Amazon plans two-hour delivery in Berlin

Berlin may be the second city in Europe where Amazon delivers goods within two hours after an order has been placed. The American retail giant is said to prepare the launch of its two-hour delivery service in the German capital. Amazon already offers such offering in London.

The German newspaper Welt reported this, thereby citing several Berlin transport companies. On behalf of Amazon a commercial building on Berlin’s Kurfürstendamm has been repurposed as a warehouse for more than 10,000 articles from the retailer’s assortment. According to the newspaper such a high number of products is made possible due to so-called random storage, where strict sorting isn’t necessary because computer programs have taken over the jobs of finding the products.

Two-hour delivery starts in May
Amazon hasn’t confirmed the plans, but doesn’t deny them either. “We have no announcement about this at the moment”, an Amazon spokesperson said. Deliveries would start in May and would at first be carried out by courier firms that are already active in Berlin, taking place six days a week in two shifts.

Welt says: “rarely transport in Germany was affected by so much innovation as it is now. At first sight it seems this new offer is only about a shorter delivery time. But at second glance it becomes clear what goals Amazon pursues and how this will change the entire German parcel industry.” Until now, Amazon used mostly Deutsche Post’s DHL parcel service for deliveries in Germany, but as the American company is building up its own delivery capabilities, DHL’s business could be threatened.

In July last year, Amazon launched Amazon Prime Now in London which made it possible for customers to have their goods delivered within one hour.