Amazon Wants To Deliver Your Order Without a Box (wsj.com) 137
Amazon is reducing packaging on millions of deliveries. From a report: Millions of Amazon orders are arriving on doorsteps across the U.S. without any extra packaging. A new television may sit in the manufacturer's box at the door. A blender appears as if it were picked off a store shelf. The same for a box of baby wipes or trash bags. The change represents the next frontier in the tech giant's overhaul of its delivery processes, one Chief Executive Andy Jassy hopes will appeal to customers who are put off by the volume of Amazon-branded boxes they receive and discard every week.
The company in the past year revamped its logistics network, enabling faster and more efficient deliveries. Eliminating or reducing packaging has become increasingly important for the company to maintain its dominance, reduce costs and reach its goals related to its climate impact. "The recognition by a number of senior leaders was just that this is becoming more and more important," said Pat Lindner, who Amazon hired last year as its first vice president of packaging and innovation. "There's a significant need for our company to take the next step in innovation around packaging." About 11% of items that the company delivers now arrive without extra packaging, or what the company calls "ships in own container," Amazon said.
The company in the past year revamped its logistics network, enabling faster and more efficient deliveries. Eliminating or reducing packaging has become increasingly important for the company to maintain its dominance, reduce costs and reach its goals related to its climate impact. "The recognition by a number of senior leaders was just that this is becoming more and more important," said Pat Lindner, who Amazon hired last year as its first vice president of packaging and innovation. "There's a significant need for our company to take the next step in innovation around packaging." About 11% of items that the company delivers now arrive without extra packaging, or what the company calls "ships in own container," Amazon said.
Advertising (Score:5, Funny)
Nothing like advertising the goods so the porch pirates can pick and choose properly. Way to go Amazon!
Re:Advertising (Score:5, Insightful)
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Do you really think thefts wont go up when these people can see the value of the item sitting on the porch? Thieves ending up stealing almost valueless My Little Pony stickers because they cant see what they're stealing probably reduces thefts overall as it's bound to discourage people and make the thefts not feel worth it relative to the risk.
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Well, maybe this way with no boxing, they'll leave your "My Little Pony Stickers" alone and only steal the Vitamix blender they see sitting on your neighbors porch.
At the very least...I can imagine items getting beat up a LOT more in transit without a box and padding, as they still often get a bit beat up IN a box with padding.
No than
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At the very least...I can imagine items getting beat up a LOT more in transit without a box and padding, as they still often get a bit beat up IN a box with padding.
No thank you, gimme a box and packaging and padding.
About half of the time the extra box is too big and then not padded correctly causing the contents to bounce around and receive more damage than it would have gotten without the extra packaging.
Don't even get me started on the box in a box in a box I got last week. The building Janitor resents the amount of recycling I put out every week.
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Bonus points if you make one that's lockable so that porch pirates have to work extra hard.
Amazon will sell you one of those [amazon.com], too. I wonder if it ships in its own container.
Re: Here's an idea: get yourself a receiving crate (Score:2)
Iâ(TM)m just going to insert this notched decoder between the code wheel and the front of the box. Iâ(TM)m going to pull up on the bar I find behind there, and turn the code wheels until I feel a click.
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It's really not a whole lot more effort to whip out the bolt cutters and slice that lock hasp into useless bits.
If people are using battery powered reciprocating saws to remove catalytic converters in movie theater parking lots, a Master lock isn't gonna stop anyone serious for longer than about 20 seconds. Thieves are gonna thieve.
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A battery powered die grinder/cut off tool with a nice thin disc on it will take out pretty much anything you are likely to encounter in a super short time. Nearly all locks are just to make you feel better, and deter casuals.
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I think you underestimate human greed. It's one thing to walk past a blank package just sitting out, it's another to walk past a package that you know is worth hundreds or thousands of dollars.
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I've never been required to be home for an Amazon package. I know I've received packages in the high hundreds from them and I'm fairly certain I've had stuff over a thousand as well but I would need to check my Amazon history to confirm that and that's not practical right now.
At any rate, high hundreds of dollars is plenty high enough value to be an obvious theft target just sitting out in the open. I would MUCH rather have a prospective thief be uncertain of the package's value then to be able to easily te
Re: Advertising (Score:2)
Plus, if you canâ(TM)t tell that a TV in an Amazon box is probably a TV, youâ(TM)re pretty dumb. Hmm - itâ(TM)s 70 inches across and 4 inches thick. In a roughly 16:9 ratio⦠I wonder what *that* could be.
