They have warehouses all over the place. But that's just part of it. When you are the largest customer of the largest shipping company in the world, you are able to ensure that your stuff gets on the truck/train/plane. Answer from Teekno on reddit.com
Amazon
amazon.com › gp › help › customer › display.html
How long does Amazon delivery take? - Amazon Customer Service
Transit time depends on your shipping speed. We use business days, excluding weekends, and account for holidays to calculate transit time. An exception to this delivery schedule is when a weekend delivery option is available during checkout. Sometimes we provide an "order within" countdown.
Amazon
shipping.amazon.com
Amazon Shipping - Trusted 2-5 Day Shipping For Your Business
Reliable, fast shipping for orders placed on Amazon, your own website, and other sales channels. Pickup and delivery seven days a week. No additional weekend delivery fees or residential surcharges. ... “Our shipping profile aligns perfectly with Amazon’s network, allowing us to reduce cost and deliver to 90% of our customers within 1-3 days.” ... “Through this collaboration, Funko strengthens its promise of delighting fans with every delivery so fans never miss the latest Limited Edition drop or trending collectible.”
Videos
21:19
Entire Amazon Shipping Process Explained - YouTube
24:31
How Amazon Packages Are Delivered in 24 Hours - YouTube
02:06
Just how does Amazon deliver so fast? - YouTube
08:18
Inside Amazon’s Meticulous Same-Day Delivery Strategy | WSJ ...
04:39
How Amazon Delivery Works? | How Amazon Delivers Your Packages ...
Scripps News
scrippsnews.com › us-news › infrastructure › how-do-amazon-packages-get-delivered-so-quickly
How do Amazon packages get delivered so quickly? (VIDEO)
July 24, 2024 - When retailers like Amazon deliver on their fast-delivery promise — it’s good news for consumers. But it can compromise workplace safety. Workers have accused the retail giant of poor working conditions in its effort to speed up delivery times. Amazon says it prioritizes worker safety and has taken steps to invest in a safer workplace. It’s also aiming to automate more delivery including: rolling out drone deliveries in some markets.
ELI5:How does amazon prime deliver packages so fast
They have warehouses all over the place. But that's just part of it. When you are the largest customer of the largest shipping company in the world, you are able to ensure that your stuff gets on the truck/train/plane. More on reddit.com
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January 15, 2016So how DOES Amazon Prime Shipping work?
My state has a lot of trucks and distribution centers. I sometimes doubt the 2 day (and I've gotten one day also this past year) because it wont say shipped until the same day it's delivered. I assume it's what you order and where it comes from. I don't do 3rd party or odd things that don't have 2 day shipping. Maybe 2 times out of 50, something will be late. More on reddit.com
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March 5, 2025How long does Amazon take to ship your order in the US?
It depends on if it is coming from an amazon fulfillment center or not. Pretty much anything coming from an amazon center ships same day. (Time order placed pending of course) More on reddit.com
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June 6, 2017Why are Amazon and other companies so fast to ship to APO address but others are so damn slow?
So, there are multiple APO ports where things ship out to their regions. A couple in California, Illinois, New York and Texas. If it goes through Illinois or Texas you're golden because they ship by air. If it goes through California, you're fucked because they fill up a ship and wait until it reaches a certain capacity before they send it overseas. I don't know much about how New York works but I've had things take up to two weeks through there. 30+ days for California. 4 days for Illinois and 7 days for Texas. Those are my times in both Japan and Korea. Now, Amazon will typically pack and send things out the same or next day you place your order if they see you're sending to an APO, regardless of what you select for shipping (usually standard is your only option though). Not all companies do this so you could see some added time for this. ALSO, USPS uses this thing for customs called "known shippers" or something like that. They have a list of companies who frequently ship overseas. Amazon is on that list so 99% of the time they either skip or breeze through customs because they're trusted to pack things appropriately. Other companies, not so much. Hope that helps. Edit: I want to add that there's a service called APO Box. Google it. They give you a proxy stateside address. It can get a bit pricey since you'll have to pay for shipping and stuff but basically you order things, it gets sent to them, they repack it and send it through the fastest APO port. They're on USPS's trusted companies list. I'd look into for everything outside of Amazon. They can get some things past customs too. More on reddit.com
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November 22, 2017Reddit
reddit.com › r/explainlikeimfive › eli5:how does amazon prime deliver packages so fast
r/explainlikeimfive on Reddit: ELI5:How does amazon prime deliver packages so fast
January 15, 2016 -
How does amazon keep up with their 2 day delivery standard?
