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Speaking to investors recently, having weathered the storm of the first wave of a global pandemic, Amazon.com Inc.’s chief financial officer Brian Olsavsky put the company’s next challenge in the simplest terms possible: “We’ve run out of space.”
The arrival of coronavirus spurred Amazon to accelerate what was already an aggressive expansion strategy. Between 2018 and 2019, it increased its global logistics footprint by 15 per cent, securing more warehouse space, sorting centres and delivery hubs in an effort to beat out rivals. This year, Olsavsky said Amazon was on track to add more than 50 per cent to its capacity.
The push comes as the company scrambles to hold on to its position as the essential western supplier of the pandemic, meeting the unprecedented demands of populations locked inside their homes while fulfilling one of its bedrock promises: guaranteed delivery in just one or two days.