An Amazon worker delivers packages to the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) in Denver, Colorado, USA, April 22, 2020.
Kevin Mohatt | Reuters
Amazon is easing some of the pressure on third-party sellers to pack and ship their orders due to ongoing coronavirus constraints on major carriers.
In August last year, the company announced that starting in February 2021, members of the Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime program will be required to make deliveries on Saturday and meet one-day and two-day delivery targets.
In a note sent to sellers by CNBC on Tuesday, Amazon said it was temporarily easing delivery speed targets for SFP members in response to “pandemic constraints on the logistics industry.” It means that Amazon will grant SFP members a license if they cannot ensure a one and two day delivery speed for some buyers.
“Although we know that sellers like you are working to raise the bar for Prime customers, we also understand that the pandemic has introduced constraints on the logistics industry you depend on to meet customer expectations,” the note said. “In recognition of these constraints, we are adjusting our one-day and two-day delivery speed targets.”
An Amazon spokesman confirmed to CNBC that the changes were announced to sellers on Tuesday.
The SFP program, launched in 2016, allows third-party merchants to make inventory eligible for two-day shipping and display the Prime badge eclipse on their lists without paying for Amazon’s Fulfillment By Amazon services.
With SFP, sellers store their own products and package their own orders, while delivery is handled by carriers such as the US Postal Service, FedEx or UPS. Large carriers have experienced unprecedented pressure on their systems during the coronavirus pandemic and the holiday shopping season as a result of high e-commerce activity.
In addition, UPS and FedEx are likely to face even more capacity constraints in the coming months as they prioritize shipments of millions of doses of coronavirus vaccine.
Amazon measures an SFP member’s ability to meet two- or two-day delivery goals based on how often these delivery options are displayed to customers when they view a seller’s product listing. Following Tuesday’s update, SFP members will be asked to guarantee delivery in two days or less for 55% of people viewing their product listing.
Starting in June, SFP members will have to submit delivery speeds of at least two days for 70% of people viewing their product listing. Sellers will continue to be required to support Saturday and Sunday delivery and pick-up, as well as provide nationwide delivery coverage, starting February 1st.
Amazon announced the change last summer to give sellers enough time to prepare and communicate with carriers, the company said at the time. The move has drawn criticism from third-party vendors, who say it could burden their operations if they had to work on weekends.
Single-order sellers have struggled to meet Amazon’s two-day delivery goals just before the coronavirus pandemic. Less than 16 percent of US SFP orders were shipped in two days, largely because sellers don’t work on weekends, Amazon said in August last year.