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they don't even open it until they are a couple of blocks away.
Which is why you set out fake boxes with liquified poo in it. Use compressed air so when the box is opened it shoots the poo out everywhere.
Re: Advertising (Score:3)
Man traps are illegal in every state. It doesn't matter what you think you're accomplishing
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Glitter may be obnoxious, but it's not a biohazard.
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The process for creating such a "liquified poo" is not something even the most blood thirsty revenge freak would want to do, especially when artificial perfume sprays are a few bucks and specifically designed to smell worse than the real thing.
No, not really. Take your poo, or find a farmer's field, and put it in a bucket (preferably outside). Add some water until you get the consistency you want/need. Do some testing.
It would be exceptionally unlikely that is what GP was suggesting, and even so, further
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Or, back here in reality, they just steal the package regardless of contents, and if they don't see any value in the contents, the package gets jettisoned out the window of their car a few blocks away.
They're thieves - they only give a fuck if they can get money for it, or if it's something they'll directly use. And if it's of no use, it will be discarded immediately to make room for more thievery.
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Or, back here in reality, they just steal the package regardless of contents, and if they don't see any value in the contents, the package gets jettisoned out the window of their car a few blocks away.
Nope. In reality temptation is a thing. A blank package sitting out is not nearly as tempting as a package whose contents you can easily tell is worth hundreds of dollars. That's reality.
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I bought a new phone and phone case. Because of reasons they shipped separately.
The $1000 phone arrived just fine.
The $20 phone case was stolen, leaving just the phone case's packaging.
I don't get it.
Re: Advertising (Score:2)
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Nothing like advertising the goods so the porch pirates can pick and choose properly. Way to go Amazon!
On the upside, this could actually cut down on random thefts. :-)
For example, thieves who don't need/want, say, a blender can simply skip stealing it.
Sounds like a win-win.
Re: Advertising (Score:2)
Not really, because the thieves are stealing things they can convert to cash. They don't need that blender but a local appliance store also sells it and does cash returns so they can "return" it there for cash. Or they pawn it. It's certainly not going into their kitchen.
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Dude..
every variety imaginable of such exist.
https://i.postimg.cc/nhQ1kstP/... [postimg.cc]
Re: Advertising (Score:2)
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Re: Advertising (Score:2)
I left my coffee thermos on the bus and had to order another one from Amazon, you insensitive clod!
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Amazon fail! (Score:2)
About a year ago, I received a couple of hard drives (spinning rust, not SSDs) that were delivered in a plastic bag. One was wrapped in bubble wrap, but the other one wasn't -- it was loose in the plastic bag.
Strangely, the hard drive that didn't work was the one in bubble wrap.
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Plastic? Luxury! 6 months ago I had two HDDs delivered in a paper sack. Which was torn. The only other packaging was the anti-static bags. (Amazon UK)
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And the delivery guy had to trudge uphill in six feet of snow - both ways!
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It was probably raining, England in March after all. And this is Cambridge so uphill takes careful measurment to detect...
I assume a ToS change will be coming to match. (Score:2)
*Not responsible for stolen items.
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CC laws will then make Amazon eat that cost.
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Cool, because I'm not responsible for not receiving the package of crap I bought from, paid for, and had delivered by Amazon without the barest of protections. And American Express is going to agree with me, not them.
I can't wait to order (Score:4, Funny)
an XXL dildo delivered to my ex girlfriend on a day I know she's not home.
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an XXL dildo delivered to my ex girlfriend on a day I know she's not home.
Make sure it is a doubleender.
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an XXL dildo delivered to my ex girlfriend on a day I know she's not home.
Be a gentleman & add the largest size of Swiss Navy Premium Anal Lubricant - the label is nearly as large as the bottle
We all know why. (Score:5, Insightful)
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You can't speak for most people any more than I can speak for most people. At any rate, extra packaging should be opt-in not opt-out. The amount of material consumed and wasted (or at best recycled) is staggering.
And I wonder how people think shit gets from a manufacturer to Amazon's warehouse .. hint: retail boxes contain packaging designed to protect what's inside from damage during shipping to begin with. Surely we can leverage that fact by just improving handling expectations and processes from last-mil
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Maybe people should stop giving a shit whether the re-sold item's packaging is neat.
