Amazon Disputes ShipMatrix Data Regarding On-Time Delivery

Consulting firm ShipMatrix has said Amazon’s on-time delivery rates have been untimely, but the eCommerce giant disagrees, stating that its record is more timely than reported, Reuters said on Wednesday (Dec. 11).

Amazon had record sales on Cyber Monday orders, but had to contend with regional winter storms. However, deliveries were still on time, with Amazon calling the ShipMatrix data “inaccurate.”

ShipMatrix said that 93.7 percent of merchandise was delivered on time by Amazon vans during the week ending on Dec. 7. The week that included Thanksgiving had on-time deliveries of 98.2 percent.

“Some deliveries were briefly impacted by weather, but we worked quickly to re-balance capacity across our network,” said Amazon Spokeswoman Rena Lunak in a statement to Reuters.

Amazon launched one-day delivery in April, prompting FedEx to cancel its agreement with the online retailer. The holidays are a critical time for deliveries, with merchants aggressively pursuing faster options, but the season is also a test for Amazon’s in-house delivery operations. Many Amazon customers have Prime memberships for $119 a year, and count on getting one- and two-day Prime shipping at no additional charge.

The majority of Amazon’s own deliveries are handled by vans from local hubs. It is anticipated that about 275 million packages will be delivered between Thanksgiving and Christmas, which is twice as many as 2018, according to ShipMatrix.

“The more you ratchet down [delivery] time frames, the less margin you have for error,” said President Evan Armstrong of supply chain consulting firm Armstrong & Associates.

UPS had 92.7 percent on-time delivery during Cyber Monday week. FedEx came in at 90.4 percent, and the U.S. Postal Service at 92.3 percent.

“If you ordered on Amazon and it’s late, Amazon’s going to get the blame,” said Cathy Morrow Roberson, founder of consulting firm Logistics Trends & Insights. “I don’t think, this year, people are going to be as forgiving as in the past.”

Amazon said in April that it would spend $800 million to slash delivery times from two days to one for its millions of Prime customers. As of now, one-day delivery is an option for some goods, and certain products even qualify for same-day delivery, depending on the market.