EP257: Introducing Amazon Supply Chain Services
Amazon Supply Chain Services is a logistics offering that allows sellers to use Amazon's extensive logistics network for fulfilling orders across multiple channels. It aims to reduce fulfillment costs and increase delivery speed for businesses of all sizes.
Key Takeaways
- Audit your fulfillment costs before evaluating options
- Leverage Amazon's logistics for faster delivery
- Streamline inventory management with Amazon's network
- Stay informed about Amazon's logistics innovations
Amazon's Logistics Network Unlocked
Here's a number worth sitting with: Amazon has spent over $100 billion building one of the most sophisticated logistics networks on the planet. Warehouses the size of small cities. Same-day delivery infrastructure. Cross-border freight systems. Last-mile delivery that reaches more American homes than almost any carrier alive. And until recently? That infrastructure was locked inside Amazon's ecosystem — available only if you were selling on Amazon, playing by Amazon's rules, dependent on Amazon's platform for your survival. That just changed. Amazon Supply Chain Services — sometimes called Amazon's Multi-Channel Distribution or its broader Supply Chain by Amazon program — is now open to businesses that don't exclusively sell on Amazon. We're talking about the ability to tap Amazon's warehousing, freight, and last-mile delivery for your Shopify store, your wholesale accounts, your DTC channel, your retail partners. Not just your Amazon listings. If you're a seller doing $10K a month and you've been cobbling together 3PL solutions that eat into your margins and create fulfillment headaches — this matters to you right now. If you're running a $500K-a-month operation and you've been managing a patchwork of logistics partners across channels — this changes your cost structure conversation entirely. The question isn't whether Amazon opening its logistics network is big news. It is. The question is: who actually benefits, who gets burned by depending on it too heavily, and what does a smart seller — at any level — do with this information right now? Because Amazon giving you access to its infrastructure is not the same thing as Amazon giving you a competitive advantage. Those are two very different things. And the difference is what this episode is about.
Understanding Amazon Supply Chain Services
Let's break down what Amazon Supply Chain Services actually is — and what it means for your business depending on where you are right now. At its core, Amazon is opening up the same logistics backbone that powers FBA to sellers who want to fulfill orders across multiple channels. That means you can potentially use Amazon's warehousing to store inventory, Amazon's freight to move it, and Amazon's last-mile delivery network to get it to customers — even if the sale happened on your own website, through a retailer, or on another marketplace entirely. For a seller doing $5K to $50K a month, here's the immediate translation: your 3PL costs are likely eating 8% to 15% of your revenue. If you're shipping 200 orders a month from a regional 3PL with inconsistent pick-and-pack quality, Amazon's infrastructure offers something real — scale, reliability, and potentially lower per-unit costs as your volume grows. The barrier to accessing enterprise-grade logistics just dropped. For a mid-level operator at $100K to $500K a month, this changes your channel diversification math. If you've been hesitant to scale your DTC or wholesale channels because your logistics couldn't support the complexity, that friction point just got smaller. You can now run a genuinely multi-channel operation from a single inventory pool — which means less capital tied up in split inventory across multiple warehouses. For larger operators, the strategic play is even more nuanced — and we'll get into that in the example segment. But here's the underlying mechanic every seller needs to understand: Amazon is not doing this out of generosity. They're monetizing their infrastructure as a standalone business. That means they're competing with UPS, FedEx, ShipBob, and every regional 3PL simultaneously. And when Amazon competes, pricing gets aggressive — at least initially. The window of favorable pricing may not stay open forever. That's the clock ticking underneath this announcement.
