Amazon and “union” are two words you don’t often see together in a sentence (aside from the company’s recent union-related problems). However, the e-commerce behemoth has prompted the formation of an unexpected union… and it involves the way that your packages get to your front door. 
A coalition of over 100 small delivery companies will launch a new last-mile delivery company called The FRONTdoor Collective. The newly-created business will be managed by former Amazon, UPS, Walmart, and Instacart execs. In case you didn’t know, your Amazon delivery guys aren’t actually Amazon. Rather, they’re a league of hundreds of small businesses acting as contractors to the e-commerce giant.
Many of the collective’s companies deliver for Amazon as part of a Delivery Service Partner program. The DSP program has been criticized for capping the growth of small delivery shops, a problem that’s worsening as Amazon generates FAT cash from the pandemic. That’s the reason many DSP vendors set their eyes on a much bigger prize. 
The size of The FRONTdoor Collective should meet the needs of e-commerce brands and big-box retailers, especially during times of high volume in the logistics biz. Companies are strapped for options as the holiday season picks up, which positions FRONTdoor as a strong alternative to UPS or FedEx. Besides, how can business go wrong with more options?
For Amazon, FRONTdoor is a small threat to Amazon. However, many DSP members have described their relationship with Amazon as a war, and that would require Amazon to play ball if DSP partners ask for more. FRONTdoor hopes to have over 300 members by the end of the year and has ordered 10,000 EVs from automaker Canoo.