Amazon Comes Back to Canada Post

[jon]

Original Title: Amazon Dumps Canada Post

Amazon gets approval for Canadian distribution centre
By Hollie Shaw, Financial Post
April 12, 2010 2:25 PM

TORONTO -- Amazon.com Inc. has been granted permission to establish a distribution centre for its operations in Canada. The online retail giant, which has operated a discrete Canadian bookselling web site since 2002, had drawn the ire of the Canadian Booksellers Association for making the application.

The CBA argued such a move would be incompatible with promoting the country’s cultural industries. Until now, Amazon.ca has fulfilled its orders through a pact with Canada Post, which handles distribution through the Crown corporation’s shipping facility. It had been prevented from operating its own facility due to federal restrictions on foreign-owned booksellers that forbid the Seattle company from opening headquarters or call centres here.

James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, announced the distribution centre’s approval under the Investment Canada Act Monday.

“Our Government is committed to strengthening Canada’s economy through all its sectors, especially arts and culture,” said Mr. Moore. “Amazon has shown its willingness to promote Canadian cultural products, and we are pleased it is continuing to demonstrate this through this new investment.”

Amazon has agreed to make an investment of over $20-million, including $1.5-million for cultural events and awards in Canada and to promote Canadian books around the world and to give Canadian books even greater visibility on the Amazon.ca web page.

[jon]

In what I assume was a related move, Amazon.ca switched from Canada Post to UPS for their deliveries in Canada at the beginning of last week.

[Neumann Sennheiser]

Amazon has been using "brown" here in the states for as long as we've been shipping from Amazon (almost daily deliveries to my household). Great service but the US Postal Service has their game on as well. They offer a medium sized overnight mailing package known as "if it fits, it ships; same price, anywhere in the US".
The rates are competitive with both UPS and Fed Ex. The local post office is just three minutes away so when I ship, I almost always go postal (ouch, sorry).

[jon]

Amazon.com has always used USPS for some of its U.S. deliveries, the most obvious case being delivery to customers with P.O. Box addresses, which UPS cannot legally access.

Here in Canada, before reading this News story, I was totally baffled last week that Amazon.ca's deal with Canada Post to "front" for them would allow them to use anyone but Canada Post or (Canada Post-owned) Purolator for deliveries.

[Jack Bennest]

from the mouth of babes - jon I had no idea

1993 - Canada Post Corporation
On Dec. 1, 1993, Canada Post Corporation purchased a 75% interest in Purolator. Today, Canada Post Corporation owns 94% of Purolator.


1994 - Chartered Aircraft
In January 1994, Purolator chartered a dedicated fleet of aircraft from Kelowna Flightcraft Air Charter Ltd. Today, Purolator's chartered fleet numbers 25 aircraft, including 17 Boeing 727 aircraft, making Purolator the largest dedicated air express fleet in Canada. On Dec. 30, 1998 Purolator's air operations celebrated the milestone of moving over 100 million pounds of freight by air in a single year.

[jon]

OK, I don't get this at all.

Amazon.ca has switched back to Canada Post from UPS!

Same address, same size packages. I can't see any difference.

My wife thinks it (using UPS for a couple of weeks) was a negotiating technique by Amazon, to get Canada Post back to the bargaining table.

[Howaboutthat]

In what I assume was a related move, Amazon.ca switched from Canada Post to UPS for their deliveries in Canada at the beginning of last week.

Not quite sure where you got this idea from in the first place Jon. Amazon was given permission to set up a distribution centre in Canada, which has nothing to do with delivering goods to your door. I can't find anything that says Amazon.ca was blowing away Canada Post.
Future Shop and Best Buy also have distribution centres, but use Canada Post to deliver their stuff.

[jon]

Here is where I "got the idea" (tracking information for amazon.ca packages):

Items shipped on Mar 30 2010:
Delivery estimate: April 8 2010
1 package via Canada Post

Items shipped on April 5 2010:
Delivery estimate: April 9 2010
1 package via UPS

Items shipped on April 6 2010:
Delivery estimate: April 9 2010
1 package via UPS

Items shipped on April 7 2010:
Delivery estimate: April 12 2010
1 package via UPS

Items shipped on April 16 2010:
Delivery estimate: April 23 2010
1 package via Canada Post

[Dan Sys]

I don’t particularly want to praise my former employer Canada Post as most of their policies these days are absurd (ie-giving priority to a pizza menu over a piece of 1st class mail), but I have had the opportunity to use UPS three times in recent years and on all three occasions there were big problems. A lost shipment, sending me to the wrong pickup depot, and returning an expected parcel to the sender because they did not realize that Aldergrove was a part of Langley.

