Another month, another new supply chain service unveiled by Amazon.
Earlier this month it was Amazon Warehousing and Distribution. In August it was same-day retail delivery. In June and July it was drone delivery, and in April it was the game-changing fulfillment service Buy With Prime. But why stop there?
At its annual seller conference on Thursday, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) announced the U.S. launch of Veeqo, a free shipping software for sellers that finds discounted rates with the largest carriers in the nation, including UPS, FedEx, DHL and the U.S. Postal Service.
The platform, which Amazon quietly acquired earlier this year, allows sellers to connect more than just their Amazon sales. It can also be integrated with channels like eBay, Etsy and Shopify, allowing sellers to find the lowest rates regardless of where they choose to sell.
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“As a seller, I found that shipping orders and managing inventory across channels was time consuming and error prone,” said Matt Warren, CEO and founder of Veeqo. “The available shipping management software was complicated, lacked the right features or was designed for an enterprise-sized retailer. I created a system built with the needs of all multichannel sellers in mind. Sellers should be able to track, price, sell and ship orders across multiple channels in just a few clicks — and with Veeqo they can.”
Veeqo was previously priced at an average cost of $450 per month in the U.K., where the service first became available. Now, Amazon has made the service free for all sellers — they only need to pay for their chosen carrier labels.
The software offers several features designed to cut shipping costs, with branded shipping being only one of them. It also supports automated shipping of up to 100 orders at a time, and an integration with Amazon’s Buy Shipping service allows sellers to log in with Amazon, import orders and access the lowest shipping rates.
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The platform plans to add an additional suite of free features in the coming months. One is an inventory management solution that would allow sellers to track stock across locations, manage bundles, email purchase orders to suppliers and sync inventories across Amazon, eBay, Etsy and Shopify.
It’s also looking to roll out a scanner and mobile app to boost picking accuracy, as well as a reporting and forecasting tool that draws insights from historical data. Those features and more will be available to sellers after Veeqo’s full launch later this year.
For now, though, sellers in the U.S. and U.K. have access to the platform’s core suite of solutions, including its automated rate-finding service. U.K.-based sellers who have been paying Veeqo’s $450 monthly fee now have free access to those services, starting Thursday.
Other services unveiled by Amazon this week include additional data and analytics tools, greater marketing capabilities and a new program for its delivery contractors to provide access to free academic courses.
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