that can be purchased and delivered same-day. Amazon also has "Get It Tomorrow" filter for millions of more items that can be delivered next day. Many customers want their online shopping to be quick and easy, especially when its' done via pad or smartphone. These site options by Amazon make for fast shopping, and is now backed with fast delivery.

Amazon appears to be very excited about the new roll-out and what it will ultimately offer its' customers. Greg Greeley, Vice president of Amazon Prime, stated in the report, "Imagine how much time you will save now that you can get sunscreen, memory cards, toothpaste, hit movies, text books and HDMI cables all delivered to your home in hours, seven days a week, in one order from Amazon. New convenient pricing also allows Prime members to fill up their same-day shopping cart with everything they may need for one low price. With more than a million eligible items, we aim to offer the largest same-day selection at the lowest price.”

The new expansion of same-day delivery may involve Amazon's new Firefly smartphone. Firefly has an element about the phone specific for Amazon.com shopping, which allows users to scan actual physical objects at retail stores and shop at the same time. It also recognizes almost 100 million objects via a visual database. Therefore, a shopper using Firefly can find an item in a physical store they are considering buying, phone-scan it and automatically see all the listings on Amazon.com for it. The flexibility then comes in when that customer can now order from Amazon, then "Get It Today" delivery and have it waiting at their door step before they get there.

With same-day delivery being so heavily pursued by Amazon, the heavyweight retailer could partner with a same-day courier service like A-1 Express to perform its' deliveries. The New York Courier has a nationwide footprint and utilizes the latest in courier technology that enables it to deliver fast.

References: 8.6.14, Yahoo Finances, Amazon Same-Day Delivery Expanding - “Get It Today” Available in Six More Cities

Modern Distribution Management Talks Same-Day Delivery And It's Growth

With the emergence of e-commerce and online retail, shopping has become easy, efficient, and for retailers, very competitive. Retailers have been looking for the next big thing to grab a hold to in order to take consumer buying to the next level. What was not even considered in the past as having no imprint on retail, is now perhaps what is creating something so revolutionary, it is paving the way of the future of business.

Same-day delivery, which use to be commonly known as "local delivery", is what has become a premier driver in the retail and distribution industry. Modern Distribution Management recently released an article discussing how same-day delivery has become well-known as it has been made more logistically feasible due to modern fleet technology. In times past, local delivery was simply involved getting a package, item or freight, from one point to another within a short radius. It was only conceivable to have certain products shipped in this fashion, especially with transportation costs accounting for 25 to 35 percent of a seller's overall overhead. Yet now, distributors have the type of technology-based delivery network suited and innovative enough to handle same-day delivery.

Grand Junction, cloud-based software company that helps distributors manage their delivery network, had input on the rise of same-day delivery in the article. Its' founder and CEO Rob Howard commented, "(Local delivery) has been around, but it's starting to hit the prime time. One of the reasons is because Amazon, eBay, Google – bunches of people – are starting to offer same-day delivery programs for consumers. And they have to use the local delivery industry for that, and that is a forcing function to force the professionalization of local delivery and kind of move it to the prime-time." This is in fact true as these large e-retailers are making huge investments into this level of service, as shoppers' access to online use grows.

Online sales have experienced growth year after year and there's a reason why. Technology has also opened the door wide for convenience, as consumers can virtually shop from anywhere they are. The best deals are online and shoppers enjoy the hunt. Once they find it, some of them don't want to wait multiple days to get their purchase in their hands. Same-day delivery is literally bridging the gap, as shoppers aren't getting their products from a distribution center far away. What they just bought can be sourced from the local physical store and delivered to their front door within hours.

With the direction of technology, distribution and logistics, same-day delivery is going to become a household option for shipping products, whether it comes from a local warehouse, physical store or a delivery truck. It would be wise for companies that are looking to thrive online and in their local stores, to partner with a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express. The Portland Courier can help expand your online business quickly to enter into new markets and can be a one-stop source for same-day delivery nationwide. A-1 Express can help get your local delivery system headed upstream with the flow of current fulfillment trends, so as logistics move, you'll move with it.

