Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) has launched an Amazon-like fulfillment network in the United States, promising faster, lower-cost shipping for merchants using its e-commerce platform.
The Canadian firm announced the move on June 19. The Shopify Fulfillment Network utilizes machine learning to identify “the closest fulfillment centers and optimal inventory quantities per location to ensure fast, low-cost delivery,” the company said.
The fulfillment network is available as an early-access offering to U.S. customers. Merchants that ship 10 to 10,000 packages daily will be eligible to use the fulfillment centers, The Canadian Press reported.
Chief Product Officer Craig Miller told a developer conference in Toronto that Shopify hoped to make warehousing and shipping more approachable for merchants.
About 800,000 merchants in 175 countries use Shopify’s platform. Those merchants include small businesses and major multinationals such as Uniliever.
In contrast to Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Shopify’s ecommerce platform integrates into merchants’ websites.
The company offered few details about the location of its fulfillment centers, or partnerships for deliveries.
Shopify has been on an impressive growth streak as of late. It reported US$320 million in gross revenue in the first quarter of 2019, a 50 percent increase compared to a year earlier.
