Deutsche Post AG, which also operates under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL Group, will end its fresh food delivery partnership with Amazon.com Inc. in Germany due to weaker-than-expected demand, Reuters reported Aug. 21, citing a spokeswoman for the package delivery company.
Local trade publication Lebensmittel Zeitung was the first to report that DHL will no longer deliver for AmazonFresh. Amazon launched the service for online grocery orders in Seattle in 2007 and in Germany in 2017.
The German logistics services provider made the decision as a result of demand lagging "far behind" expectations as well as the "complexity of the whole process," the spokeswoman reportedly said. However, the change does not affect the rest of its business with the e-commerce giant.
AmazonFresh customers will not be affected by DHL's move, a source told the news agency. The Seattle-based online retailer has been building its own delivery network in Germany in a bid to decrease dependence on multinational couriers like DHL, according to the report.
An Amazon spokesman declined to provide comment to Reuters except to note that its Fresh service received positive feedback in Germany.
The news comes two weeks after FedEx Corp. announced that it will not renew its ground-delivery contract with Amazon.
