Amazon.com’s Chinese logistics division is now brokering ocean freight services for suppliers, entering a role that it has previously left to commercial freight forwarders, reports the Wall Street Journal. Beijing Century Joyo Courier Service – Amazon’s logistics unit in China – has shipped more than 150 containers in the past three months, said the WSJ. The containers appear to belong to Chinese suppliers who participate in the “Fulfilment by Amazon” (FBA) service without operating via a US-based vendor.
Previousl the norm would be for the Chinese supplier to ship goods to multiple Amazon warehouses in the US, with freight paid by the (American) vendor. Amazon stores the goods and ships them to consumers on the vendor’s behalf.
Recently, many Chinese suppliers have cut the American vendor out of the supply process and have been selling directly to American consumers via FBA. Amazon facilitates this process through its Amazon Global Selling portal. Amazon China President Doug Gurr said in 2015 that the firm was prioritizing its assistance to “sellers from China to grow their business globally.”