rce for technological advancement. Here are three ways Amazon is delivering the future of e-commerce in the Apac region. 1. Amazon deploys its 1-millionth robot in Japan Amazon announced that it now has one million robots working across 300 facilities worldwide – building on its status as the world’s largest manufacturer and user of industrial robots. The millionth robot was delivered to its fulfilment centre in Chiba, Japan. “What we aim to achieve is to extend human capability to the use of machines,” said Tye Brady, chief technologist of Amazon Robotics. “Our goal as a team is to make those machines as useful and as practical as possible, to give our employees the tools they need to fulfil our customer promise,” he added. Moreover, Amazon shared its new generative AI foundation model, which is designed to make its entire fleet of robots smarter and more efficient. DeepFleet will coordinate the movement of robots across its global fulfilment network, improving the travel time of its robotic fleet by 10 per cent. DeepFleet acts as a traffic management system for Amazon’s cohort of robots, optimising how they navigate fulfilment centres with less congestion and ultimately execute faster processing times for customers’ orders. “This new AI model is deployed across our network to help transform how our one million robots work,” explained Brady.  “It makes it simpler, smarter and more useful as we support our frontline employees, and that’s really important to us.” 2. Amazon ramps up its public tours of fulfilment centres  Amazon announced that it will launch Amazon Tours for the first time in Japan at its Chiba Minato fulfilment centre by the end of 2025. The program, which allows customers to visit Amazon’s fulfilment centres for free, has already been rolled out across the US, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, the UK and Canada. “This program is a rare opportunity for our customers to see how Amazon delivers products safely, quickly and efficiently, and to get a behind-the-scenes look at how Amazon’s fulfilment centres operate,” said Kohei Shimatani, Amazon’s vice president of Japan Operations. “Participants can also get a sense of what makes Amazon a significant place to build a career by seeing people who work at Amazon’s fulfilment centres. We hope that the Amazon Tours will help more local customers learn more about Amazon,” he added. The idea for Amazon Tours originated nearly a decade ago and was driven by a desire to have more transparency with its customers, that is difficult to facilitate online for e-commerce natives like Amazon. “A big part of our business is the operation behind physical retail and it’s a lot of complexity to try and talk about and communicate – it’s just a lot easier to show people how it all works,” said Nick Boone-Lutz, head of tours at Amazon. 3. Amazon upskills and futureproofs its workforce  Amazon announced that it has upskilled more than 700,000 employees globally through prepaid education and training programs. This achievement is part of its efforts to support its employees’ career growth alongside its rapid technological innovation. Under its flagship education program, Career Choice, Amazon is helping its hourly employees develop new skills for in-demand fields. Since the program’s launch, more than 250,000 employees have participated in training for roles such as aircraft mechanics, IT support specialists and software developers. “The reality is that roles across the world are evolving, and they’re going to continue to evolve at a pace that is rapidly increasing,” said Tammy Thieman, Amazon’s career choice director. “The way to be successful in today’s environment and the environment of the future is really to take a posture of learning – whether it’s a young person who’s just graduating from secondary school or a person like myself who’s had a career for some years, we all need to lean in,” she added. Following the success of its US apprenticeship program for mechatronics and robotics, where participants received a nearly 23 per cent wage increase after completing classroom instruction and an additional 26 per cent increase after on-the-job training, Amazon is expanding its apprenticeship efforts even further. Now, Amazon is launching a new Automation Engineer Apprenticeship program to train future automation experts and a West Coast Maintenance Apprenticeship Hub to support workforce development and technical education in local communities.