Amazon rumored to be to launching parcel delivery unit

The move would reportedly be piloted in Los Angeles and confined to goods sold through its marketplace in what can be seen as a direct threat to UPS and Fedex.    Amazon is ready to test a business-to-business parcel delivery service to compete directly with UPS and Fedex in the coming weeks, according to a Friday report in the Wall Street Journal.
   The business, reportedly called Shipping with Amazon (SWA), will be piloted in the Los Angeles area first and only available to suppliers selling through Amazon’s online marketplace.
   The news follows years of behind-the-scenes development work the global marketplace has undertaken to jump into a business upon which it is heavily reliant.
   Analysts have long speculated that Amazon would eventually use its volume, scale and innovativeness to build its own parcel company. If history is a precedent, Amazon would then spin that unit out to offer parcel delivery to orders not made on its marketplace, as it’s done with the Amazon Web Services server business.
   The Wall Street Journal reported that, if successful, the pilot could be extended to other cities this year.