Smartphone app Relay to help Amazon’s pickup, delivery process

Amazon has launched smartphone app Relay for truck drivers, and it’s expected to improve pickup and delivery at the e-commerce company’s fulfillment centers and warehouses. Its launch comes as freight shipping capacity is already tight and expected to become even tighter after the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate goes into effect Dec. 18.

“The app addresses a larger area of inefficiency in the supply chain, one that we expect will be of increasing focus among carriers, brokers, shippers as the December 2017 ELD mandate is implemented,” according to Benjamin Hartford, senior research analyst for Baird. “The app appears to stop short of offering full-fledged truck brokerage capabilities.”

But the introduction of the app is seen as a “net-negative” in the short term for trucking brokers, according to Hartford. Amazon quietly launched the app in late October and is available on Apple and Android devices. The app allows drivers to pre-register loads and receive gate passes on their phones, according to the Google Play app page.

“Once you arrive at the gate, simply scan your Gate Pass for fast, easy check in.” Drivers can use the app to receive “exclusive access to lanes reserved for drivers with gate passes” at facilities with Amazon Relay Lanes.

“The launch of the app follows through on rumors late last year that Amazon was developing an ‘Uber for trucking’-like app, originally thought to be targeted for a mid-2017 launch,” according to Hartford.

Amazon’s Relay app focuses on pickup and delivery but “stops short of introducing broader ‘truck brokerage’ capabilities, though such additional capabilities could be added to the application over time,” according to Hartford. The app’s existing emphasis on pickup and delivery addresses a “very inefficient” process in the supply chain and “will be of increasing focus as the ELD mandate is implemented” and carriers, brokers and shippers “look for opportunities to maximize productivity within the window of a given driver’s hours-of-service availability.”

Starting Dec. 18, truck drivers who maintain paper logs to track hours of service will be required to use ELDs to do so. In mid-November, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced drivers and carriers would not be assigned Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) points for operating without an ELD, between Dec. 18 and April 1, 2018. However, drivers could still face citations and fines for violating the mandate in this period. On April 1, enforcement officers will start putting drivers out of service for violating the ELD mandate.

John Larkin, trucking/transportation analyst for Stifel, said the “big abusers of the hours-of-service rules” are the “late adopters of the ELD technology.” By May 2018, the mandate should be fully in force, and ELDs are expected to cause a 4% to 8% reduction in truckload capacity. “Barring a recession in 2018, an ELD-driven capacity reduction that lies anywhere within our reasonable range, is likely to touch off an even more severe capacity crisis that which is expected for the coming e-commerce surge.”

While Amazon looks to improve pickup and delivery with smartphone app Relay, it might not be the best solution for everyone. “The functionality of the app at present, given initial reviews, appears to be very rudimentary,” Hartford said.