Chances are, if you have ever engaged in the world of eCommerce or online shopping, you are already considerably aware of Amazon and its product services. Yet, there are many aspects of Amazon that are not as widely recognized, including its cloud computing technologies, various advertising services and other subsidiaries. One of these lesser-known features that Amazon has begun to expand on is Amazon Shipping, a solution to delivery services for numerous merchants.
What is Amazon Shipping?
Amazon Shipping is a carrier service offered for both products sold on Amazon as well as other eCommerce sites and channels. This is a ground shipping service that promises delivery of products to the end customer in five days or less.
Through the Amazon Shipping service, a merchant typically sells an item on their own website or through another shopping platform, purchases a shipping label and schedules a pickup with Amazon Shipping. Amazon then collects the item and delivers it to the customer with tracking information provided along the way.
The Amazon Shipping service is available for small parcel packages up to 50 lbs and with sizes up to 59 x 33 x 33. It is currently only available within the contiguous U.S., picking up from warehouses around 15 metropolitan areas.
There are several benefits to using Amazon Shipping, including high reliability, fast shipping seven days a week and no additional fees for residential or weekend deliveries.
Amazon Shipping vs. Amazon Buy Shipping
Differentiating between the two services can be confusing because of the similarity of their names, however, there are key differences between the features offered to sellers. In order for businesses to make more informed decisions tailored to their specific needs, it is important to understand the nuanced differences of these services that set them apart.
Amazon Buy Shipping is a tool that sellers can use to ship efficiently with a selection of Amazon’s various partner carriers. Sellers have a choice of which carrier to use and are often given discounted rates obtained through Amazon’s partnerships. Additionally, Amazon Buy Shipping includes a bulk feature for businesses to save money on shipping labels bought in large quantities.
With Amazon Shipping, Amazon acts as the sole carrier rather than the organizer of other shipping partners. Amazon Shipping uses its own trucks and transportation services to deliver a merchant’s products within two to five days.
Setting up an Account with Amazon Shipping
Once you have decided that you would like to use Amazon Shipping, you have two ways to go about setting up an account to work with Amazon as a carrier.
The first is an Amazon Seller Central (ASC) account, a portal that you can use to market and sell your products on Amazon. This account can also be used to connect with Amazon Shipping to use their carrier services, as well as to integrate with ShipHawk. For more information on how to set up an ASC account, visit https://sellercentral.amazon.com/.
The other option for merchants who have no interest in selling on Amazon is to set up an Amazon Shipping account. This account operates completely independently of Amazon’s fulfillment network used to sell the actual items. An Amazon Shipping account is beneficial because in the future, having an Amazon Shipping account could become the only option to set up the API integration with Amazon Shipping services.
Should you be using Amazon Shipping for Your Business?
Shipping cost can be a large factor in whether Amazon Shipping is a good choice for your business. According to Statista, Amazon has reported a steady increase in shipping costs year after year. Between 2022 and 2023, Amazon’s shipping costs have increased 6.7%, from 83.5 billion to 89.5 billion. Additionally, research from Capital One Shopping showed that “Amazon spent $167.8 billion on shipping and fulfillment in 2022, up 10.5% year-over-year.” This rapid increase could be attributed to the growth of the service both within and outside the fulfillment network.
However, this isn’t to say that Amazon Shipping isn’t a favorable decision. Other factors, including additional fees and surcharges can also significantly financially impact this choice. This past holiday season, Amazon Shipping announced that they wouldn’t be charging additional “peak season fees”, while other carriers continued to impose them. As a result, it was found that “most third-party sellers using the relaunched (Amazon Shipping) service pay at least 30% less compared to the list rate at other leading carriers,”as reported by Ripley MacDonald, VP of Amazon Shipping.
Additionally, Amazon Shipping offers integration with third-party software, including ShipHawk, which can be extremely impactful on the efficiency and effectiveness of a business's logistics.
Overall, Amazon Shipping is a reputable and convenient service that when used correctly could yield successful results for many businesses.
How does ShipHawk integrate with Amazon Shipping?
Amazon Shipping can be a great option for your business, however, it lacks the ability to evaluate multiple shipping options or automate the warehouse order fulfillment process on its own. In order to maximize efficiency and costs, using a software integration like ShipHawk can be extremely beneficial for processing shipments faster and more productively.
The carrier Amazon Shipping is integrated with ShipHawk, based on the account set up on Amazon Seller Central (ASC). ShipHawk can be used in this process to book, pick, pack, label, and ship, where the carrier is Amazon Shipping.
Using ShipHawk, you can find the best rate for shipping your products, whether that may be Amazon Shipping or other carriers. With ShipHawk’s TMS software, you can apply rating rules and shipping policies to orders, as well as provide accurate shipping information to customers before purchasing.
ShipHawk can also help you pick and pack your items most efficiently with an advanced warehouse management system (WMS).
To learn more about how ShipHawk can help your organization save time and money by implementing Amazon Shipping, contact us today.