Welcome to Amazon Relay!
Amazon offers entrepreneurs an opportunity to grow through Relay, and provides free technology, resources, and support to enable their success.
This course will help you understand how Relay is different from other load boards. With a priority on safety and performance, Amazon offers you free technology, resources, and support to enable your success. By the end of this course you will understand:
- What Amazon expects from you, and what you can expect from us.
- Relay program metrics and eligibility criteria.
- How to use Relay technology to book trips, get paid, and request support.
- Opportunities available to grow your business through Amazon.
Welcome to Relay
Watch this quick 1 minute and 20 second video to see what’s possible through Relay.
How do I navigate this course?
This course is divided into eight modules. At any time you can revisit lessons you’ve already completed by using the table of contents on the left side of your screen. We recommend completing this 40 minute course at one time. However, if you pause, your progress is saved between sessions.
Click the magnifying glass icon (+) to zoom in and click again to return to normal size.
When you see a "CONTINUE" button, select it to unlock the next section of the course.
Rotate your phone for better access to course content.
Relay was designed with entrepreneurs in mind. By joining the network, you’re entering a system that matches freight to carriers who show they’re reliable and safe.
The Relay Portal was designed to help you manage your business with Relay. It’s a one-stop-shop that allows you to book trips, get support, and manage your account.
Relay Account Safety
At Amazon Relay, we believe in empowering honest transportation companies while protecting the communities we serve. When you do your part to prevent fraud and theft, you’re making it easier to keep your wheels on the road.
Press each pulsing green button to learn more about each tip.
Carriers should be familiar with the Driver Identification and Driver Background Check process.
Click each of the + below to review what this is, and how you can help your drivers complete this early to avoid late arrivals or rejections.
This is a safety measure that helps Amazon ensure the driver you assign is the same person hauling the load. Drivers will complete a one-time verification in the app using their CDL and current photo before their first load.
With their consent, the information they provide as part of creating a Relay driver account will be used to perform a background check by a third party vendor. They won’t be able to haul loads until they’ve met the requirements.
Important Terminology
As you begin working with Amazon Relay, you’ll encounter specific terms that are important for navigating the network. Understanding them will help you make informed decisions about which loads to accept and how to efficiently manage your fleet within our network.
Locations
As a carrier on Relay, you may pick up or deliver to many different Amazon facilities or to third party (3P) locations, including inbound vendors or the United States Post Office.
Relay Work Classifications
These define how loads are packaged and presented. They tell you important details about who you’ll need to assign.
Equipment
These terms help you determine how to select and deploy your fleet for a trip. Which option is right for your business?
Trip Structures
Each structure outlines how the route is arranged. Knowing these terms will help you make strategic decisions about driver assignments, equipment positioning, and operational planning.
Round Trips
Return to the starting point. These trips offer lower mileage, can eliminate empty miles, and can keep your drivers in preferred areas.
One Way Trips
Scroll down to the bottom of your screen to locate the "NEXT" button to access the next part of your course.
Block Work
Combines multiple trips into a package, offering predictable schedules and payouts.
Dedicated Routes
Maximum stability with guaranteed work for a set period of time on specific lanes. Helps you optimize your schedule and forecast revenue more accurately.
Summary
Don’t worry about memorizing every detail. When you begin booking loads, we clearly display the structure, requirements, and pay in the load details section of the trip. Here are some important ideas from this module:
- Relay was built with entrepreneurs in mind. The network offers opportunities for your business, on your terms, when you operate safely and reliably.
- Work classifications tell you how loads are packaged. You can book loads based on the commitment level, load visibility, and execution requirements.
- Trip structures define the journey pattern of your loads. Look at these details to make strategic decisions about driver assignments, equipment positioning, and operational planning.
Ready to build on these fundamentals? Let's talk about why safety is the most important topic at Amazon.
Amazon is a safety first culture, and we expect Relay carriers to share that value. Carriers that are successful in Relay empower their drivers to make safe decisions every day, every time. This is easier when you own outcomes for your team, and refuse to compromise on safety.
