Amazon, the e-commerce giant, continues its quest for efficiency and profitability by announcing its intention to further shorten delivery times. To achieve this, the company is relying on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to revolutionize its supply chain.

For many years, Amazon has integrated AI at the core of its strategy, causing disruptions in various sectors, including product delivery. By harnessing the possibilities offered by AI, Amazon has developed robots for its logistics centers and has even launched drone delivery. Today, the company takes a further step by completely rethinking its delivery model around this innovative technology. The main goal is to significantly reduce the distances traveled by packages by focusing on “regionalization,” which means delivering from centers located in the same region as the recipient.

To materialize this vision, Amazon leverages the power of mapping, demand forecasting, and data analysis. This approach impacts the entire logistics chain of the company, from inventory management to catalog display. In the United States, already 74% of products are shipped from centers located in the same region as the recipient.

This strategy relies on AI-based tools capable of predicting which products will be demanded by consumers and in which region. Package routes are then calculated taking into account multiple variables, including weather conditions. Furthermore, this new logistical configuration can also influence the ranking of products in Amazon’s catalog, giving priority to items available in the user’s region.

This profound transformation of the supply chain presents major challenges for Amazon.

By reducing delivery times, the company enhances its competitiveness against other online stores and provides an improved customer experience. At the same time, Amazon is currently conducting tests on an AI tool in some of its order processing centers in North America and Europe.

This tool aims to sort damaged goods, thus reducing the number of defective items shipped and accelerating order preparation. AI proves to be three times more efficient than an employee in this task, paving the way for significant efficiency gains.

It is essential to consider the impact of AI on the job market. According to a report by Goldman Sachs, up to a quarter of jobs in the United States could be affected by this technology, leading to significant disruption. However, the report also emphasizes that the use of AI is expected to boost the global GDP by 7%.