References: 7.7.14, www.mdm.com, Scott Merrill, Same-Day Delivery, Fleet Tracking Gain Focus in Distribution

Patriot Tactical Is Nimble With Amazon And Google, Even Uses Same-Day Shipping

When a company is solely a physical store in the retail industry, their competition battle is a little different from those on the web. In today's mix of e-retail, there are a number of online companies in the same race seeking market share full of shoppers that are looking to do easy spending and find great deals. Online retail is growing at 16% annually and same-day delivery is in demand. Yet, there are one e-retail competitor, Amazon, that have a grip on the market. Also, Google has the search engine industry in its' back pocket. If your company is in the ring with them, its' best to have an effective strategy if you're going to last.

E-retailers are making various business moves to stand up against the best of them, which is what U.S. Patriot Tactical is doing. This company is a store-based retailer of boots, apparel and gear for members of the military.

Sales for the retailer have consistently grown in recent years and the question is how is the retailer doing it. U.S. Patriot has its' share of challenges as every other retailer in the race, but what is making the difference is between its' sales and becoming irrelevant. Amazon and Google are at both fronts, therefore, both have given aggressive attention to thrive.

“A company at our size, we don’t have as many resources available to us, so it’s hard for us to keep up with the updates from Google, or it takes longer for us to respond,” stated U.S Patriot Tactical's President Paul Yoo in the article. A year ago, the retailer had to overcome the challenge of fast site speed, as well as Google changes. Google performs regular shifts on web site ranking, which can make it difficult to stay visible online. Small e-retailers know this is crucial for their online selling and search engine optimization is key to their sales. However, large retailers have the flexible spending to invest in paid search ads, in comparison to small guys with limited budgets. The article stated search engines may favor large retailers with recognizable names as well.

U.S. Patriot Tactical has learned to incorporate more in-depth content for its' website, utilizing copywriters to create detailed product descriptions. The retailer essentially has leaned more towards search engine optimization the organic way, which fits their budget, and at the same time, boosts their online sales. With a search for "military boots", the report stated U.S. Patriot ranked first among Google organic listings.

The retailers also has the competition of Amazon with selling their online products. As robust as Amazon is on the web, U.S. Patriot had to be agile with certain products in order to create sales. Yoo said in the article, “Sometimes we’ll buy up the inventory from the manufacturer before Amazon will even get their hands on it. For us, being nimble is survival. For now, I have more inventory on many items than Amazon does, since this is my specialty. But the minute they decide to go into my niche, I’m not sure I’ll have very much to say about it. That’s something a lot of small retailers are faced with.” The company has also opted to sell some of its' products on Amazon, such as boots, due to its' vast 60,000 stock of them. It can also prepare for competing in local markets by implementing same-day delivery, which is what Amazon is doing as well. A Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express can help deliver products fast nationwide. The Charlotte Courier can help compete in the long-term.

References: 6.24.14, Internet Retailer, Stefany Zaroban, How one Second 500 e-retailer handles Amazon and Google

Amazon To Use Robots In Warehouses And Same-Day Delivery For Online Orders

When it comes to aggressive, pioneering technology in e-retail order fulfillment, there are few companies doing what Amazon does. The robust, web-based retailer numerous of fulfillment centers strategically placed throughout the US, and the number is growing rapidly. Yet, Amazon is not only after quantifying its’ growth, but also optimizing the quality of the warehouses. This is where Amazon’s next step could be groundbreaking and revolutionize how retailers fulfill their orders as soon as this year.

Amazon is about to increase the current 1,000 robot worker scale in its’ warehouses to 10,000 by the end of 2014 reported CNN Money. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos held a meeting with its’ shareholders explaining the new initiative and its’ benefits. It will save time and money, as fulfillment cost will go down.

The retailer bought robot-maker Kiva Systems two years ago and is using those same robots today. The report stated the robots operate on a highly, complex grid, which requires months of planning and testing to make it work. The new robots will not change Amazon’s employee numbers at the warehouses, but will enhance order fulfillment. This is one aspect of Amazon fulfilling orders, utilizing the latest in robot technology. However, Bezos showed last year that not only technology innovation for order fulfillment is high on the retailer's list, but also the speed in which online packages leave the warehouse and into the shopper’s hands.

