Amazon warehouse

By Ingrid Süßmann

According to the German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Amazon is establishing two new logistic centers in Munich that will enable the company to offer same-day-deliveries (Prime Now) to customers within the city.

Amazon is operating 29 logistic centers in seven countries in Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic), nine of them in Germany. According to an Amazon press spokesperson, the company is continually striving to expand the European network of logistic centers — and it looks like Munich is the new focus of this expansion strategy.

The Süddeutsche Zeitung reports that these two new centers in Munich will be conveniently located near highway access for easy connections to the city. Several subsidiary companies with names such as “Amazon City Logistik Alpha GmbH” open up room for the idea that these two logistic centers will be used to establish same-day-deliveries for Prime customers in Munich, making it the first German city and the third European city (after London and Birmingham) to have this Amazon service. In the U.S., Prime Now deliveries are operating in 14 cities and areas (e. g. Seattle, Bay Area, Atlanta, NYC etc.) so far.

One Amazon employee told the Süddeutsche, “Prime Now in Munich should have started in 2015. But it has been postponed from one day to the next.” Now it looks like Amazon will be ready to roll out Prime Now in Munich in 2016. Why Munich and not Berlin is not yet known, but it looks like Munich’s Prime Now customers are in for a treat — and Munich retailers should brace themselves for a hefty dose of competition starting in 2016.