This module will cover Amazon’s expectations for safety, and share tips on how you can enable a safety-first culture. Topics will include:
- Keeping your Relay account safe.
- Understanding Amazon’s expectations for safety in the yard.
- An overview of the no-cost Relay technology that supports safe driving.
- Resources available to support you in tracking your company’s safety metrics.
We expect each person operating in the network to take responsibility for safety. Our vision at Amazon is ambitious but crucial, transforming Relay into the safest possible transportation option for drivers, carriers, and every community where Amazon operates.
Welcome to the yard
Now, let’s talk about safety at Amazon facilities and third party sites. Our Yard Safety rules are non-negotiable, and protect every driver and associate from injury and every truck from damage. As the leader of your company, it’s your responsibility to ensure these rules are understood and followed without exception.
As a leader, it’s your job to be familiar with, and reinforce Amazon Yard rules with your team. If your driver does not comply with posted safety rules they risk being suspended or banned from entering an Amazon site. The most common reasons for a driver to be banned include: roll-away trucks, dropped trailers, and failure to report damages or a crash.
Driver Safety Technology
Let’s switch from site safety to technology that supports safety on the road. Amazon offers a suite of safety tools designed to support your drivers and your business.
Built specifically for commercial drivers, Relay Navigation maps truck-friendly routes with weight/height restrictions, facility entrances, and real-time traffic. Plus, it automatically updates arrival times based on your equipment type—something standard GPS can't match.
The Relay Safety Benefits program rewards you for every safe mile you drive. When you adopt dashcams, maintain safe driving, and share specific data with Amazon, you can earn 4 cents per crash-free mile. That's prevention that pays.
Get critical load details, weather updates, and facility requirements in one quick review. The pre-trip briefing helps you track driver preparation, and guides drivers through each inspection point with photo documentation.
Relay provides instant updates about weather, road conditions, and facility changes to your app and inbox. This keeps your team in sync with real-time information when it matters most.
Understanding Your Safety Scorecard
When you agree to haul loads for Amazon, you are expected to have programs that create a safety culture that reduces collision risk and meets the minimum safety thresholds outlined in the Relay Program Policies. We help you monitor this by providing you with a Safety Score. Lets look at what this safety score is.
Relay Safety Scorecard
Your Safety Score is based on data from the Federal Motor Carrier and Safety Association (FMCSA). We share this with you in Relay, allowing you to address any issues before they sideline your business.
Remember: Inspection violations can remain on your DOT profile for 24 months. Violations jeopardize your ability to haul loads for Amazon. Keep your wheels on the road by prioritizing prevention, preparing your drivers, and hiring a team that you trust to make safe choices, every time.
To haul loads with Amazon, you have to exceed FMCSA standards. Take a moment to review the minimum BASICS thresholds to remain in good standing with Relay.
Amazon monitors scores and alerts carriers if we notice your score is approaching warning levels. However, it is your responsibility to manage your score and train your team to meet Relay’s safety and compliance expectations.
Summary
Strong safety leadership means doing your part to prepare your team. Remember the following:
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A culture of prevention is the best mindset to prevent crashes.
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Safety is non-negotiable at Amazon Relay. Carriers must maintain specific safety thresholds to haul loads with Amazon.
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Amazon provides no-cost safety technology, giving you and your drivers information and resources to make safe choices.
While safety forms the foundation of Relay's network, your performance score determines the growth opportunities available for you. Click CONTINUE to begin.
Amazon is constantly innovating to exceed customer expectations. That’s why Relay’s Performance Score and Grades are used to reward carriers when loads are delivered safely and on time. Why? Because your strong performance is what helps us to keep the customer promise.
Curious to learn more?
Watch this 2 minute and 11 second video to find out what spins the Amazon flywheel, and opens opportunities for your business. Here’s a hint: it’s all about happy customers.
