Over 460,000 UK small and medium enterprises can now reach customers across Europe with Amazon’s logistics network.
Amazon is increasingly using rail and sea transportation in Europe, with a 50 percent growth in utilisation this year. According to the company, rail and short sea routes are not only more environmentally friendly but often more efficient and even faster.
Amazon is opting for trains or boats more frequently in and around our continent, and less often for trucks on the road. The company is collaborating with European carriers such as Cargo Beamer, Viia, the Mercitalia Group, Grimaldi, Stena Line, and DFDS to transport products through over 100 rail lanes and more than 300 sea routes, leading to nearly a halving of carbon emissions.
“Hassle-free” transportation from customs to final delivery
More than 60,000 small and medium-sized business across the UK are growing their businesses by selling through Amazon to European customers, recording £1.8 billion in export sales in the European Union. To support these businesses, Amazon has invested in sea transportation to put their products closer to customers.
Taking advantage of Europe’s geographical peculiarities, Amazon will grow its sea transportation network and are currently operating more than 300 sea routes across Europe. These routes are powered by partners like DFDS with their comprehensive shipping and logistics network.
As the unloading goes on in Vlaardingen port, Amazon and DFDS share technologies to ensure a seamless load pick-up experience for drivers and a hassle-free customs process for sellers.
“At Amazon we’re proud to support small businesses on their journey to success and one of the many advantages of selling on Amazon is the opportunity to reach customers around the world. Over the past year we’ve seen that over 50% of UK small and medium enterprises selling on Amazon recorded sales to customers around the world, with more than 45% selling to customers in the European Union,” said Helder Velho, EU Vice President of Surface Transportation.
“We use sea routes to transport products of our UK sellers to Amazon’s European buildings, from where they will be shipped to customers once they order. Sea routes offer us a more efficient, less carbon intensive, and fast mode of freight transport from the UK to a range of destinations.”
