– in the years 2021-2025 We plan to allocate over EUR 700 million for investments in technological innovations As part of our European delivery station network – Nicola Fyfe, Vice President of Amazon, dealing with logistics in Europe during the “Delivering The Future” event in Dortmund, in which we took part. – We operate in 10 countries, with which We do not operate in Poland. That is why we spend 700 million euros to increase automation within the existing network of supply station – said Nicola Fyfe in response to next.gazeta.pl.
Amazon has ambitious plans. He showed what “delivery of the future” will look like
Every day, about 40 operational processes are implemented at Amazon supply stations. Employees accept parcels, sort them under a specific supply route, pack them into bags and prepare for pickup. This process, thanks to the EUR 700 million mentioned, is to be even more automated. At the last mile innovation center in Dortmund, Germany, which we visited, the concept of the future supply station is tested, which is to be officially realized in 2026. The goal is to the maximum. Restricting employees' physical effort when increasing performance.
It looks like this. Instead of taking packages manually from prams, employees lead them to the system that Automatically transfers parcels to the conveyor, where the scanner mounted on the route collects data on each side of the package. Then the packages on the tapes are automatically transferred to the appropriate sorting paths for them, from where they go to the “Zancasort” machine, where the employee receives them on (as he assures Amazon) ergonomic height and puts into bags that have the regions assigned to which the courier will go. These bags are in constant motion and stop next to the employee, only when he has the right package. Only after filling they go to couriers' cars.
Amazon focuses on automation. What about employees?
– In Dortmund, we have successfully tested our concept of the future supply station, which will define another decade of our delivery activities Not only in Europe, but also in other parts of the world – said Nicola Fyfe, emphasizing that it is “an event that happens once in her life.” She also assured that greater robotization of the packet sorting process would not help reduce employment.
I have been answering questions about exemptions for over a decade and we are still here, employing thousands of people. This is simply the next stage in our continuous cycle of innovation. From the perspective of my 18 years of work, looking at the evolution of our operations, we always engage our employees in this journey and now it is no different. The possibilities offered by machine learning and artificial intelligence open completely new perspectives, allowing us to act even more efficiently and faster for the client. However, our colleagues are present at every stage
– Vice President Amazon assures us.
Reports that in the last two years Amazon has increased the number of employees involved in maintenance and engineering at supply stations in Europe by over 50 percent. However, over 20,000 employees of the European supply station network won new Skills related to the operation of automation technology and solutions based on artificial intelligence. Amazon offers training programs, during which employees sorting packages are trained to support their technology. During the event in Dortmund, it was repeated that “no higher education is needed to deal with robots.”
Deliveries on the same day in Europe. Artificial intelligence helps in this
Modern technologies, which Amazon puts on, are to make packages ordered from the stores of this giant to be delivered even faster. Rocco Braeuniger, vice president responsible for the Amazon store in Germany, Austria and Switzerland announced in Dortmund that Amazon is planning in the next year introduce a delivery service on the same day in the next 20 locations in Europe among others in Augsburg, Metz and Bergamo. In total, Amazon already has this function in over 130 locations in Europe. The “fast supply zone” was also announced, i.e. the location where you can place orders with the option of delivery on the same day up to 18:15. There will be as many as 16 such places by the end of 2026. However, these ads did not apply to Polish.
– Our priority is the continuous expansion of delivery services the next day and the dynamic development of supplies on the same day. The speed of delivery and implementation strategies both in emerging markets and in the countries where we have been operating for years are constantly in our development plan. We are constantly looking for ways to continue to expand our services – said Nicola Fyfe.
Poland, however, plays a strategic role in our European supply network, including in our order implementation centers located in this country
she added.
Deliveries on the same day are possible thanks to artificial intelligence. Based on the popularity data, it forecasts, which customers need the fastest. Thanks to this, it is known what articles to arrange in these specialized zones. So they are created, so letters of something like “most ordered products”. – We use AI technology Even three months before placing the order by the customer to optimize the distribution of stocks in our European network. We analyze purchasing habits and trends to strategically place products, thus minimizing the time and distance of travel from the moment of completing and packing the order to its delivery by the courier. Thanks to this precise planning, based on advanced AI analyzes, we are able to effectively shorten the delivery time, thinking back from the customer to the location of the product – tells us Nicola Fyfe.