Real-World Applications of Amazon Supply Chain Services
Let's make this concrete with two sellers — one at a scale you might recognize yourself in, and one further up the ladder. First: a kitchenware brand doing about $65K a month across Amazon and Shopify. Before Amazon Supply Chain Services, they were splitting inventory — FBA stock for Amazon orders, a regional 3PL in Ohio for Shopify fulfillment. The problem? They were constantly over-stocked in one location and under-stocked in the other. Their 3PL charged $2.50 per pick-and-pack plus monthly storage, and Shopify fulfillment was running 11 days average delivery time — brutal for conversion rates on a DTC channel they were trying to grow. When they migrated Shopify fulfillment to Amazon's network, their average delivery time dropped to 3.2 days. Their per-unit fulfillment cost came down by roughly 18%. And they freed up the mental bandwidth of managing two separate inventory systems. Their Shopify conversion rate improved measurably — not because their product changed, but because customers trusted the delivery window. That's a real operational win for a seller at a real-world scale. Now zoom out to a larger operator — a supplement brand doing $800K a month with distribution across Amazon, a Shopify DTC channel, and regional retail accounts. Their play was different. They used Amazon Supply Chain Services not to replace their existing 3PL, but to handle Amazon channel replenishment and peak-season overflow — keeping their primary 3PL relationship for retail and wholesale fulfillment where Amazon's terms don't apply. That's the sophisticated move: using Amazon's infrastructure as a strategic layer, not a total dependency. This is what sellers who survive platform changes do differently — they use new tools without becoming captive to them.
Strategic Moves for Sellers
Three moves. Every level. Let's go. Move one: Audit your current fulfillment cost per unit before you evaluate anything. This is the move that matters most if you're a seller doing $10K to $100K a month. You cannot evaluate Amazon Supply Chain Services — or any 3PL alternative — without knowing your true per-unit fulfillment cost today. That means pick-and-pack, storage, freight in, freight out, returns processing, and any hidden fees buried in your current contract. Most sellers are shocked when they actually run this number. Get it on paper. Then you have a real benchmark to compare against Amazon's pricing — and you'll negotiate from a position of knowledge, not guesswork. Move two: Pilot one channel, not your entire operation. Whether you're at $20K/month or $2M/month, the smart play is to migrate one fulfillment channel to Amazon Supply Chain Services and measure the results for 60 to 90 days before making it your primary infrastructure. Pick your Shopify store, or a single wholesale account, or a secondary marketplace. Run the numbers on delivery time, cost per unit, and customer satisfaction. Treat it like a business decision, not a platform commitment. Move three: Build a logistics diversification plan — not a logistics dependency. This is the advanced operator angle, but it applies at every level. Amazon can change pricing, change terms, or change access requirements at any point. We've seen it happen with FBA fees multiple times. The sellers who stay in control are the ones who maintain at least two viable fulfillment paths. Use Amazon's network aggressively while pricing is favorable. But keep a qualified 3PL relationship warm. Your logistics infrastructure is a competitive asset — don't hand it entirely to any single vendor, including Amazon.
Episode Summary
In this episode of The High Voltage Business Builders Podcast, curated by Neil Twa, we delve into Amazon's latest offering: Amazon Supply Chain Services. This service opens up Amazon's extensive logistics network to sellers at every level, promising to transform fulfillment strategies for businesses. Whether you're a beginner or an established seller, understanding this service is crucial for optimizing your operations. Sellers, particularly those generating between $10K and $100K monthly, can benefit from reduced fulfillment costs and faster delivery times, making it a game-changer in the ecommerce space. By leveraging Amazon's logistics, sellers can streamline inventory management and improve customer satisfaction. This episode offers actionable insights, including auditing current fulfillment costs and evaluating new logistics options, to help sellers integrate this service effectively. As Amazon continues to innovate, staying informed about such developments is essential for maintaining a competitive edge in the market. Neil Twa's expertise guides listeners through these strategies, ensuring that sellers can adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing ecommerce landscape.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Amazon Supply Chain Services?
Amazon Supply Chain Services is a logistics offering that allows sellers to use Amazon's extensive logistics network for fulfilling orders across multiple channels. It aims to reduce fulfillment costs and increase delivery speed for businesses of all sizes.
How can Amazon Supply Chain Services benefit my business?
