The timeframe for rollout is soon, too: Amazon is said to be readying the service for its first launch in LA in the “coming weeks,” starting, not surprisingly, with companies that sell stuff via its website. After its initial launch in LA, Amazon will look to expand it out to other cities, possibly as soon as later this year, the WSJ says.

Of course it makes sense that Amazon would extend its service to third-party merchants working on its ecommerce platform, but the report goes further, saying Amazon would eventually like to offer shipping services to basically any other business, too – with the goal of undercutting both UPS and FedEx on rates.

This should not be surprising to anyone following Amazon’s moves on the logistics front – the retail giant has its own fleet of cargo jets, its own warehouses, its own last-mile contract couriers and can even act as an ocean shipping agent, just like both FedEx and UPS. It’s been reported for a while now that Amazon would eventually compete directly with its longstanding delivery partners.

Neither UPS nor FedEx seem to be especially taken aback by this, based on their non-comment comments in the WSJ report. For now, at least, Amazon will still definitely have to rely on its shipping partners to make things work.