Amazon Flexes muscle
Uber-style delivery takes aim at Australia Post
ONLINE retail giant Amazon wants everyday Aussie drivers to deliver its parcels in what experts warn is a strike against Australia Post, courier companies, and old-fashioned bricks and mortar stores.
Amazon Australia launched its Flex scheme in Sydney and Melbourne yesterday, calling for drivers to transport packages for four hours at a time.
Operating via an app in a similar way to Uber Eats, it will see anyone who passes a background check, verifies their driver’s licence and vouches their insurance and car are up to the task deliver online purchases around Australia.
Amazon Australia operators director Craig Fuller said Flex was designed to speed up deliveries in Australia’s two largest cities while providing drivers with a way to “earn extra money” and set their own work schedules.
“As customer demand and delivery needs continue to grow in Australia, Amazon Flex gives us the agility to supplement the work we do with our existing carrier partners so we can speed up delivery items and respond to peaks in demand,” he said.
But Gartner global retail principal research analyst Thomas O’Connor said Amazon Flex would directly threaten the businesses of Australia
Post and courier firms, such as DHL, TNT and Toll, just as Amazon challenged FedEx and the US Postal Service.
“This is another key sign that Amazon is committed to investing in the Australian market,” he said.
“It creates a lot of pressure within this space. We’ll see the likes of Australia Post and Toll really thinking about how they can lift their game and differentiate themselves.”
Mr O’Connor said Amazon’s new delivery service could also help address disappointment local shoppers experienced after the tech giant launched in Australia, when delivery times were slower than in other markets.
Drivers can register as Amazon Flex partners using its Apple or Android app, but must pass driver’s licence verification and a background check that can take up to two weeks.
It’s not clear how much Flex drivers will be paid, but each four-hour block in the app will feature a “minimum payment” for completing deliveries.
The Transport Workers Union warned Amazon’s move could lead to road accidents involving untrained workers.
“There are licensing standards for a reason,” national secretary Michael Kaine said.
“Road transport is the deadliest industry in terms of workplace deaths, with around 200 people killed in truck crashes each year.
“Amazon Flex doesn’t just exploit drivers with poor pay and no conditions, it risks public safety because unskilled delivery drivers will be on the roads delivering potentially large packages with little experience or training in how to do this safely.”