Overview

Amazon announced three AI‑driven upgrades to its fulfillment network that target demand forecasting, last‑mile address accuracy, and warehouse robot control. The changes are already live in several markets and are slated for broader rollout. Sellers using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) should expect quicker delivery windows, fewer missed deliveries, and new considerations around inventory placement and fees.

Key Points

• Foundational Forecasting Model — Predicts demand for hundreds of millions of SKUs each day by adding weather, local events, school calendars and regional holidays to traditional sales data.
• Forecast Accuracy Gains — National forecasts for major sales events are now about ten percent more accurate, while regional predictions for high‑traffic items have improved by roughly twenty percent.
• Generative AI Delivery Mapping — Analyzes satellite photos, GPS signals and building footprints to locate the exact door or entrance for complex addresses such as apartments and gated communities.
• Mapping Scale — During a 2024 pilot the system correctly matched 2.8 million apartment units across more than 14 000 complexes and identified convenient parking spots for four million addresses.
• Agentic AI for Warehouse Robots — Allows operators to give plain‑English commands (e.g., “pick every item in tote 23”) instead of relying on fixed scripts, speeding up robot re‑training and adaptation.
• Multi‑Country Deployment — The forecasting engine is already active in the United States, Canada, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom, with additional regions planned for 2025.

How the New AI Systems Work

1. Foundational Forecasting Engine —

   • The model ingests real‑time weather forecasts, local school schedules, regional holiday calendars and event listings.
   • It then runs a neural network that outputs demand probabilities for each product at the zip‑code level.
   • Example: In Denver, a sudden snowstorm triggers a 35 % rise in demand predictions for insulated gloves, prompting Amazon to move stock from a distant hub to a nearby fulfillment center within hours.