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Sure. You get right on changing everyone's expectations of resale value on literally everything, while I work on this device that extracts limitless energy from internet bullshit. We can revolutionize the world together!
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Hey, it was just an idea. I never understood why people are so obsessed with packaging.
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Maybe people will stop buying each other gifts then.
Would you give someone a ring and say "there you go", or would you want the excitement of seeing them unwrap the ring box, get excited wondering what exactly is inside, then watch them ooh and aah over it? Since most people lack the ability to repackage things that nicely, the minimalist packaged product will get passed over or a ring box will be purchased separately.
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What does shipping packaging or huge, fancy product packaging have anything to do with gift-wrapping?
Not to mention I specifically said "re-sold item's packaging". Do you usually gift used items?
While there are niche scenarios where you would gift a vintage / used product, of which a subset (collector's items) might have more value if original packaging is intact, those are exceptions.
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Just wrap the diapers around the electronics, duh.
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Most people don't give a shit.
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Mostly packed up in pallets. You don't think Amazon warehouses receive individual products in boxes, do you?
For lots of things this is probably a great idea. However, Amazon's one attempt to deliver something to me this way, a French press, arrived as a very thin box full of broken glass.
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I'd like to be given the choice. Some things I would be happy to receive as-is. Other stuff like gifts I want the box to be in good condition, and without Amazon delivery labels on it.
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It can backfire though - they sent me a bottle of Omega 3 oil packed only in one of the bubble-wrap bags. It obviously smashed en route. Refund issued, I'll buy it elsewhere where the packaging is appropriate. So they paid to ship it, then for a customer service rep to talk to me (website said it was ineligible for return) then for some system to refund the money to my account. Kerching, or not
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They have to figure out what the real world breakage rate is somehow.
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Much of the time, saving money and reducing waste are the same thing. Can you really fault someone for emphasizing the more popular label?
You say "stop pissing money down the drain and reducing shareholder dividends and equity," I say "let's rape and murder 20% fewer baby seals next quarter" and then we point at the same angry worker who is doing something ridiculous because company policy was hurriedly written 50 years ago.
(No, I don't know how the rape instructions got into that 1973 memo, but I'm sure it
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It is obviously for saving money.
But if it can save the planet as well, I am all for it.
In fact, many of the best advice for being "green" are also good money-saving advice. You probably know the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" thing by now. The first two "R", which are the most important will save you money, by not buying things that you don't need.
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Cardboard is probably the most recyclable materials one can have. Let alone free shipping material (you'd be surprised what an order of blank boxes costs).
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Yeah, came here to touch on this yesterday and got distracted. The reason we put stuff that's in a box into another box for shipping is that the box it's in is a display box, not a shipping box. Stuff in boxes that gets shipped en masse without a box or crate is palletized and wrapped, which protects it in transit. Putting e.g. a microwave onto a UPS truck in its display box is asking for it to arrive dented.
Amazon is amazonian-big (Score:2)
Maybe even something eye-catching that would get a porch pirate questioned if they were seen walking down the street with it or, for really high value items, packaging that includes a tracker.
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Maybe even something eye-catching that would get a porch pirate questioned
Just pack everything in one of these [walmartimages.com] boxes.
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I would have thought that a vendor like, say, "Hamilton beach" sells enough blenders through Amazon
Manufacturers don't sell through amazon. Resellers buy them and ship to them Amazon. Or if it moves enough Amazon will buy it themselves. So it would be on the reseller or Amazon to convince hamilton bay to make a version in a different box just for them.
But lemme guess (Score:5, Interesting)
Just slapping a label on the box to send it back is considered "improper and insufficient packaging" when it arrives in a billion pieces at your return center, right?
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(I stopped shopping with them years ago for several reasons, not limited to their downright shady enforcement of their return policy)
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Not yet, because so far, you would just reuse their packages with the implied problem that if their packages aren't sufficient for return, they couldn't have been sufficient for delivery.
Just wait and see how this develops.
Re: But lemme guess (Score:2)
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Speaking as a freight claims administrator for a major retailer...you are 100% correct. For that matter, if you try to file a claim on an item that arrives at your house smashed into oblivion, parcel carriers (including Amazon) will always point at how it was packaged for shipment and say "sorry, that wasn't good enough to protect it, it's the shipper's fault, we aren't paying on this".
