Amazon India launches a SpecialFund to help Small & Medium Business Partners in Logistics impacteddue to the Lockdown; to benefit close to 40,000 of their staff
The Fundwill support Delivery Service Partners and Transportation Partners associated withAmazon, andprovide financial aid for the month of April 2020.
29 April 2020, Chennai: Small and Medium Businesses (SMB) across India have been financially impacted due to the nationwide lockdown in these unprecedented times.In an effort to enable the SMBs in logistics that are heavily reliant on the company, Amazon India has introduced a Partner Support Fund.
This Partner Support Fund for small and medium businesses in logistics will be available to Delivery Service Partners (DSP) and selectTransportation partners in India to help adjust their business model to the new realities posed during the lockdown. Through the one-time disbursement, the fund will support the partnersin multiple ways. This includes enabling them to provide financial aid to close to 40,000 of their stafffor the month of April’20. Additionally it will help cover some critical fixed infrastructure costs, and support liquidity and cash flow for these businesses as they resume and scale their operations post lockdown.
Akhil Saxena, VP, Customer Fulfilment Operations, APAC, MENA & LATAM, Amazon, said, “Amazon is committed tokeeping India safe by delivering essentials to customers at their doorstep.We are equally investedin helping our partners overcome the unforeseen disruption in business.Thisone-time special Partner Support Fund is designed to enable partners to assistclose to 40,000 of their associatesthrough financial hardships, and will help oursmall business partners in logistics get back on their feet at the earliest when the economy reopens. Our commitment to partners and to India is for the long-term, and this fund, in addition to other measures, aimsto support SMBs overcome the situation with relative ease.”
The special Amazon Partner Support Fund follows therecent announcement of the global USD 25 million Amazon Relief Fund (ARF) in India. ARFcan be utilized by qualifying individuals who have been quarantined or diagnosed with COVID-19. Amazon India has extended the Amazon Relief Fund to eligible delivery associates who are part of the Delivery Service Partner Program, Amazon Flex program and its trucking partners providing transportation support.
Amazon is committed to the health and safety of its associates, delivery service partners, drivers, employees, and customers, and has implemented a number of preventive measures.Amazon India has begun temperature checks in buildings,has increased the frequency and intensity of cleaning at all sites, ,adjusted practices so that teams can adhere to social distancing whether at site or while even making deliveries to customers. Allassociates are also required to wear re-usable facecovering through departure of their shifts at our sites, and also when they are out on the road making deliveries.
About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about