Top answer 1 of 4
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They have warehouses all over the place. But that's just part of it. When you are the largest customer of the largest shipping company in the world, you are able to ensure that your stuff gets on the truck/train/plane.
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I work for a company that is automating UPS, FedEx and Amazon facilities, so I've asked this myself. The estimated number of packages shipped by Amazon makes up between 30-40% of the total shipments by the big 3 (UPS, FedEx and USPS). They do in fact get a hell of a discount for volume shipping, but that's only part of the story. What causes a package to take 3 or more days by the big three is method of transport (ground/air), distance from source to target, and cost/benefit. Here's the breakdown. Say you live in Cleveland and you want to send a package to Phoenix. If you send it UPS, it will go from the local dropoff to their hub in Louisville, KY, probably by ground. From there it will likely be sent via air to their hub in Ontario, CA (southern California, not Canada). Then it will be sent from there to the distribution center in Phoenix (likely by air), and then out for delivery. This whole process will take about 5 days. What makes Amazon able to trim time off of this is that their warehouses and distribution centers are located in the same cites as the hubs. For example, one of the main FedEx hubs is in Memphis, TN and the Amazon warehouse is a 10-minute drive from there. So the trip to get it on an airplane is almost negligable. Lastly there's a cost/benefit situation that might delay a package. So using my example above, let's say instead of sending the package to Phoenix, you're sending it to a remote location like Midland, TX. In this case the pakage would probably go from Louisville to Dallas and then trucked out west, that truck servicing perhaps a dozen west Texas cities. Unless that truck is 60%+ full, it will sit in the bay until it gets enough packages. Basically it's not worth it for the truck to leave empty. Here's where it's worth it to Amazon to offer the 2-day shipping. By creating a system that makes people in remote areas able to cheaply order items that they can't get locally, the trucks to remote areas are more likely to be full. The tl;dr version: when you order a pakage through amazon, it can be on a plane within a couple of hours, arrive at a nearby city that day, and be in your town the following day out for delivery; and because of their volume with the shipping companies their costs are minimal.
AP News
apnews.com › article › amazon-prime-delivery-fast-shipping-92fde83b689060a48965003e7c5db5f3
Amazon says Prime deliveries reached their fastest speeds ever last year | AP News
January 30, 2024 - NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon delivered packages to its Prime customers at the fastest speeds ever in 2023, the retailer said Tuesday, thanks to better inventory placement, a new regionalization model for shipments and more same-day warehouses.
HowStuffWorks
money.howstuffworks.com › business › business operations
How Does Amazon Deliver Stuff So Fast? | HowStuffWorks
November 15, 2024 - With centralization "you can manage the uncertainty and fluctuation in demand," Dai continues, "but you have to deal with delivery time, right? Because it takes a long time to ship something from the West Coast to the East Coast." So over time, he says, Amazon figured out the trade-off between centralization and proximity and began building more fulfillment centers closer to its customers. But even if it has a ton of regional fulfillment centers, an e-commerce retailer still has to have them already filled with the stuff that people order. How does a retailer like Amazon know that?
Quora
quora.com › How-does-Amazon-manage-to-ship-items-so-quickly-Can-items-be-delivered-from-another-city-within-a-day-or-two
How does Amazon manage to ship items so quickly? Can items be delivered from another city within a day or two? - Quora
Answer (1 of 2): Because they have built up their neighborhood presence. These are delivery stations where the vans load up. Most are within 30 miles of you. Timeline; approximate depending on your location to the FC.
Amazon
aboutamazon.com › news › transportation › how-amazon-delivers-stuff-fast-online-shopping
How Amazon is delivering orders faster
October 22, 2025 - Amazon customizes its delivery methods based on local conditions: E-cargo bikes deliver packages quickly through congested streets in dense cities like Amsterdam or Munich, and make up the majority of Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market grocery deliveries in Manhattan. Rivian’s custom electric delivery vans are across the U.S. and Germany, mules travel across rocky terrain in the Grand Canyon, drones bring customers their orders in Arizona, and wooden boats bring supplies to shoppers on quiet islands off the Maine coast. This tailored approach helps ensure fast delivery in each environment.