That’s right. To keep the customer promise, Amazon relies on your ability to show up on time, avoid last minute rejections, and keep Amazon informed of changes.
To measure how consistently you do these things (and a few others) we give every carrier a unique performance score and grade. You’ll earn your first performance score after executing 10 loads with Relay. Take a moment to review the scores below.
Consistency, reliability, and follow-through are the keys to earning a top performance score. The best part? Relay rewards you when you do. Relay carriers with a high performance score receive priority in work tenders, early access to book trips, and access to additional programs (like contract work).
As a carrier, it is your responsibility to manage your company’s performance. Your unique performance score is based on four key metrics.
Click to flip each card and learn how Amazon measures your performance.
The on-time metric tracks when you arrive to the origin site and the destination.
Your acceptance metric measures how many trips are completed as compared to how many you book.
Disruption-free metric considers whether your driver takes unscheduled stops, extended breaks, and whether you have assigned the driver at least 6 hours ahead of the trip.
The app usage metric considers how your drivers are using the Relay Mobile app. The driver is asked to set their location access to 'always' to easily confirm arrival and departure steps are complete.
Need to make an improvement? Your overall performance score will match your lowest performance metric from these 4 categories. If you want to improve your score, start by looking at the lowest metric first.
Your score is updated weekly on Sunday at midnight. That means every trip offers you a chance to impact your performance score.
Building Your Score
So how can you ensure that you have the highest possible performance score once you’ve completed your first 10 trips? Focusing on these areas will help you build your score quickly. Check out these 4 tips below:
You can also check out what these Relay carriers have to say about building a performance score. What do you think can work for your business?
It all starts with building a plan on how you want to grow through Amazon. Drag each card to the right pile to see what decisions can help, or hurt, your journey to earning a top Performance Score.
Remember: Some things are neither good or bad for performance – and won’t impact your score. For example, if Amazon cancels a load because volume shifts – this won’t impact your score. Or, if you reject the load, or your driver is late, because of a verified severe weather event – that also won’t impact your score.
Monitoring your Performance
Relay provides the Performance Scorecard to help you monitor your performance. You can view your overall performance score, each of the four performance metrics, and track performance by driver.
Carriers use the insights gathered here to look for opportunities to provide coaching to their drivers.
Summary
High performing carriers show up on time, every time, and keeps Amazon informed of changes throughout the trip. Remember:
- When you deliver on time, you help Amazon keep our customer promise. Customer trust translates to increased volume, new lanes, and more opportunities for your business.
- The Performance Score rewards consistency, and can unlock access to premium programs and benefits that can help your business.
- Amazon provides you with tools to make informed decisions for your business, ensuring you never have to choose between safety and performance.
Now that you understand how performance drives opportunity in Relay, let's explore how you can find and book loads that align with your business goals. Click CONTINUE to move to the next module.
The Load Board is your marketplace for finding work that matches your capabilities and performance level. Hosting thousands of loads across North America at any given time, it provides carriers with spot freight for short-term work that can be viewed and booked without any fees.
This module will walk you through how to search for and book loads with Amazon, while also providing some tips to get you started.
Load Recommendations
The Load Board is an easy to use feature that provides you with recommendations for your business. Once you’re on the page, get started by simply adding in the origin and equipment type to populate available trips.
Need a quick refresh on the trip structure offered by Amazon? Click the + boxes below to review.
Block work is a period of time that will always start and end in the same location. Your company will not know the details of trip routes until closer to the start of the block.
By booking block work, your company is committing to having a driver start at the designated location, work a specified amount of time, and then return to the origin.
This can consist of one leg or many legs, but will not return to the same location as the origin.
Round Trips have a minimum of two legs, but may contain many legs. It will always return the driver to the origin. A round trip has a pre-determined trip route before booking. However, Amazon may make further adjustments as late as 4 hours before the start of each load.
