In Amazon’s Flagship Fulfillment Center, the Machines Run the Show At BFI4 outside Seattle, the retailer uses algorithms and robots to ship more than a million packages a day—vastly changing the jobs of humans in the process. One recent morning, inside a cavernous Amazon.com Inc. fulfillment center outside Seattle, Evan Shobe positioned himself
In Amazon’s Flagship Fulfillment Center, the Machines Run the
Show
At BFI4 outside Seattle, the retailer uses algorithms and robots to ship more than a million packages a
day—vastly changing the jobs of humans in the process.
One recent morning, inside a cavernous Amazon.com Inc. fulfillment center outside Seattle, Evan
Shobe positioned himself before a bank of nine computer screens. Known internally as the quarterback
desk, or QB, the command center lets Shobe monitor the intricate workings of a building the size of
about 15 footballs fields. Thousands of blue dots show robots ferrying products around the facility; yellow figures that look a little like restroom signs represent the humans who load and unload the
robots. A maze of green lines shows conveyors speeding orders to stations down the line and,
ultimately, to waiting delivery trucks. The system is running smoothly on this early August morning, as
it mostly does seven days a week at more than 900 Amazon logistics facilities across the U.S.
BFI4, located in exurban Kent, Wash., is Amazon’s flagship fulfillment center and regularly hosts senior
company leaders—Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy dropped by recently—who want a better
understanding of what happens after a shopper clicks “Buy Now.” It was the first facility of its kind
capable of processing more than 1 million items a day, three times what was possible at the company’s
state-of-the-art warehouses a decade ago. Improving technology means Amazon can stay several steps
ahead of brick-and-mortar rivals Walmart Inc. and Target Corp., which are now adopting many of the
practices Amazon has worked on for years.
More than the physical robots, the stars of Amazon’s facilities are the algorithms—sets of computer
instructions designed to solve specific problems. Software determines how many items a facility can
handle, where each product is supposed to go, how many people are required for the night shift during
the holiday rush, and which truck is best positioned to get a stick of deodorant to a customer on time.
“We rely on the software to help us make the right decisions,” says Shobe, BFI4’s general manager.
Automation has made it possible for each fulfillment-center supervisor to manage dozens of
employees, a factorylike operation becoming standard in the industry. In 2012 a logistics warehouse
manager supervised about 10 workers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2020, after
Amazon had become the industry’s biggest employer, there were almost twice as many frontline
workers for every supervisor.
With rapid development in artificial intelligence (
tipping point. Today, robots can perform a slew of functions without considerable human
intervention. In a report you are required to critique the benefits of warehouse automation and
warehouse robotics technology in relation to the extract above.
1. benefits of warehouse automation, Application of benefits of warehouse automation to
Amazon.
2. theory on warehouse robotics technology. Application of warehouse robotics technology to
Amazon. At least three key points.
2.
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