Amazon is launching a supply chain service, and major retailers are signing up

Amazon is launching a new business called Amazon Supply Chain Services (ASCS), and major retailers and CPGs including American Eagle Outfitters, Lands’ End, and Procter & Gamble are signing up.

ASCS will handle every aspect of the supply chain for customers, from freight and distribution to fulfillment and parcel shipping. The business will effectively expand on the services Amazon already offers third-party sellers under Fulfillment by Amazon to companies of all types and sizes, with the company namedropping retail, healthcare, automotive, and manufacturing specifically.

Amazon isn’t downplaying the potential scale and ambition of the new business, comparing its development to Amazon Web Services (AWS), which is now one of the most profitable arms of the e-commerce giant.

“Amazon is bringing the infrastructure, intelligence, and scale of its supply chain services—proven over decades—to businesses everywhere, much like Amazon Web Services did for cloud computing,” Peter Larsen, VP of Amazon Supply Chain Services, said in a statement.

ASCS enters the market with a massive global supply chain already in place. In freight alone, the company boasts a fleet of 80,000 trailers, 24,000 intermodal containers, and more than 100 aircraft operated with carrier partners.

While Fulfillment by Amazon is focused on the downstream portion of the supply chain, including picking, packing, and shipping orders to customers, ASCS will offer Amazon’s capabilities upstream supply chain capabilities including importing from overseas factories, clearing customs, and storing larger quantities of inventory.

Of the early adopters, American Eagle Outfitters and Lands’ End are utilizing the fulfillment end of the business, while CPGs 3M and Procter & Gamble are using its freight services to move products from production centers into distribution networks.

Lands’ End CEO Andrew McLean said ASCS will enable the outdoor clothing outlet to “position inventory closer to customers so we can reach them faster.”