Searching for a Load
You can also click New Search to find something that works for your business. Start by entering the origin and equipment. Use the filters to refine your search, and keep in mind the Load Board refreshes every 30 seconds. If there’s an urgent load, you will also see the option to book through Relay Assistant.
Did you earn a top Performance Score? Carriers with a B grade or higher are provided with early access booking. You can hover over the unlock icon to see how long the load is available for early booking.
Relay Assistant: an AI-powered chat
Relay Assistant offers support in many areas, but on the Load Board it provides quick support for urgent load that need coverage.
If a load is eligible, Relay Assistant provides you with an opportunity to negotiate rates and pick-up timing.
This feature meets you where and when you need it, and carriers appreciate the convenience.
Ready to Book?
When you are ready to book, click Book. You will be asked to confirm the booking. We recommend reviewing the minimum requirements again to confirm your execution plan. If it looks good, and you feel confident you can execute the load as posted, click Yes, confirm booking.
Check out some sample questions below to help you determine if you are ready to book.
Remember: Your Performance Score will be negatively impacted when you accept work that you are unable to complete, or arrive late to pick-up.
Eliminate Empty Miles
One-way loads are a great way to stay flexible and find the right work for your business. But we know these type of trips can sometimes leave your drivers running empty on the way back. To help you make a plan for these trips, Post A Truck let’s you tell Amazon when and where you’ll have a truck available, and we’ll match you with a load that fits. Here’s how it works:
Not quite sure if Post a Truck is right for you? See what one carrier thinks about this feature.
Summary
Each load you book represents a commitment to excellence that affects your performance score and can set you up for future opportunities. Remember these key points to book your first trip with confidence:
- The Load Board is a marketplace for finding work that matches your capabilities and performance level, offering thousands of loads across the US that can be booked without fees.
- Booking a load is only the first step in a successful delivery. Before booking loads, you should verify all details and ensure you can execute as booked. Changes or rejections after booking impact your performance metrics.
- Leverage the Post A Truck feature to help you reduce empty miles on those one-way trips. Just remember to make adjustments before your order is matched.
You're almost ready to get hauling. Now that you can book work, let's talk about how you can prepare for a successful delivery.
You’ve booked a load, and now you need to prepare. Relay is different from other load boards, so taking the time to understand trip expectations will help you start strong and prepare your drivers.
This module will walk you through what you can do to ensure a successful delivery. We’ll cover:
- How to assign a driver to a booked trip.
- How you can use Relay to prepare for a trip.
- How to get paid for the trips you’ve executed.
Preparing for the Trip
Everything starts on the Trips page, which provides you with upcoming, in-transit, and previously executed blocks, trips, and loads. It’s also where you’ll assign the right driver to your trip.
Your drivers represent your business, and their choices can impact your safety and performance score. This is your chance to match the right person with the right qualifications at the right time.
Don’t forget, you’ll need to assign your driver 6 hours before the scheduled arrival time. If you book a load within 5 hours of the scheduled arrival time, you’ll have a 30 minute grace period to assign a driver.
Preparing your driver
Once your driver is assigned, it’s time to plan their route. Amazon makes that easier by providing the load details, facility information, and a route planning feature – all within Relay. We do not recommend sending a driver for their first load without preparing them for Amazon’s expectations.
Click START below to review how you can prepare your driver to haul their first load for Amazon.
Monitoring the Trip
You can use the Maps feature to track all of your live routes and in-transit tours or assets. Our disruption features help you quickly spot potential issues and track route-specific weather forecast alerts or delays.
Trip Disruptions and Reporting
It’s possible for even the safest driver to be involved in a collision while hauling a load for Amazon. All incidents with people, objects, or vehicles must be reported to our Relay Operations Center (ROC) as soon as it’s safe to do so. These steps can help you understand what Amazon expects to prioritize safety.
The Relay Operations Center is available to provide immediate on the road support. If your driver has any difficulty during the execution of the trip, they should find a safe place to rest and contact Relay through the app.
