In the bustling world of ecommerce, the anticipation of the holiday season is met with meticulous planning and strategic foresight. At Amazon, teams from around the globe come together well in advance to collaborate, each contributing their expertise to ensure a convenient and delightful experience for customers during the busiest shopping months.
Read their behind-the-scenes stories.
Wayne Purboo, vice president of Amazon Shopping Video
Wayne Purboo has spent the last two years leading Amazon’s shoppable video team, which includes shoppable videos across Amazon and Amazon Live, livestreams that feature influencers, brands, and celebrities engaging in real-time discussions and helping customers discover their next favorite products and brands on Amazon. The value of producing shoppable videos across Amazon extends beyond mere product discovery; it fosters inspiration and confidence in purchase decisions by delivering diverse perspectives from various voices, ranging from Amazon sellers to customers, influencers, and publishers.
With a keen eye on the holiday season, Purboo's team crafts engaging content for customers, including Oprah's holiday favorites, daily product deals, and charity-driven streams, such as Kandi Burruss’ recent holiday party stream benefiting the American Red Cross.
“The power of combining video content and technology helps guide our customers toward better purchase decisions and allows brands to more intimately share their stories, creating a richer connection with the audience and enhancing the way customers shop,” Purboo said. “We’re constantly experimenting with ways to give customers more and more opportunities to react to our content, which helps establish the bar for which video formats will actually become ongoing series.”
When it comes to holiday content, Purboo works closely with teams across Amazon to track popular products and emerging trends. The work enables content modification in real time and the creation of new pre-recorded and livestream video content to support evolving consumer interests.
Ria Bhatia, senior manager of Product, Tech and Analytics, and Demand Forecasting
Ria Bhatia has contributed to a dozen holiday seasons at Amazon in various positions over the years. Starting as an intern in 2010 while earning her master’s degree, Bhatia came to Amazon with a desire to help build things. She also had an interest in AI, and she navigated diverse roles before finding her niche in product management.
Now she focuses on the intersection of technology and supply chain optimization, especially during peak seasons like the holiday rush. She currently leads a dynamic team of product managers, program leads, business intelligence experts, and data scientists to leverage machine learning and AI to predict the demand for 400 million products globally.
"My work is exciting because it not only benefits customers looking to receive products for same-day or next-day delivery, but it also helps our suppliers make informed decisions," Bhatia said. "We help foster their growth by aligning our inventory with forecasts, and striking a balance between meeting demand and avoiding excess production. By predicting where demand will be, not just how much, we enable storing products close to our customers even before an order is placed. This approach empowers our suppliers to explore opportunities with different retailers, avoids unnecessary overproduction, and minimizes our carbon footprint to deliver products on time."
Bhatia is most proud of her work with cutting-edge AI technologies to ensure that Amazon is using the most reliable, convenient way to quickly get products to customers. For her, the joy lies in creating seamless shopping experiences, allowing customers to focus on what truly matters this time of year—maximizing the time spent with loved ones.
Julian Pachon, director of Worldwide Last Mile Science
With a focus on optimizing delivery systems at Amazon, Julian Pachon leads a team dedicated to plan and execute last-mile delivery, the final leg of getting Amazon packages to customers’ doorsteps. Like Bhatia, Pachon’s work relies on advanced technology to help streamline Amazon’s operations, including optimizing the volume of packages, organizing packages efficiently, predicting delivery times for customers, and guiding delivery drivers to take safe and achievable routes.
In recent years, the team has expanded its technology innovations, recognizing the potential of large language models (LLMs) to redefine the possibilities in everyday operations. Pachon emphasizes the transformative role of LLMs, envisioning opportunities that elevate the last-mile delivery experience for drivers navigating routes to customers’ front doors, which is essential during the busy holiday season.
“Our team uses optimization models to predict the influx of packages at delivery stations and to sort them into bags designated for specific delivery trucks efficiently,” Pachon said, emphasizing the importance of this process, especially during the bustling holiday season. “A delivery station receives about 100,000 packages per day, sorted into roughly 5,000 bags, and loaded onto trucks to complete the final leg of the journey."
Carlos Camargo, delivery associate
Carlos Camargo, based in Tucson, Arizona, embodies the final step in the journey of a holiday Amazon package. He has worked with an Amazon Delivery Service Partner for the last four years and plays a crucial role in ensuring that packages are delivered with care and precision.
Before joining the team, Camargo spent over a decade working in the restaurant industry. His transition to working with Amazon has been fueled by the excitement of experiencing something new every day, the opportunity to connect with members of his local community, and the supportive environment provided by his managers.
Camargo described the joy he sees from customers as he pulls up in his 18- to 24-foot box truck filled with oversized holiday packages ranging from TVs and power wheels to children's playsets.
"During the holidays, every doorstep tells a story," he said. "There's a unique satisfaction in knowing you're connecting people with their holiday wishes. It's a season of giving, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it."
