USPS has been negotiating with a very small number of large businesses – including Amazon – to deliver their packages to the 170 million addresses the USPS serves. But what if the USPS could negotiate with many businesses of all sizes that included regional deals, not just nationwide? It’s about to find out.
Last month, USPS announced it was opening up entry to its last-mile delivery network, and on Tuesday, it launched a new USPS bidding platform.
“Shippers large and small will be able to access the more than 18,000 USPS destination delivery units (DDUs) nationwide via a solicitation process, ” it said last month, when it alluded to Amazon, UPS, and FedEx as dominating its last-mile network: “The Postal Service has been selling delivery service direct from its DDUs for years. However, this has generally been for a limited number of very large customers.”
The Postal Service gave Amazon big wins early on when it entered into a Negotiated Service Agreement that included an exclusive deal to deliver Amazon packages on Sundays (in 2013). Some have claimed in the past that in some cases, Amazon packages were prioritized, whether or not it was a global mandate.
With the new bidding system, it’s about the USPS trying to get optimum rates. Former Amazon logistics executive Bennet Alexander, now at ShipBob, said last month that the value of DDU access in one zip code might be very different from another. “It seems to me like (the USPS is) trying to get true price discovery and it might be different in every zip code.
But he also added the USPS may be looking to get the optimum amount of business (capacity) – “They will also be able to right size capacity, only selling what they can handle with injection windows that work for them.”
That could be good news for postal workers who get slammed during the holiday season.
Here’s how one postal worker framed the issue in a post on YouTube on Friday: “Last-mile delivery is one of USPS’s most valuable assets, and instead of offering guaranteed access through private contracts, the Postal Service plans to require companies to compete for access by region and market.” He also said the current Amazon-USPS contract runs through October 1, 2026.
In his introduction to the video, he asserted: “This isn’t the collapse of USPS or the end of Amazon deliveries. It’s a power shift. USPS is trying to reclaim control of its network, Amazon is protecting its logistics dominance, and workers are watching the impact unfold in real time.”
In Tuesday’s announcement, USPS said customers will have the ability to suggest a combination of volume, pricing and tender times at each available DDU location for USPS delivery either the same day or the next day.
It will formalize accepted bids for its Parcel Select product through a negotiated service agreement (NSA). “Customers will be able to arrange an NSA to fit their needs, including length of contract, critical entry times, and other terms and conditions.”
The organization anticipates it will notify winning bidders in the second calendar quarter, and service under those NSAs would begin in the third calendar quarter of 2026.
As for Amazon, it continues to build out its delivery network in rural areas, as it announced in June – but that may be more about the pressure it’s facing from Walmart, which says it has 4,700 stores and clubs within 10 miles of approximately 90% of the population.
