amazon Delivery Service Partner DSP Program User Guide

Amazon Delivery Service Partner DSP Program

Own your success
Start your own business and become an Amazon Delivery Service Partner, delivering smiles across your community.

The opportunity to lead
Amazon is seeking entrepreneurs throughout the country to launch and operate their package delivery businesses. The Delivery Service Partner (DSP) program provides an opportunity for strong leaders who are passionate about starting their businesses and developing high-performing, safety-focused teams. Joining a robust community of small businesses, you will help deliver thousands of packages to customers throughout the year.

BECOME AN OWNER

If you’re a customer-obsessed, hands-on leader who thrives in a high-speed, ever-changing environment, launching an Amazon Delivery Service Partner (DSP) business may be the opportunity for you. As a DSP owner, you’ll focus on building a successful, safety-first work culture that includes recruitment, hiring, and coaching a team of high-performing, hourly employees and managing a fleet of delivery vehicles throughout the year. Amazon will support you by providing a dedicated business coach and access to value-added services, such as uniforms and vehicle insurance, to help you run your business efficiently.

With the right staffing and operational plan that allows you to adapt to demand throughout the year, you’ll be set up to run a business that delivers the best experience for our customers. Access to Amazon’s exclusive discounts on a suite of assets and services keeps owner startup costs as low as $10,000. (Please see page 10 for more details on how these figures have been calculated.)

What to expect
Launching a business becomes that much easier with Amazon’s delivery volume and resources behind you.

WHAT YOU DO

Set up your business

You can leverage a suite of exclusive Amazon-negotiated deals to start your business and work with our network of top-in-class service providers to keep your operation rolling.

Build your team
You’re a coach. This is your team. Your most important responsibility is recruiting and retaining solid drivers and helpers who will enable your ongoing success.

Deliver packages
Your team of drivers and helpers will operate a fleet of 20-40 vans on average throughout the year, serving thousands of customers.

Create your team culture
You lead with a can-do attitude that ensures your business reflects Amazon’s high standards and customer-obsessed culture. Coach, develop, and motivate your team to exceed expectations on every delivery.

Grow your business
Deliver a great customer experience and get the opportunity to hire more people, deliver more packages, and grow your business.

WHAT WE DO

Get you started
Exclusive deals on Amazon-branded delivery vans, comprehensive insurance, industrial-grade handheld devices, and other services to help you get your delivery business up and running.

Provide training
We provide two weeks of hands-on training to ensure you’re set up for success, starting with a one-week virtual classroom introduction to Amazon, followed by one week in a delivery station working with a community of existing owners and drivers to learn the tips and tricks of operating a successful delivery business from those who know it best. All in-person trainings incorporate social distancing and enhanced safety measures.

Supply a comprehensive tool kit
We give you the tools and technology you’ll need to run your business, designed to keep your operation running smoothly

Offer on-demand support
Owners receive ongoing support from Amazon, including a comprehensive operations manual, driver assistance for on-road issues, and a dedicated Business Coach.

Share our experience
Amazon brings more than 25 years of technology and logistics experience to guide you in one of the fastest-growing industries in the world.

What it takes to start your business
Once you have completed all stages of the application process, here are some of the steps you’ll need to take to get your business up and running:

• Create your business entity and officially become a delivery business owner.
• Order your delivery vans, devices, fuel cards, and uniforms through recommended vendors at Amazonnegotiated rates. Obtain motor carrier operating authority for your company and apply for vehicle insurance.
• Set up the services you’ll need for hiring and managing a team of drivers and helpers, such as background checks, drug testing, payroll, and accounting services.
• Build your employee handbook, including determining how you will pay your employees and offer health benefits, and consult with legal and other advisors to finalize your plan.
• Set up your account in the DSP Portal. This will include providing your company’s bank account details for payments, completing a tax interview, and uploading business documents.
• Start interviewing, vetting, and hiring your first drivers and helpers. This will be an ongoing process as you keep building your team and growing your business.
• Set up your team’s area within your local delivery station, and learn and refine the processes and timing for loading your vans.
• Train your team on a customer-obsessed, safety-focused culture, along with the tools and processes they’ll use to make deliveries. Start receiving your vans, devices, fuel cards, and uniforms to prepare for your first routes.
• Launch! Start operating five vans/day in your first week.
• Have weekly check-ins on performance with Amazon representatives from your local delivery station and your Business Coach.
• Successful owners add additional routes during the first couple of months, bringing their business to a fleet of 20-40 vans on average throughout the year, depending on the type of delivery service provided.

