Amazon Eyes Freight-Management Tech

According to reports, Amazon is on the prowl for a way to level up its freight logistics operations with enhanced technology.

The reports from everyone’s favorite group of insiders – unnamed inside ones – indicate that as a follow-up move to signing new lease deals with cargo plane operators and registering to operate an ocean cargo business, Amazon is now looking to license or outright acquire technology that could help it map the most efficient shipping routes.

That move goes hand-in-hand with an effort to hire fleets of trucks, ships and planes to move sellers’ goods. A typical day in the business life of Amazon. The search for outside tech, according to one insider, is to save on development time.

Amazon has offered no official comment on the reports as of yet.

Amazon, armed with a freight-forwarding platform, could theoretically use that leverage to push increasing volume toward its in-house cargo-handling arm. The proposition could be attractive for sellers if the costs are low enough, which in turn could translate into savings for consumers.

“We’re going to give you the Amazon experience,” noted Satish Jindel, president of SJ Consulting Group Inc., a logistics-research firm, on the message Amazon is sending to its sellers. “You’re outsourcing production anyway, why not outsource your entire supply chain?”