By using Amazon Supply Chain Services, sellers can access Amazon's logistics infrastructure, which can lead to lower fulfillment costs, faster delivery times, and simplified inventory management. This can enhance customer satisfaction and streamline operations.
Who should consider using Amazon Supply Chain Services?
Sellers at every level, from beginners to advanced operators, can benefit from Amazon Supply Chain Services. It is especially useful for those looking to optimize their fulfillment strategy and reduce costs while improving delivery efficiency.
Full Transcript
Amazon's Logistics Network Unlocked
Here's a number worth sitting with: Amazon has spent over $100 billion building one of the most sophisticated logistics networks on the planet. Warehouses the size of small cities. Same-day delivery infrastructure. Cross-border freight systems. Last-mile delivery that reaches more American homes than almost any carrier alive. And until recently? That infrastructure was locked inside Amazon's ecosystem — available only if you were selling on Amazon, playing by Amazon's rules, dependent on Amazon's platform for your survival. That just changed. Amazon Supply Chain Services — sometimes called Amazon's Multi-Channel Distribution or its broader Supply Chain by Amazon program — is now open to businesses that don't exclusively sell on Amazon. We're talking about the ability to tap Amazon's warehousing, freight, and last-mile delivery for your Shopify store, your wholesale accounts, your DTC channel, your retail partners. Not just your Amazon listings. If you're a seller doing $10K a month and you've been cobbling together 3PL solutions that eat into your margins and create fulfillment headaches — this matters to you right now. If you're running a $500K-a-month operation and you've been managing a patchwork of logistics partners across channels — this changes your cost structure conversation entirely. The question isn't whether Amazon opening its logistics network is big news. It is. The question is: who actually benefits, who gets burned by depending on it too heavily, and what does a smart seller — at any level — do with this information right now? Because Amazon giving you access to its infrastructure is not the same thing as Amazon giving you a competitive advantage. Those are two very different things. And the difference is what this episode is about.
Understanding Amazon Supply Chain Services
Let's break down what Amazon Supply Chain Services actually is — and what it means for your business depending on where you are right now. At its core, Amazon is opening up the same logistics backbone that powers FBA to sellers who want to fulfill orders across multiple channels. That means you can potentially use Amazon's warehousing to store inventory, Amazon's freight to move it, and Amazon's last-mile delivery network to get it to customers — even if the sale happened on your own website, through a retailer, or on another marketplace entirely. For a seller doing $5K to $50K a month, here's the immediate translation: your 3PL costs are likely eating 8% to 15% of your revenue. If you're shipping 200 orders a month from a regional 3PL with inconsistent pick-and-pack quality, Amazon's infrastructure offers something real — scale, reliability, and potentially lower per-unit costs as your volume grows. The barrier to accessing enterprise-grade logistics just dropped. For a mid-level operator at $100K to $500K a month, this changes your channel diversification math. If you've been hesitant to scale your DTC or wholesale channels because your logistics couldn't support the complexity, that friction point just got smaller. You can now run a genuinely multi-channel operation from a single inventory pool — which means less capital tied up in split inventory across multiple warehouses. For larger operators, the strategic play is even more nuanced — and we'll get into that in the example segment. But here's the underlying mechanic every seller needs to understand: Amazon is not doing this out of generosity. They're monetizing their infrastructure as a standalone business. That means they're competing with UPS, FedEx, ShipBob, and every regional 3PL simultaneously. And when Amazon competes, pricing gets aggressive — at least initially. The window of favorable pricing may not stay open forever. That's the clock ticking underneath this announcement.
