It is part of a global effort by the online retailer to build an air, sea and land transport network to help it offer faster deliveries and try to contain shipping costs, which have steadily increased as a percentage of sales.”If we have last-mile in our own hands we can offer more services like same-day delivery,” Bernd Gschaider, Germany director for Amazon Logistics, told Reuters at a distribution centre outside the southern city of Mannheim.

Gschaider said its move was designed to help it cover increased volumes but it poses a challenge to major logistics firms like Deutsche Post DHL, Hermes and DPD, which rely on the e-commerce giant for a large chunk of their parcel business.It also comes at a time when the delivery business in Germany is under fire over the practices of sub…