Amazon setting up entrepreneurs to deliver its products
As little as $10K is needed to get started, with no logistics experience.
With its new initiative launched Thursday, online retail giant Amazon appears to be attempting to cut out some delivery middlemen by the names of the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx and UPS.
It has announced the launch of a new program that gives entrepreneurs the building blocks to start their own companies delivering packages for the e-commerce giant.
"Customer demand is higher than ever and we have a need to build more capacity. ... We are going to empower new, small businesses to form in order to take advantage of the growing opportunity in the e-commerce package delivery," Dave Clark, Amazon's senior vice president of worldwide operations, said.
Amazon will not only help companies get off the ground, the company said, but also assist in managing them.
"To help keep startup costs as low as $10,000, entrepreneurs will also have access to a variety of exclusively negotiated discounts on important resources they'll need to operate a delivery business,” the company said. “The deals are available on Amazon-branded vehicles customized for delivery, branded uniforms, fuel, comprehensive insurance coverage and more.”
Taking advantage of the opportunity was a "no-brainer" for Aurora, Colorado, business owner Ola Abimbola, he said, as one of Amazon's beta participants in the new program.
He hired more than 40 workers in five months, Abimbola said.
"It's encouraging to know that any driven individual can use Amazon's support and the Delivery Service Partner community to build a successful, thriving business," he told Amazon for a feature on the company's website.
Brothers Lalo and Roberto Ramon of Austin, Texas, said their company had started with about 10 employees in February 2017. Now, they said, their delivery service employs more than 75 workers.
"It's a pretty big deal," Lalo Ramon said in the Amazon feature.
"This is exciting. It's great [and] something that we're building for us, for our community, and having the opportunity to work with a company like Amazon is really something," Roberto Ramon said. "It solidified my stance as an entrepreneur."
Amazon said it was also committing $1 million toward funding startup costs for military veterans, offering $10,000 reimbursements for qualified candidates to build their businesses.
As little as $10,000 is needed to get started and logistics experience was not required, according to its website, where interested individuals can apply for the program.
In a video on its website, FedEx appeared to take the news in stride:
"E-commerce, it's a $1.7 trillion industry that's growing rapidly. … It's no wonder that there are companies who want to be a part of that future and if you could build a shipping network to enable all that e-commerce, the future would be yours. Here's how to go about doing that: First, get a 40-year headstart."
Amazon announced a new in-home delivery feature in 2017 called Amazon Key that allows a driver not only to drop a package off at a customer's doorstep but also to go inside the home -- even when they are not there -- to make a delivery.
The company expanded its Amazon Key service in April, allowing delivery people to leave packages in someone's parked car, as long as the vehicle is parked in a publicly accessible place.
ABC News' Taylor Dunn contributed to this report.