Using actual flying drones for same-day delivery of online orders was announced by the CEO as a serious implementation, which Amazon televised drone footage on 60 Minutes. The "octocopters" will be used for Prime Air, another service option within Amazon's Prime family. Customers will be able to receive the online orders within thirty minutes or less. Drones may be quite a hefty investment on the front end, but at the latter, its' definitely worth it. 86% of all Amazon order types actually meet the drone delivery criteria. This translates into volume to cover its' drone costs and gain profit share.

The Federal Aviation Association (FAA) does provide some hurdles that the warehouse robots won't have to consider. The agency stated it will take "several years" to create the drone rules. The agency did state that it has already tested an "Unmanned Aircraft Systems roadmap" last year and is reviewing national airspace requirements. 7,500 drones will fly in the US within five years, which the first commercial drone was used last September for surveying. Inspite of the red tape, Amazon is as focused on drone use, as it is in warehouse robots.

These floor-based robots are for the purpose of getting orders fulfilled faster, but its' for naught if Amazon can’t deliver the order just as fast, when it leaves the warehouse. This is where a Same-Day Courier Services like A-1 Express can make the difference, especially within a thirty-mile radius. The San Jose Courier can be a national source for Amazon to match its' speed inside the warehouse. With the logistical expertise and latest courier technology, A-1 Express can meet and exceed all of Amazon's same-day delivery needs. There is no need for Amazon to perform its' own deliveries, when A-1 Express can do it and make for lowering delivery costs long-term.

Reference: 5.22.14, CNN Money, Katie Lobosco, Army of robots to invade Amazon warehouses

More Battles By E-Retailer Amazon and Competitors For Same-Day Delivery

It is not secret that same-day delivery is what retailers have honed in on and are determined to be the first to the finish line. Newcomers are springing up, roll-outs are being made, and new service innovations are being tossed around, trying to find what will fit. Enormous investments are being made by the largest "e-tailers" in the game, including Amazon, eBay, Google and more. All of them are certain success is at the door, and so the battle continues.

Forbes reported recently about how the battles are intensifying regarding same-day delivery. Each of the big boys are all putting their formula to the test and are now expanding their versions. The idea is to make same-day delivery the norm for shoppers in big, highly populated cities, which will not only help e-tailers, but also brick-and-mortar retailers that manufacture the products. It will be a win-win, but the win only comes with the same-day delivery that works—with longevity. Seeing the growth being made by the heavy hitters, it appears all of them are confident with using their respective delivery models.

Amazon has been quietly after same-day delivery for a while and now the e-tailer has been unfolding more of its' strategy as the battle heats up. The company has announced expanding its' same-day delivery into Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas. This means Amazon now has 12 metro cities in which it will offer same-day delivery. For orders placed between 8am and 12:15pm, Amazon will deliver by 9pm the same day. Not only is this coming, but Amazon is planning to bypass a same-day courier for online retail deliveries and perform its' own deliveries. Amazon will launch its' own delivery fleet, consisting of its’ own trucks and drivers. This is also being tested in San Francisco, yet Amazon could be planning to expand it to Los Angeles and New York City.

The e-tail giant may be expanding, however, other competitors are making big moves of their own. EBay has rolled out eBay Now, which offers shoppers a one-to-two hour same-day delivery from local retailers into 25 cities. It has an "AM-PM" approach to its’ service levels. This consists of orders that are placed in the morning, will be delivery that afternoon. Orders placed in the afternoon, will be delivered the following morning. Via EBay Enterprise, the company is also offering a "ship-from-store" product, where customers can have their online orders picked up from a physical store, and then, delivered to their front door.

Google is battling with its' Google Shopping Express, expanding into West Los Angeles and Manhattan. Newcomer Uber, has now launched UberRUSH, which includes delivering packages via a mobile app using the same transportation arrangement it has with its' urban passengers. Uber's charge is a flat $15 within a certain delivery zone and $5 more bucks for an outer zone delivery.

Which of these e-tailer's models will work? Time and results will tell. Another viable option for e-tailers and brick-and-mortar stores is to turn to partnering with a same-day courier like A-1 Express. This Los Angeles Courier has the courier expertise and technology to implement a cost-effective delivery solution. A-1 Express has a nationwide footprint as well, able to roll-out same-day delivery in the US cities where retailers want it the most.

Reference: 5.6.14, www.forbes.com, Robert Bowman, Battle Intensifies for Local and Same-Day Delivery Service by Amazon and Its Rivals