The online giant filed a patent for "anticipatory package shipping," a system that predicts what a customer will buy and sends items to the closest warehouse near that shopper's shipping address. The goal of the system is to send items to shipping hubs in areas where it believes they will sell well, which leads to shorter delivery times.

The patent filing is Amazon's latest move to expedite its shipping services. Most recently, the company revealed that it is testing flying drones which can make a delivery in the same amount of time it'd take for Papa John's to deliver a pizza. The aerial gadgets, called octocopters, will be able to transport packages 5 pounds or less within a 10-mile radius of an Amazon fulfillment center and could become a reality by December 2015.

It's unclear when Amazon will launch its psychic shipping system since the patent was just filed last month. According to the filing, Amazon will base its package predictions on customer data such as previous orders, product searches, wish lists, shopping cart contents, returns and other online shopping practices. Shoppers who linger over an item with their mouse cursor may also attract Amazon's attention.

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Keywords: express shipping, same-day delivery, e-commerce, online shopping, supply chain management IT