Amazon
aboutamazon.com › news › operations › doug-herrington-amazon-prime-delivery-speed
Doug Herrington: How Amazon is delivering at its fastest speeds ever
And these hybrid facilities allow us to fulfill, sort, and deliver all from one site—making the entire process of delivering customer packages even faster. Selection varies by city, as we regularly update our product offering based on what we’re seeing as top customer items purchased or based on seasonal demand in the area. And with connections to the larger Amazon fulfillment centers nearby, we dramatically increase the number of items available for fast delivery.
Published July 31, 2023
Yahoo! Finance
finance.yahoo.com › news › amazon-brings-prime-delivery-speeds-120500336.html
Amazon Brings Prime Delivery Speeds as Fast as the Same Day to Thousands of Smaller Cities, Towns, and Rural Communities Across the U.S. for the First Time
June 24, 2025 - By investing in rural communities, Amazon’s speedy delivery will save customers time and money regardless of where they live—from North Padre Island, Texas and Asbury, Iowa to Lewes, Delaware and Fort Seneca, Ohio. With Prime, members have access to unlimited free Same-Day Delivery when spending over $25 at checkout. "Everybody loves fast delivery. So, whether you live in Monmouth, Iowa or in downtown Los Angeles, now you're going to have the same fantastic Amazon customer experience: the ability to get the wide variety of items you need to keep your household running every day, delivered the same or next day," said Doug Herrington, CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores.
Amazon Flex
flex.amazon.com › lets-drive
How Delivering Packages With Amazon Flex Works
Learn more about how Amazon Flex works and what it takes to start delivering packages for Amazon Flex today.
Amazon
amazon.com › gp › help › customer › display.html
Order with Prime FREE Same-Day Delivery - Amazon Customer Service
Place orders before the Same-Day Delivery order cutoff time. The "order within" countdown timer provides the window of time in which you must place the order to receive your delivery by the date shown. That delivery date may become unavailable during that time due to changes in inventory or ...
HulkApps
hulkapps.com › home › ecommerce hub › how amazon is reshaping fast delivery: a look into billions of items shipped in record time
How Amazon is Reshaping Fast Delivery: A Look Into Billions of Items Shipped in Record Time
April 30, 2024 - A: Amazon's same-day and next-day delivery services have significantly raised consumer expectations, making fast delivery a standard demand in the e-commerce industry. Q: Is Amazon competing with other platforms in non-traditional categories? A: Yes, Amazon is venturing into areas like the replacement parts market, traditionally dominated by platforms such as eBay, indicating its aim to capture a broader range of e-commerce segments. Q: What does the future of e-commerce look like in light of Amazon's delivery capabilities?
Amazon
aboutamazon.com › news › operations › how-do-amazon-packages-get-delivered
How does your Amazon order get to your doorstep? Watch the journey of a package
8 ways Amazon is delivering orders faster, from medication within hours to same-day perishable groceries ... Oct. 21, 2025 · Introducing Blue Jay and Project Eluna, Amazon’s latest robotics and AI technology for its operations ... Oct. 21, 2025 · Amazon has more than 1 million robots that sort, lift, and carry packages—see them in action
Published April 26, 2024
CNBC
cnbc.com › 2023 › 12 › 06 › amazon-ceo-explains-how-company-carries-out-same-day-delivery.html
Amazon CEO explains how company carries out same-day delivery
December 7, 2023 - He added that the company also uses "sub same-day facilities" to ship items faster, saying many fulfillment centers have "about a million" SKUs — or stock keeping units, product identifiers used by retailers — ready to be shipped out same-day. "We were not only able to take the transportation distances down, which lowers your transportation costs and speeds up delivery to customers, but we also took our cost to serve down," Jassy said.