Real-World Applications of Amazon Supply Chain Services
Let's make this concrete with two sellers — one at a scale you might recognize yourself in, and one further up the ladder. First: a kitchenware brand doing about $65K a month across Amazon and Shopify. Before Amazon Supply Chain Services, they were splitting inventory — FBA stock for Amazon orders, a regional 3PL in Ohio for Shopify fulfillment. The problem? They were constantly over-stocked in one location and under-stocked in the other. Their 3PL charged $2.50 per pick-and-pack plus monthly storage, and Shopify fulfillment was running 11 days average delivery time — brutal for conversion rates on a DTC channel they were trying to grow. When they migrated Shopify fulfillment to Amazon's network, their average delivery time dropped to 3.2 days. Their per-unit fulfillment cost came down by roughly 18%. And they freed up the mental bandwidth of managing two separate inventory systems. Their Shopify conversion rate improved measurably — not because their product changed, but because customers trusted the delivery window. That's a real operational win for a seller at a real-world scale. Now zoom out to a larger operator — a supplement brand doing $800K a month with distribution across Amazon, a Shopify DTC channel, and regional retail accounts. Their play was different. They used Amazon Supply Chain Services not to replace their existing 3PL, but to handle Amazon channel replenishment and peak-season overflow — keeping their primary 3PL relationship for retail and wholesale fulfillment where Amazon's terms don't apply. That's the sophisticated move: using Amazon's infrastructure as a strategic layer, not a total dependency. This is what sellers who survive platform changes do differently — they use new tools without becoming captive to them.
Strategic Moves for Sellers
Three moves. Every level. Let's go. Move one: Audit your current fulfillment cost per unit before you evaluate anything. This is the move that matters most if you're a seller doing $10K to $100K a month. You cannot evaluate Amazon Supply Chain Services — or any 3PL alternative — without knowing your true per-unit fulfillment cost today. That means pick-and-pack, storage, freight in, freight out, returns processing, and any hidden fees buried in your current contract. Most sellers are shocked when they actually run this number. Get it on paper. Then you have a real benchmark to compare against Amazon's pricing — and you'll negotiate from a position of knowledge, not guesswork. Move two: Pilot one channel, not your entire operation. Whether you're at $20K/month or $2M/month, the smart play is to migrate one fulfillment channel to Amazon Supply Chain Services and measure the results for 60 to 90 days before making it your primary infrastructure. Pick your Shopify store, or a single wholesale account, or a secondary marketplace. Run the numbers on delivery time, cost per unit, and customer satisfaction. Treat it like a business decision, not a platform commitment. Move three: Build a logistics diversification plan — not a logistics dependency. This is the advanced operator angle, but it applies at every level. Amazon can change pricing, change terms, or change access requirements at any point. We've seen it happen with FBA fees multiple times. The sellers who stay in control are the ones who maintain at least two viable fulfillment paths. Use Amazon's network aggressively while pricing is favorable. But keep a qualified 3PL relationship warm. Your logistics infrastructure is a competitive asset — don't hand it entirely to any single vendor, including Amazon.
Taking Action with Amazon Supply Chain Services
Amazon opening its logistics network to every business is one of those shifts that sounds like pure upside on the surface — and it very well might be for your business. Lower fulfillment costs, faster delivery times, simplified inventory management. Those are real wins that sellers at every level can access right now. But the sellers who will actually capitalize on this — and not just get swept along by the hype — are the ones who approach it with clear eyes. Who know their numbers before they make a move. Who pilot before they commit. Who build infrastructure they control, not infrastructure they're dependent on. That's the kind of thinking we bring to every episode of this show. And it's the same thinking that Voltage has been applying for 13 years — helping sellers at every stage build businesses that are resilient, profitable, and genuinely theirs. If you're at the stage where you're evaluating moves like this and you want a team that has seen every version of this business — the FBA fee hikes, the policy shifts, the platform changes that looked like threats and turned into opportunities — Voltage works directly with sellers to build and scale Amazon brands the right way. Operator-led, data-driven, built on a track record that started before most of today's "experts" ever logged into Seller Central. The link to connect with the Voltage team is in the show notes. No pressure, no pitch — just a real conversation about where your business is and where it could go. If today's episode gave you one clear move to make, that's the mission accomplished. Share it with another seller who needs to hear it. This is The High Voltage Business Builders Podcast — curated by Neil Twa and the Voltage team. Build smart. Build yours.