According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, Amazon is testing it's own local delivery network in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York.

It's a project they've been working on for years, but recently gained some urgency because delays in some Christmas shipping.

This type of vertical integration reminds of Carnegie Steel, the car makers trying to take over dealerships, and breweries owning distributors. But it also reminds me of productive testing like Tesco's Homeplus virtual stores in South Korea. It's an interesting initiative to watch.