It allows Amazon to set up shop and hire its own workers within a manufacturer’s warehouse or facility. Amazon essentially runs the e-commerce and logistics for the manufacturer, which can sell direct to the consumer.

John Replogle is CEO of Seventh Generation, a cleaning products company that has worked with Amazon since the online retailer’s early days. Although he declined comment about Vendor Flex, he says the company is thinking about new sales channels.

“I think the notion of what it means to is being redefined,” Replogle says.

He says for his company, direct online sales make up a low, single-digit percentage of sales. But he expects it to double in the next few years, because fewer people want the traditional suburban experience of hauling bulky consumer products in their cars.