Post-Trip
We’ve designed our Trips page and payment system to be straightforward and predictable, helping you review your trips and your invoices with ease. Here’s what you can expect:
Post Trip Assistance
We understand that business doesn’t stop when delivery is complete. That’s why we’ve made it simple to get support for your post-trip questions and needs. Start by reviewing the FAQs or chatting with Relay Assistant. If you are unable to get an answer, please request additional support from the Relay Support Center or the Payments page.
The Support Center provides you with quick links to self-resolve common issues, or create new cases for additional Amazon support.
Relay Learning Center is designed to provide easy access to helpful materials that support safe operations, site access, and business success.
In the event of a payment discrepancy, your company can file a payment dispute from the invoice available in Relay.
Pro tip: In the event you need to file a dispute after the trip, it is important to include all supporting details, chat logs, and documentation to help Amazon understand your situation and quickly assess if an alternative resolution is appropriate.
Summary
Proper trip management starts with thorough preparation and continues through successful delivery completion and payment processing. Remember:
- Trip management begins with proper driver assignment 6 hours ahead of scheduled arrival time.
- During trips, you can actively monitor your fleet using the Maps feature and access immediate support from Relay Operations Center for disruptions or emergencies.
- It is your responsibility to monitor your trips and payment invoices for accuracy. If you have questions, start by reviewing FAQs, chat with Relay Assistant, or complete courses on Relay Learning Center. If additional support is needed, reach out for support through the Support Center or Payments tab.
Our final module is meant to get you excited, as we help you look around corners at what's to come after your 10th load has been completed. Click CONTINUE to start wrapping up.
While your journey starts with spot loads, this is just the beginning of what’s possible for your business with Amazon. Our dynamic network offers a 2-day, or faster, shipping promise, that’s made possible through aircraft, rail containers, shipping and freight partnerships, grocery deliveries, and sophisticated technology. And of course an energetic and engaged carrier base.
With Relay, carriers are hauling more than 700,000 loads across North America and each week – and we’re just getting started.
Amazon Relay Programs
As you start to think about the future, take some time to check out the opportunities available below. What new types of freight, or programs, could pay off in the future for your business?
Flip each card to see what programs are available beyond the Load Board.
Auctions provide an open bidding environment where you can view the current leading bid price, the remaining time in the auction, and update your bids to stay competitive. If you win the auction, your company will receive a contract.
A contract is a commitment by your company to execute work during a time period in the future in exchange for a contracted payout. You can book a contract with, or without, using the auction feature.
Yard Hostling and Shuttling are considered short hauls where your drivers can reposition trailers around Amazon’s yards, usually at or near a single site. These short loads can fill a full day, with less fuel, and less wear-and-tear on your equipment.
Drayage is the shipping of goods using different modes of transport. This involves third party ports and railroads.
Specialized Certification
Amazon Relay offers multiple business opportunities that can help you diversify your business, and keep your wheels on the road 24/7. Some loads require specialized certification that demonstrate a carrier or driver has the knowledge, equipment, and understanding of safe practices needed to handle specific types of freight. For example:
When you upload your certification into Relay, you’ll gain access to view these trips on the Load Board. The best part? Depending on your company profile, you may be eligible for reimbursement to cover the cost of these certifications. That’s right, it pays to diversify with the help of Relay.
Amazon works with carriers of all sizes and backgrounds. Fill out your company’s status as a disadvantaged-owned or small business to see if you’re eligible to unlock access to available benefits, including reimbursement. This can be found in the Carrier Account tab. Click Company Profile and select Business Ownership Information to get started.
Summary
While you can start booking on the Load Board, once you’ve executed 10 loads safely and reliably, you will gain access to several opportunities to grow through Relay.
- Opportunities like Auctions and Contracts have a minimum Performance Score expectation to book.
- Hostling and Shuttling provides blocks of work that can keep your drivers working throughout the week, close to home.
- When you upload the relevant certifications on Relay, additional work for refrigerated trucks or inter-modal trips becomes available for you to book.