To make matters worse I was met with total incompetence by their staff in trying to solve those problems. I will never use UPS again and if someone plans to send me something via UPS I tell them to use the post office or another more reliable courier company instead.

[Mike Cleaver]

UPS is the worst.
I've detailed many trials and tribulations with this outfit, which I call Universal Parcel Smashers.
The worst is the overcharging for "brokerage fees."
The delivery system is the worst with drivers not even attempting to deliver, just sticking a back dated delivery notice on the front door of the apartment building.
They don't seem to realize most people aren't home between 8am and 6pm but will deliver during those hours only.
They also don't seem to deliver on weekends.
They tell me they deliver up to 9pm weekdays but I've never been able to verify that.
They don't give their drivers cell phones.
I always specify that I be called on my cell when an courier delivery is imminent.
But I now have them so terrified after the last delivery experience which I documented to their head office of total mismanagement and not holding the package for pickup as instructed but attempting to twice again deliver it, meaning it wasn't at the depot when I went there twice to pick up the item.
Also, the pick up depot at YVR only is open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
NO weekend or evening hours.
UPS now call first to tell me there is a delivery that day and give me a 30 minute delivery window.
However, I still ask shippers to use USPS, Canada Post, China Post or any other post office before ANY of the courier services.
ALL overcharge.
Fraudex is just as bad with even higher charges and crappy service as well.
Canada Post has it's problems as well.
Most of the delivery people we've had at my address over the past 10 years have been excellent but we went through a year long period with one individual who wouldn't even take the elevator up one floor to knock on the door to deliver something that didn't fit in the post box.
That person also left back dated hang tags on the mailbox and sometimes on the unit door.
I'm usually at home and if someone knocks on the door, our cat goes ballistic and runs out to see who it is.
Several calls to Canada Post Customer Abuse had that individual "reassigned," probably to hassle other unsuspecting customers elsewhere.
But for the most part, they're 100 per cent better than any courier "service" to which I've been subjected.
Canada Post has never charged me anything for parcel delivery or pickup, regardless of where it's coming from or the declared value of the contents.

[tuned]

I'm with you Mike. Canada Post isn't perfect but they are far better than the bandits at UPS (OOPS) and Fedex.

[hagopian]

UPS are TERRIBLE. I got a package that looked like it had been kicked from TO to YVR.

The Canada Post guys are nice and my recent shipment from Amazon was delivered efficiently.

The Courier boys are going to get thinned as this economic malaise hangs in the air - and they will have to step up the service or die.

[Howaboutthat]

Here is where I "got the idea" (tracking information for amazon.ca packages):

Items shipped on Mar 30 2010:
Delivery estimate: April 8 2010
1 package via Canada Post

Items shipped on April 5 2010:
Delivery estimate: April 9 2010
1 package via UPS

Items shipped on April 6 2010:
Delivery estimate: April 9 2010
1 package via UPS

Items shipped on April 7 2010:
Delivery estimate: April 12 2010
1 package via UPS

Items shipped on April 16 2010:
Delivery estimate: April 23 2010
1 package via Canada Post

So, ya got a few things shipped to you via UPS instead of Canada Post. Your statement says Amazon.ca switched to UPS for all of Canada. I'm still waiting to see concrete evidence, such as a news release that Amazon.ca had switched to UPS. Perhaps they used UPS for a couple of days because Canada Post got backed up over the 4 day Easter weekend. Please stay out of the newsroom unless you have confirmation from at least 3 sources. (What would Jack's friend WB think!)

[Jack Bennest]

I have friends?

[jon]

Deal Date: June 25, 2002

Amazon.com Inc. (Amazon), the world’s biggest Internet retailer, officially launched its Canadian-oriented Web site, Amazon.ca, on June 25, 2002. In creating Amazon.ca, Amazon entered into a fulfillment services agreement with Assured Logistics Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Progistix-Solutions Inc., a leading Canadian logistics and supply chain management company, and a subsidiary of Canada Post Corporation (CPC). Assured Logistics will provide all the distribution and fulfillment services for Amazon.ca. Amazon has also entered into a separate shipping and transportation agreement with CPC under which CPC will provide customer delivery services to Amazon.ca, including warehousing, inventory management, customer order fulfillment and returns processing from its Mississauga, Ontario warehouse.

ref. - an archived copy of this page: www.lexpert.ca/deal.php?id=518

Unless things have changed since this original set of agreements that got Amazon into Canada without running afoul of the federal government's "bookstores must be owned by Canadians" rule, delivery and order fulfillment went hand in hand, and were exclusively provided by Canada Post. I just cannot believe that Canada Post asked UPS to help them out in the Easter Rush.