Amazon delivered to Prime members at the fastest speeds ever in 2023—and is working to get even faster in 2024

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses Amazon's achievements in delivering products to customers at the fastest speeds ever globally in 2023, and their plans to further improve delivery speeds in 2024.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Fastest speeds ever in 2023

1. What key initiatives did Amazon focus on to achieve their fastest-ever global shipping speeds in 2023?

• Shortening the distance deliveries had to travel to reach customers
• Improving inventory placement to stock more products locally
• Building out their Same-Day Delivery service

2. How did Amazon's regionalization efforts in the U.S. help improve delivery speeds?

• Dividing operations and transportation networks into smaller, easier-to-serve regions
• Allowing them to better leverage in-region inventory and ship more items from in-region fulfillment centers
• Reducing stops per package and reliance on air transportation

3. How did Amazon's focus on inventory placement help enhance delivery speeds globally?

• Stocked more of the products customers want locally in the right fulfillment centers in each region
• Allowed them to maintain a broad product selection while fulfilling entire orders from the Amazon location closest to the customer

4. How did the expansion of Amazon's Same-Day Delivery service contribute to faster deliveries?

• Added 9 new dedicated Same-Day Delivery sites and served 18 additional U.S. cities
• These hybrid sites allow them to fulfill, sort, and deliver products all from one location
• Resulted in a 65% year-over-year increase in items delivered same-day or overnight in the U.S. in Q4 2023

[02] Even faster delivery speeds in 2024

1. What are some of Amazon's key initiatives to achieve even faster delivery speeds in 2024?

• Continue optimizing their operations network to ship more products from locations closer to customers
• Further expand their Same-Day Delivery service to reach more customers globally
• Leverage AI to better anticipate and meet customer demand by placing inventory in the right locations

2. How is Amazon using robotics and automation to improve delivery speeds?

• Introduced a Sequoia robotics storage system that can identify and store inventory up to 75% faster and reduce order processing time by up to 25%
• The system also supports employee safety by bringing inventory to ergonomic workstations

3. How is Amazon evolving its product intake process to improve delivery efficiency?

• Ensuring the products coming into fulfillment centers from vendors and selling partners are aligned with regional customer demand
• Giving operations teams better visibility into upcoming inventory to optimize placement and flow

4. What progress has Amazon made with its Prime Air drone delivery program?

• Achieved a 15 minute and 29 second click-to-delivery time for a customer in College Station, Texas
• Planning to expand Prime Air to the UK, Italy, and a new U.S. location in 2024