Amazon’s Alexa feature is now being used in warehouses to ensure picking, packing and shipping goals are met. Alexa is a programme that responds to audio (usually performed by the user), through AI technology.

Due to popular e-commerce demand, the window for deliveries are shrinking, and the pressure is becoming more prominent. The use of Alexa technology in warehouses has been introduced with the aim to help speed up the system and provide assistance for warehouse staff.

The speech-directed software was in fact been acquired in warehouses since the late 1990s, however the adaptation of technology of the automated voice assistance is still developing. According to a 2018 Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) and DC Velocity survey, about one quarter of warehouses use systems similar to Alexa, which is up 5.7% more than what was recorded in 2008.

Alexa is a recent addition to the voice activated and controlled technology which has been adapted in warehousing roles, but the more traditional forms of AI technology consists of voice-directed technologies accompanied by headsets and microphones.