Colorado State University
source.colostate.edu › home › all posts › hey alexa, how does fast delivery actually work? better than you might think
How does Amazon fast delivery work? | Colorado State University
December 5, 2023 - As we’re heading into the 2023 holiday shopping season, a lot of that money is going to be spent online and a lot of that will be spent at sites like Amazon where you can often get your purchase at your door within 48 hours. I want to start by having you explain how a fast delivery works. How are we able to push a button and presto, there’s a delivery box at the door? It’s not magic, but it feels a little bit like magic. It’s not magic. It’s just sophisticated science, and sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/amazonprime › so how does amazon prime shipping work?
r/amazonprime on Reddit: So how DOES Amazon Prime Shipping work?
March 5, 2025 -
Thought we might collect up some insights into how AMZN does this…
We all know that Amazon Prime is supposed to come with ‘one to two day shipping speed, after it ships’. Seems pretty clear….. takes a bit for them to find the item, they put it in a box and ship it a while later- takes one or two days on the road.
And we know that 98% of the time that is NOT how it works…
Sure, on occasion, I will get a UPS ‘next day saver’ shipment from across the USA. Or I will see an Amazon tracking data that shows it is shipping via air from across the country…
But MOST of the time, their algorithm is doing one of three things:
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Item is in a local distribution hub- item ships in one day, order by midnight, they transfer it to the local logistics hub at 3AM, and by 1030 it is out for delivery.
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Item is in a SEMI local hub- they truck it to the local hub, then it goes out the next day. Here in two days.
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Item is far away- it is then shipped via ground transport as a bulk package (no tracking) to my local hub. It shows as not shipped, the order is just sitting- when in actual fact it WAS shipped but takes a week across the USA. Then, after a week, it magically ‘shipped’ and shows up next day.
It is my belief that amazon ‘covers up’ when items really ship… there are two time components to order fulfillment: getting it into a box and out the door AND then the actual shipment. The ‘trick’ of prime is ‘stealing’ a few days from the order processing component and using that for transporting the package- but not letting customers know, so they get their ‘two day shipping speed’
Oh, one marvel: As you are BROWSING- not once you put it in a cart, and not after you pay…but just as you are browsing, the algorithm knows all this an can know how and when they will get that item to you.
Anyway, they can still suck- but insights into how that fulfil orders can explain what we see on our ends…..
Top answer 1 of 7
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>And we know that 98% of the time that is NOT how it works… Just a bit of hyperbole eh? I have had maybe a handful of packages "late" and I have been with Amazon since it just sold books. Your location has a lot to do with it. Maybe 1 of 50 packages come with anything other than Amazon trucks in the last 3-4 years and I get a lot and even with the rare UPS or USPS package they arrive on time. I get around 10-15 packages a week on average. There are those with lots of problems and those with no problems.
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My state has a lot of trucks and distribution centers. I sometimes doubt the 2 day (and I've gotten one day also this past year) because it wont say shipped until the same day it's delivered. I assume it's what you order and where it comes from. I don't do 3rd party or odd things that don't have 2 day shipping. Maybe 2 times out of 50, something will be late.
SAS Blogs
blogs.sas.com › home › how does amazon deliver packages so quickly?
How does Amazon deliver packages so quickly? | The SAS Training Post
December 3, 2018 - Theres just no way I'm picking ... for the fast shipping and hassle free everything else. Amazon is a beast, but it's got weak points it never seems to address (maybe pride) so there is plenty of room for competition. ... I live in London / Great Britain , And prime membership gives me 30 day trial period and I've been buying all manner of goods on Amazon lately and I'm really impressed with the reliable delivery service they ...
Supply Chain Today
supplychaintoday.com › home › blogs › how amazon delivers packages so fast
How Amazon Delivers Packages So Fast -
October 27, 2023 - Overall, Amazon’s fast delivery ... its large network of fulfillment centers, use of various transportation modes, integration of technology, and partnerships and agreements with carriers and other companies...
Detroit Free Press
freep.com › story › money › business › michigan › 2025 › 11 › 22 › amazon-drone-delivery-michigan-neighborhoods › 87353560007
Amazon drone delivery is landing in Michigan neighborhoods
3 weeks ago - They can deliver packages to customers quickly, typically in one hour or less, Amazon said. Amazon officials acknowledged, though, that flying drones in Michigan will come with some unique challenges compared with cities in other states where drone delivery has launched.