A day in the life of an owner
Being an owner means leading your team in a high-speed and ever-changing environment. Running a package-delivery business is hard work and requires DSP owners to hire, train, develop, and retain a team of 40-100 employees while managing a fleet of 20-40 vans on average. The ability to adapt is important as DSPs will be expected to scale their operation throughout the year as volume increases or decreases due to seasonal variability, DSP performance, and other factors. Set up your team’s routes and manage daily kickoff tasks, including checking in drivers and helpers and handing out devices, checking on your equipment and vans, overseeing vehicle loadout, and in some cases including heavy packages and pre-departure DOT compliance checks. Lead a daily morning huddle with drivers and helpers before they head out to inform, inspire, and keep your team in sync, and get everyone out the door promptly to start the day on the right foot.

Track your drivers’ progress as they make deliveries and manage any issues that arise, including general questions, flat tyres, or drivers running behind. Leverage Amazon’s support as needed. Consult your dedicated area manager, the on-road assistance team, and Amazon delivery station personnel for questions or issues with packages or routes. Manage your team’s performance by reviewing business metrics, coaching, helping, and motivating your drivers and helpers to maintain a safe, customer-obsessed culture and deliver results every day. You’ll always keep recruiting and hiring as you continue to grow your business. Welcome drivers and helpers back to the station at the end of the day, conducting a route debrief and troubleshooting any undelivered packages.Check that all delivery vans are refuelled and parked away at the end of the night, and arrange vehicle maintenance as needed.

Owner training program
Two weeks of comprehensive training to help kick-start your success.

WEEK 1
Your introduction to Amazon and starting your business

• Discover Amazon’s customer-obsessed culture
• Receive valuable advice on setting up a new business from an expert
• Deep dive into all the exclusive deals that Amazon has negotiated for you
• Master the best practices of hiring, training, and engaging a large team of employees
• Learn more about the ins and outs of running a delivery business

WEEK 2
In the field—learn how to become a successful Amazon Delivery Service Partner

• Observe the daily processes at Amazon delivery station
• Assist in sorting and loading out Amazon packages
• Work alongside existing DSP owners to watch their dispatch and on-road management in action
• Learn about the tools used to manage a delivery business
• Get acquainted with delivery station personnel
• Troubleshoot common issues that your drivers and helpers may face on the road
• Debrief with station personnel after each day of deliveries, and gather tips and tricks on ways to improve delivery quality, safety, and efficiency

Costs and revenue you can expect as an owner
Here are some of the key startup costs, ongoing operations costs, and revenue structure, so you know what you’ll need upfront, and what to expect going forward. Cost and revenue will vary based on the size of your business and where you operate.

STARTUP COSTS
Your key startup costs for becoming an owner include the assets and services you’ll need to officially create your business, start hiring your team and get ready to deliver packages.

• Business entity formation and licensing
• Professional services—accounting costs and lawyer fees
• Setup supplies—laptop, timekeeping software
• Recruiting costs—job postings, drug and background checks, driver training
• Travel to training

ONGOING OPERATION COSTS
These are some of the key recurring costs you can expect as you run your business, to continue to hire and grow your team while ramping up your package deliveries.

• Employee costs—wages, payroll taxes, benefits, insurance, ongoing training
• Vehicle costs—delivery vehicle leases, routine maintenance, damages, insurance
• Other asset costs—devices, device accessories, uniforms
• Administrative costs—job postings, drug and background checks
• Professional services, as needed

REVENUE
Here’s a look at our payment structure that’ll drive your revenue from delivering Amazon packages.

• A fixed monthly payment based on the number of vans you are operating with Amazon
• A route rate based on the length of your route
• A per-package rate based on the number of successfully delivered packages.

Access to exclusive deals
Leveraging Amazon’s deals makes the entire setup process easy. We’ve negotiated exclusive deals on startup assets and ongoing business management services with top-in-class third-party providers to help you get your business started for as little as $10,000. (Please see page 10 for more details on how these figures have been calculated.)

Become a DSP
Take the first step toward ownership. Apply now at logistics.amazon.com.

