Pat Sand
Who knew a trip to Amazon could feel a little like stepping into the future? Twenty-five Roving Ranchers recently got an inside look at just how Amazon manages to get those packages from its warehouse to our front doors with such amazing speed. The group toured Amazon’s enormous Goodyear, Ariz., fulfillment center—and came away impressed by the technology, organization, and sheer scale of the operation.
The Goodyear facility covers an incredible 850,000 square feet and contains nearly 12 miles of conveyor belts. Operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the facility can accommodate as many as 6,000 employees. For those wondering about employment opportunities, Amazon offers competitive wages, with a variety of benefits and incentives.
The Ranchers arrived at noon for their tour, although several members decided they couldn’t resist making a quick stop at the brand-new Buc-ee’s next door.
Once inside Amazon, the group checked in, received identification badges and headphones, and began a fascinating journey through the inner workings of the fulfillment center. Our guide first explained how Amazon uses technology, organization, and carefully designed processes to move millions of products efficiently from storage to shipping.
Our first stop introduced us to the “Stowers,” the employees responsible for putting incoming inventory into storage. The storage towers are impressive structures—about 10 feet tall, four-sided, and filled with rows of cubbies. Each cubby has its own scannable identification label.
Small but mighty robots travel underneath the storage towers, carrying them from one location to another. They use electronic sensors in their bases to read barcodes embedded in the warehouse floor, allowing them to determine exactly where each tower needs to go.
Watching dozens of robots moving around the warehouse at speeds of up to 5 miles per hour was quite a sight. Several Ranchers couldn’t help but think of the old Jetsons cartoon. What once seemed like science fiction has apparently become everyday life at Amazon!
Next, we met the “Pickers”—the employees who locate the products needed to fill customer orders. Rather than walking through miles of shelves searching for merchandise, the Pickers stay at their stations while the robots do the traveling. The robots bring entire towers of inventory directly to the employee. A computer screen tells the Picker which item is needed, and the employee retrieves it and places it into the appropriate yellow bin.
Those bins then begin another journey—this time along the warehouse’s 12 miles of conveyor belts—toward the packing area. At the packing stations, technology takes over once again.
One lucky Rancher, Sondra Bowers, stepped up to the challenge of demonstrating how to pack a box and did a terrific job following all of the packing instructions. As an added bonus, she got to keep her packing gloves as a souvenir! Great job, Sondra!
By the end of our tour, the Ranchers had a much better understanding of what happens behind the scenes after we click that familiar “Place Your Order” button. From the Stowers and Pickers to the army of robots and miles of conveyor belts, the tour showed us just how much planning, technology, and teamwork go into getting an Amazon package from a warehouse to our doorstep.