USPS packaging guidelines say anything that's sent by parcel post should be packaged well enough to withstand a three-foot
They need to at least wrap the order (Score:2)
I can get on board with not having the extra box plus all the plastic used to keep ones order from moving around and getting damaged but they need to at least wrap these orders in paper. As others have mentioned manufacturer's original packaging is just asking for theft on expensive items.
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I get a lot of Kraft paper. Some plastic airbags for the heavy stuff.* Least they stopped with the plastic peanuts.
*Walmart wraps the cans in a type of fiber weave.
Now I can finally order my neighbour (Score:2)
the penis pump he always wanted but never dared to ask for!
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Limiting delivery days is next. (Score:2)
Home Depot, Best Buy, and the local Ace Hardware have already been delivering items without an additional box... Oh they mean that package of gummy bears that you can't be bothered to pick up on the way home. I forget how frivolous things being delivered the next day is very important to the younger population.
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The next frontier (Score:3)
In order to maintain its dominance, reduce costs and reach its goals related to its climate impact, Amazon hurls orders from regional distribution centers. "The recognition by a number of senior leaders was just that this is becoming more and more important," said Pat Lindner, who Amazon hired last year as its first vice president of packaging and innovation. "There's a significant need for our company to take the next step in innovation around packaging and delivery." About 6% of items that the company delivers now arrive via trebuchet without extra packaging and zero delays, or what the company calls "air shipping," Amazon said.
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Watch Dogs: Legion foresaw the future delivery of explosives.
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You might be on to something [yahoo.com]. They're not just going to let that all go to waste if things wrap up early.
Fantastic marketing plan (Score:2)
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Packaging protects the product from damage and prying eyes so yes absolutely brilliant. You dont want to know what goes on during staging through warehouses....
I have seen the results of POOR warehouse handling.
Ever had a book arrive soaking wet, like every page of it was waterlogged, and it was in an Amazon-sealed box? I have. Amazon approved the return of it.
Ever have a book arrive with a cover (endboard) hanging on only by the spine of the book? I have. And I have the video of the Amazon delivery puke launching it at my front door steps. Amazon approved the return of it. That Amazon driver got a VERY BAD review...and has never been seen since on my route.
Ever h
Re: Fantastic marketing plan (Score:2)
Good thing (Score:2)
As long as they do proper research and phase it in slowly, I think this can be a very good thing for inflation and be a positive for the environment.
Maybe there should be an Amazon store? (Score:2)
Drive to the store and pick up your Amazon order. Or take something back. They could also sell stuff there at the store, just like any other retail place.
This would probably work in cities and suburbs.
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Is this the one that's being constantly shoplifted from, and has the freezers chained down?
Odd title (Score:2)
That title rubs me wrong for at least two reasons:
1. It implies packaging can't have innovation.
2. Innovation should go far beyond just packaging. R&D and operations are very different. So is this position in charge of packaging operations *and* R&D, but only R&D in dozens of other categories? An unusual mix. It would be like "Vice President of Rocket Research and Stapler Distribution".
The Soviets
will make it easier (Score:2)
This will make it easier for porch pirates to pick and choose which packages to steal. Nothing they hate worse than taking a risk to steal a package and find socks or some other items they cannot resell.
To test, I ordered Jack-in-the-Box (Score:2)
but got jack.
They already do that here in Brazil (Score:2)
But not for all products. Sensible products come in a box or pack, those that are already well packaged are delivered as they are.
And you know what? It's nice.
Less packages to open and throw away, less trees chopped, less plastic in the environment. Win-win-win.
Landfill is full of Amazon boxes (Score:2)
My county bought about 8 acres of private land to expand the landfill. This was expected to last about 20 years. Amazon boxes are filling it so fast that it will only last 3 years. Millions will have to be spent acquiring more land and lining it with landfill technologies. Amazon's system is not sustainable at all unless more cardboard gets recycled!
I've spent 2.5k at amazon this year, for resale (Score:2)
2,544.10, buying 2,789 things...
that I have sold..
if they have shipping labels on them, Just hell no(t) gonna work for me.
I have already received items like that (Score:2)
Wrong approach (Score:2)
The right approach is reusable returnable packaging. Amazon already visits or drives past every address about 5 times a day. They can pick up the sturdy boxes from previous deliveries and reuse them.
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Apartments they deliver to the head office. Better, and less clutter.
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