eBay to launch warehousing and shipping services next year

eBay Inc said it would launch a warehousing and shipping service for merchants selling through its site starting next year, a new strategy that is expected to attract more sellers to the e-commerce platform.
The program is currently in trial in the United States and Germany and is similar to Amazon.com Inc’s “Fulfillment By Amazon” service, or FBA, which allows merchants to rent space in warehouses worldwide so they can store inventory closer to customers, according to Reuters.
Sellers selected in the program will be charged a fee for warehousing and for shipping once an item is sold. 

„eBay is introducing Managed Delivery, a cost-effective fulfillment service to launch next year, beginning in the U.S., that will provide shoppers faster and more reliable delivery on millions of popular products. The initiative will enable sellers with high-volume inventory to meet rising consumer expectations while reducing cost and complexity.”, according to the press release.

Managed Delivery will provide sellers the ability to store, pack and ship their products through expert logistics partners managed by eBay.

„The new service allows sellers to store inventory closer to buyers in strategically located warehouses across the country, resulting in faster delivery time and lower shipping costs.”, the company said.

eBay will power the Managed Delivery experience through a global technology platform and third-party partners will run the operations, creating a seamless end-to-end fulfillment process for sellers that will allow them to manage their inventory through Seller Hub and other industry-standard solutions. The new service will give sellers the ability to offer the free shipping buyers want with a more reliable and faster delivery promise – and hence drive their sales on eBay, the company claims.

“A common request we hear from our high-velocity sellers is to help make delivery of high-volume items easy and fast,” said Devin Wenig, eBay President and CEO. “Managed Delivery will be a competitively-priced logistics solution for businesses selling high-volume goods in popular categories like electronics, home and garden, and fashion. The implementation of this service will dramatically lessen the shipping burden on sellers, while improving the shopping experience and making unboxing fun for buyers.”

The service will be available for fulfilling orders placed on eBay and other online platforms.

“eBay’s fulfillment pilot has made it easier and faster to get our products in the hands of customers,” said David DiBartolomeo of Select Tech, who has been enrolled in an eBay fulfillment pilot in the U.S. “Today, shoppers are looking for fast and free delivery and this new service has allowed us to increase customer satisfaction while simplifying our business and saving money at the same time.”

With approximately 1.5 million packages being sent daily in the U.S. by eBay sellers, Managed Delivery will also result in hundreds of millions of eBay branded boxes and packages being placed on front porches across the United States within the next few years. These branded packages will not only deliver a better shopping experience for customers, but materially enhance eBay’s brand identity as a popular consumer shopping destination. 

Managed Delivery is the third pillar of eBay’s ongoing evolution to create a more managed marketplace. The first two pillars being the creation of a managed catalog to make it easier for buyers to find what they are looking for, and the development of managed payments to create greater buyer choice in payment options.