FROM AN ARTICLE BY JASON DEL REY AT ALL THINGS D DEC AND OTHER SOURCES How Does Amazon “Git ‘Er Done”?
Humongous Online Retailer 80 huge regional warehouses “fulfillment centers” Each close to shipping hub
Fulfillment Center One of Four in Phoeniz
Fulfillment Center Loading docks from 1 to infinity
Work Hard, Have Fun Make History
Work Hard, Have Fun Get metal detected
1.2 million sq. feet Of American industrial process power… And software
Chutes, Conveyers
Amazon started as books
More Books, CDs, etc.
More Books
They Have “Everything”
More Everything
More Etc.
How to Organize “Everything” They have “everything” How does one organize and keep track of everything? A first class COMP 523 project
Inside those Loading Docks Every box incoming scanned into software system, virtual record for every item
Items “filed” onto shelves wherever workers find space. Shelf barcode is scanned and item location saved in system Chaotic Storage
Like hashing into buckets, a little But no hash, just buckets
Volleyball in with 2 packs of gum balls No there is no rhyme or reason Chaotic Storage
Now what? Items in the order generate retrieval instructions “Pickers” dispatched to go gather items from the chaos Customer clicks “checkout”
Might walk miles a day Scanner sends to the exact shelf location for the item Directed by various orders being compiled by pickers all over Optimized path is computed bin to bin, aisle to aisle Pickers
Garbage Collection Items found off shelf go in bins for re- entry later
Order Build Picker carts end up here Each slot is a customer order Software sends builder to items in carts, to slots
Order Packing Built orders go to packing Software tells packer what box, envelope size to use
Order Weighing They call it the “slam” line because…
Order Addressing Mailing labels “slammed” onto the packages after weighing
Address labels guide conveyors Orange sliders push package down the right chute to shipping bundles for various shippers, destinations Chutes and Conveyors
Watch it in Action A Day In the Life of Amazon Travel with an item point to point Fun Facts to Know and Tell Work Campers
Now… Kiva Acquisition A Kiva Managed Warehouse Discovery channel on Kiva BettyBot at Quiet Logistics Quiet Logistics II