HOW DOES AMAZON WAREHOUSES WORk?
Ever wonder how that product in your online shopping cart gets from Amazon to you?
We don't think so. Below we'll tell you how it all works, using an example from a warehouse in Germany .
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In fact, Amazon warehouses are not just about robots. Even though a lot of the warehouse's processes are robotic, it also employs regular people.
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Under what conditions do goods get into the warehouse?
Simply registering on the platform and placing a product, it will not magically appear in the warehouse.
There's an FBA for that, a special paid service for sellers that allows them to use Amazon's warehouse facilities.
Also the warehouse handles only small- and medium-volume items.
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Well now a little more about how it all works:
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1. Where products enter the warehouse.
At the inbound dock, products get taken off trailers by forklift or manually built into pallets.
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2. The stow process.
All items in Amazon's fulfillment centers are stacked in random order. Robots pass these pods to employees at the stacking stations. The stacker looks for the right place for each item and stacks it in a capsule, making it available for purchase on Amazon.com.
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3. Picking orders.
When an order arrives, a robot brings capsules filled with merchandise to employees working at the picking stations. The picker reads the screen, takes the right item from the cart, and places it in a yellow plastic box.
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4. Packing orders.
The items are first laid out and scanned for accuracy. Then they are sent to the packing station, where a computer system recommends box sizes to employees and a machine measures the exact amount of tape needed.
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5. Shipping orders out.
Packed envelopes and boxes are carried under the SLAM machines, which affix shipping labels. The shipping sorter reads the labels on the packages to determine where and how quickly customers' orders should be shipped.
⠀
What's important?
It is too early to talk about the complete robotization of warehouse processes. People will still be needed in warehouses for a long time to come!
We don't think so. Below we'll tell you how it all works, using an example from a warehouse in Germany .
⠀
In fact, Amazon warehouses are not just about robots. Even though a lot of the warehouse's processes are robotic, it also employs regular people.
⠀
Under what conditions do goods get into the warehouse?
Simply registering on the platform and placing a product, it will not magically appear in the warehouse.
There's an FBA for that, a special paid service for sellers that allows them to use Amazon's warehouse facilities.
Also the warehouse handles only small- and medium-volume items.
⠀
Well now a little more about how it all works:
⠀
1. Where products enter the warehouse.
At the inbound dock, products get taken off trailers by forklift or manually built into pallets.
⠀
2. The stow process.
All items in Amazon's fulfillment centers are stacked in random order. Robots pass these pods to employees at the stacking stations. The stacker looks for the right place for each item and stacks it in a capsule, making it available for purchase on Amazon.com.
⠀
3. Picking orders.
When an order arrives, a robot brings capsules filled with merchandise to employees working at the picking stations. The picker reads the screen, takes the right item from the cart, and places it in a yellow plastic box.
⠀
4. Packing orders.
The items are first laid out and scanned for accuracy. Then they are sent to the packing station, where a computer system recommends box sizes to employees and a machine measures the exact amount of tape needed.
⠀
5. Shipping orders out.
Packed envelopes and boxes are carried under the SLAM machines, which affix shipping labels. The shipping sorter reads the labels on the packages to determine where and how quickly customers' orders should be shipped.
⠀
What's important?
It is too early to talk about the complete robotization of warehouse processes. People will still be needed in warehouses for a long time to come!
