Amazon fires FedEx at the peak of the holiday rush

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Amazon has barred 3rd-party vendors — who account for more than ½ of the merchandise sold on its website — from using FedEx to ship their items due to concerns about FedEx’s reliability.

The decision strains the relationship between the e-commerce giant and FedEx from separation to a nearly complete divorce:

• Amazon had already stopped using FedEx for its own shipments in the US and has been building its own delivery infrastructure. 

The move couldn’t come at a busier time.

• Delivery volume this time of year is double the average. And the short holiday season (because of a late Thanksgiving) has added more pressure for shippers.

But statistics show FedEx has maintained a strong on-time delivery rate.

• FedEx had a 90.4% on-time rate the week after Black Friday, compared to 92.7% for UPS and 93.7% for Amazon’s own delivery service, according to an analysis by ShipMatrix Inc. via the WSJ.    

So what gives?

A guy by the name of Dave Clark, Amazon’s global logistics chief. He made the call to further sever ties with FedEx.

• At a company known for its strenuous work conditions, Clark is known as “The Sniper” for his demanding approach.
• Clark used to hide in the shadows of Amazon warehouses and look for “slacking” workers to fire.

Now he’s absolutely, positively made sure that your next-day Amazon delivery won’t come in a purple-and-orange package.