Being a DSP owner is hard work, and we want to make sure we partner with the right individuals. To allow candidates the ability to highlight their unique strengths and backgrounds, we have created an intensive selection process. The process is also lengthy due to the variability of our business and the high volume of interest. A journey from application to launch of your business may include the following experiences:

1. Review the list of locations where we are currently seeking applications, an overview of the Future DSP program, and other important information.
2. Review our 7-minute application webinar and review our resume and application tips.
3. Create an account and get to work on submitting your application.
4. Complete the candidate screening process.
5. If you pass the interview process, you’ll likely be invited to join the Future DSP Program. For more information, please visit our FAQs page.
6. Receive a rate card and offer to launch your DSP business once available in a location you’re interested in.
7. Complete two weeks of hands-on training.
8. Set up your business and build a team.
9. Operate your business.

QUESTIONS?
Please review our FAQs or contact dsp@amazon.com.

The Amazon Delivery Service Partner Program is an evolving program, and the startup costs, annual revenue, and annual profit figures included on this website are estimates only for delivery companies that are fully ramped (i.e., that operate between 20 to 40 delivery vehicles for standard or rural delivery services, or between 10 to 30 vehicles for specialized delivery services; see here for more information about service types). As discussed below, the revenue and profit figures are supported by actual, annualized financial performance results from 2022 volunteered by a subset of fully ramped companies in the program that performed either standard delivery services or specialized delivery services.

For companies that perform rural delivery services, the revenue and profit figures are projections based on financial modelling for fully ramped companies that perform these service types, as we do not have sufficient actual financial performance results from 2022 for companies that performed these service types. Nevertheless, we do not guarantee results of any kind, including that what a delivery company earns will exceed the owner’s investment in his or her business. Each delivery company’s results will differ, and results will depend on several expected and unexpected factors, including, for example, the owner’s efforts and management of expenses as well as the size and location of the company.

The startup cost figure is an estimate of reasonable expenses that we believe are essential to starting a delivery company that delivers Amazon packages and is based on procuring five delivery vehicles. Importantly, the startup cost figure assumes that a delivery company takes advantage of all third-party deals impacting startup costs that have been negotiated by Amazon in connection with this program, including delivery vehicle procurement, insurance, mobile devices and data plans, and uniforms. While a delivery company is not required to pursue any of the third-party deals impacting startup costs to participate in this program, the delivery company may not be able to achieve the startup cost figure without doing so.

The annual revenue and profit potential ranges are estimates for companies performing standard or rural delivery services operating 20 to 40 delivery vehicles and for companies performing specialized delivery services operating 10 to 30 delivery vehicles. The low end of each range represents an estimate for companies performing standard or rural delivery services operating 20 delivery vehicles (10 for companies performing specialized delivery services), and the high end of each range represents an estimate for companies performing standard or rural delivery services operating 40 delivery vehicles (30 for companies performing specialized delivery services).

The profit range reflects Amazon’s estimates of reasonable fixed and variable costs that a company may incur, including costs associated with complying with all of Amazon’s contractual requirements and Program Policies. These costs include but are not limited to, for example, procuring delivery vehicles and insurance, maintaining delivery vehicles, labour, and obtaining professional services associated with running a company. As with Amazon’s startup cost estimate, Amazon’s estimates of reasonable fixed and variable costs assume that a company takes advantage of all third-party deals impacting costs that have been negotiated by Amazon in connection with this program. Again, Amazon does not require a company to pursue these third-party deals, but a company may not be able to achieve the estimated profit range without doing so.

A company’s actual annual revenues and profits will vary based on several expected and unexpected factors, including but not limited to regional differences in the rates offered in connection with this program, the number of delivery vehicles that a delivery the company operates, the number of delivery routes that a delivery company completes, the number of packages that a delivery company delivers, whether a delivery company meets or exceeds delivery performance metrics, whether a delivery company participates in the vehicle and uniform procurement programs negotiated by  Amazon, and whether there is variability in any of these factors over the year. Again, because the revenue and profit ranges are figures based on companies operating between 20 to 40 delivery vehicles, or 10-to 30 delivery vehicles, depending on the service type, a company may not achieve results within the ranges until it operates within the applicable range of delivery vehicles for a full year, if ever.

As noted above, in 2022 we conducted independent financial performance reviews with 296 companies operating in the program that performed standard or specialized delivery services and that had been operating between 20 to 40 delivery vehicles (for companies performing standard delivery services) or 10 to 30 delivery vehicles (for companies performing specialized delivery services) for at least one year before participating in the review. For the preceding year, 100% of the companies reviewed achieved revenue within or above the revenue range on this website, and 77% achieved profit within or above the profit range on this website.

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