Amazon buys vans for Delivery Service Partners program

SEATTLE (WISH) — Amazon is ordering 20,000 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans for its new delivery program. 

Amazon said thousands of people nationwide have applied for the Delivery Service Partners program. People would basically run their own delivery business for Amazon, picking up at fulfillment centers and dropping off at customers’ homes. 

The program is part of Amazon’s plan to gain more control of the delivery network at the core of its prime business, which ships 5 billion packages a year globally. 

Currently, the U.S. Postal Service handles about 40 percent of what’s called “last-mile deliveries.” Amazon also relies on UPS and FedEx.