Innovation of the Week is a subscriber-only series highlighting retail initiatives that have caught the eye of our team. Every week, we will bring you new ideas and case studies across consumer, technology, sustainability, economy, policy and industry.
What is it?
At its Delivering the Future event in Nashville, Tennessee, Amazon said it will deploy 1,000 electric delivery vans with vision-assisted package retrieval (VAPR) by early 2025.
VAPR is an AI-powered solution that means drivers don’t have to organise packages by stops, by reading labels or manually checking a customer’s name or address when making sure they have the right package
Instead, once the van arrives at a delivery location, VAPR will light up packages with a green “O” to highlight that the parcel should be delivered at the stop. A red “X” will appear on all other packages not expected to be delivered.
Why does it matter?
Amazon said its transportation team has spent hundreds of hours in the field with delivery service partners and drivers to test the tech, ensuring the new experiences add value.
Early tests run by the team showed a 67% reduction in perceived physical and mental effort for drivers and more than 30 minutes saved per route.
Strategic implications
Amazon believes VAPR will simplify the delivery process and enable drivers to focus on providing a great customer experience and executing more accurate deliveries.
The company has more than 390,000 drivers around the world and more than 100,000 vans in its fleet, so VAPR has the potential to save drivers time and effort on a huge scale.
Winning strategies
- Focus on operational efficiency
- Elevated customer experience
- Focus on innovation
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