Amazon unveiled its most automated warehouse to date, signaling a major shift in the company's approach to order fulfillment. The new 3 million-square-foot facility in Shreveport, Louisiana integrates AI and robotics on an unprecedented scale for the e-commerce giant.
This "next-generation fulfillment center" represents a departure from Amazon's previous strategy of gradually introducing robots into existing workflows. Instead, the Shreveport site was designed from the ground up to maximize automated processes.
At the core of the new warehouse is a system called Sequoia, which can store over 30 million items. It works in tandem with thousands of mobile robots and robotic arms to move products through the facility. Amazon claims this setup will speed up order processing by up to 25%.
The company has not disclosed specific numbers on robot deployment in Shreveport, only stating it will use ten times more than a typical fulfillment center. For context, Amazon already employs nearly a million robotic systems across its U.S. operations.
Despite the increased automation, Amazon plans to hire 2,500 workers for the new facility. The company says the site will require 30% more employees in technical roles such as maintenance and engineering compared to its standard warehouses.
This push towards more automated fulfillment comes as Amazon faces growing competition in rapid delivery services. The company aims to use the efficiency gains from its new robotic systems to offer more items for same-day and next-day delivery.