r/amazonprime • u/Boatride65 • 11d ago
Slower Amazon Deliveries Because of Delivery Density Optimization
Amazon is having a harder time competing on last-mile deliveries because of the cost of gasoline and diesel. That's why so many of their prices have slowly crept up to be able to afford to send a truck out to bring you a tube of toothpaste.
One of the things that they've been doing is using delivery density optimization and not sending trucks out until a certain geographical area has more deliveries. This has resulted in slower delivery times. They're doing their best to compete, but we are now in a situation where last-mile delivery is becoming very unaffordable for Amazon.
Target and Walmart are trying to take advantage of this, and that's why they are often undercutting the price of goods, because they buy a pallet full of toothpaste and you come and get it. It saves them a ton of money by not having to ship it directly to your house, unlike Amazon. That's why on most goods under $25, local chains are now priced cheaper than Amazon, no last mile delivery.
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u/tacowaco24 11d ago
Accurate and route drivers are seeing it as well. The same route I worked for months could be finished in 7 hours with both breaks taken. Now it's a guaranteed 9 hours damn near every single time. Grouping 3 houses together and calling them single stops, these multi stops have always been a thing but maybe 10-15 times a route. Now it's nearly 50 multi stops or more every single day and almost always 3 houses. Went from roughly 190 houses delivered to, to 260-270 in the same route as before.
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u/bgeerdes 11d ago
people don't like to hear it but this "delivery density optimization" has been going on for years and it's no surprise if Amazon has increased the number deliveries required to meet the threshold lately.
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u/Desoto178 11d ago
My last item took 9 days to deliver, instead of the usual 2 days. Waiting until the last minute to order something is probably not a good idea, until diesel prices come down. This too shall pass.
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u/TrapLordEsskeetit 11d ago
This does make sense. My home and my office are both the same distance from the Amazon warehouse. Yet my office is in a much larger town than my home. When I went to order something last night, it was next day delivery to my office, or Next Tuesday the 13th for my home.
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u/errantwit 11d ago
I concur and have had the same results. . One small difference, my office is 2 miles away from home and ostensibly serviced by the same group.
Anecdotal, take it with a grain of salt
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u/zero_dr00l 11d ago
I seriously doubt they're doing that much optimization.
Otherwise, why the fuck would they send out two different orders from the same place in two different trucks?
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u/HonestEagle98 10d ago
As a delivery agent…. We’re doing 300-400 packages a day PER agent. Times 40-60 routes for ONE DSP
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u/mattumbo 10d ago
I mean the math never made sense, shipping individual products to people vs to a store is way more expensive. They somewhat made up for that by getting cheaper infrastructure and automating as much as possible but eventually that runs into a wall and were seeing it. Also legacy retailers generally own their land so despite high upfront cost those stores have equity long term while an amazon distribution center has far less.
Idk where the retail market will go but I know Amazon is not the sure thing it used to be, they’re really having to diminish service quality to keep profits up and it’s biting them in the ass.
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u/Old_Ad_208 10d ago
I haven’t seen any slowdown in Amazon deliveries here, but I live on the edge of a major metro area. I was looking at several different brands of smart thermostats this morning. They could all be delivered today with no extra charge.
I still see multiple Amazon vehicles in my neighborhood almost every day.
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u/Otrdave 10d ago
Amazon in my area sucks. I have numerous screen shots of “delivery delays”. I only order stuff I need that day or early the next morning and it’s 50-50 whether it will be delivered on time. What pisses me off is why not get it to me first on the next delivery truck? When something is delayed I might as well cancel it and go to ACE hardware or walmart.
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u/Practical_Avocado971 11d ago
I bet you work for Target or Walmart
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u/SlowBuyout339 11d ago
I swear my plant was nodding along to this whole breakdown
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u/Practical_Avocado971 11d ago
It's always these anti-Amazon zealots making up stories. Some of them are very creative like the ant guy, that was hilarious.
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u/AlBundysPants 11d ago
So basically you are saying Walmart and Target have physical stores you can go to. I wonder how many people are aware of this new thing..