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Amazon to revolutionise final mile in Australia: Linfox

Amazon to revolutionise final mile in Australia: Linfox

The arrival of e-commerce marketplace Amazon in Australia will lead to a transformation of the country’s final-mile offering, according to an industry expert at logistics and supply chain company Linfox.

“One significant impact I think Amazon will have is in the realm of last-mile delivery,” Linfox’s General Manager – Operations Development, John Pucek, told Logistics & Materials Handling.

“I think there does need to be some changes in the industry in that space as, at the moment, service in the Australian marketplace is really limited to what the last-mile delivery organisations are providing.”

He noted that he believes changes will be implemented to improve customer satisfaction, through companies working in conjunction with each other.

“I think what will help drive an improved model [in Australia] will be Amazon acting as a big aggregator, helping the industry move from a traditional one-carrier delivery model to more of a service-based network where the-end business or end-customer is getting a better experience, and those organisations will end up sharing more of the work among themselves,” he added.

As for the direct impact of Amazon on Australia’s businesses, Pucek said that retailers will face a particular set of challenges, and they will likely need to embrace e-commerce to maintain their competitiveness.

“The challenge for traditional operators will be to bend and flex with consumer demand, he said. “From a consumer goods organisation’s point of view, there is still a desire for those organisations to sell where the customers are, whether that be through bricks-and-mortar retailers, eBay or Amazon.

“What the organisations have been looking for is that direct connection to the end-customer, whether it be a business or a consumer.

“There’s a very large untapped market out there because it’s not cost effective for these consumer goods organisations to reach out and bring these smaller independent retailers or customers out there on board – when you add in e-commerce as a tool, it enables a much more cost-effective and direct way to connect with those customers, therefore to grow your customer base and volume.

“It’s about being where the customers are – some of those will be direct relationships and some will be through the marketplaces.”