Amazon’s Warehouse Chaos:

Think about Amazon, about their multiple, gigantic warehouses and think about the logistics of how it must all work: maximum organisation and complete efficiency yet happy to dodge tax on the staggering sales volumes in the UK. You’re likely to assume that all items have a set its place, each categorised neatly for greater productivity. It’s not likely that the term ‘chaos’ comes to mind… right? But yet, that’s what’s it is, Amazon utilise a ‘chaotic’ storage system.

Their warehouse isn’t neat, categorised and nor does every item have a particular home on the warehouses’ shelving units… Seriously!

How the chaotic storage system works:

Chaotic storage allows retailers to move merchandise quickly and accurately by utilising the power of barcode technology. It is not the work practice that’s chaotic, only the way items are stored. By using barcodes, the system is actually more efficient and allows Amazon to shift millions of products a week.

Here’s a breakdown of how chaotic storage works:

• As products come in, they are placed on any open or available shelves. This allows the company to maximise free space and utilise the warehouse to it’s full capacity, without needing to rent more space at peak points throughout the year, such as Christmas.
• Every shelf and product has its own barcode, in order to track everything within the fulfilment centre.
• Handheld barcode scanners are used to record the location of each product and this information is then stored in a main computer to know where they are when a customer orders them.
• Customers’ orders automatically generate a ‘pick list’, essentially a map for the fulfilment centre staff to find the products and pick them for shipment.
• The items’ barcodes are scanned again, before shipment, to confirm that the correct items for the right delivery. Information about the shipment is recorded to help with inventory control and stocking levels. (That’s how, on Amazon, the website knows how many items are left in stock!)

Despite the speed and efficiency, the chaotic system cannot qualify as an automatic storage system because there is quite a bit of human labour that goes into the system. There are not robots on the fulfilment floor, yet, Amazon still finds it to be the best and most economical solution for them. And, with the level of success Amazon has experienced, it’s hard to question their fulfilment process.

Does chaotic storage work?

Amazon would say it does. They have the numbers to back it up. An article in the International Business Times (29 November 2012) listed some of the astonishing facts and figures about what Amazon can do during one day over the holiday season:

• 2010: more than 13 million items picked and shipped in 24 hours
• 2011: approximately 17 million items fulfilled and sent out within a 24-hour period
• 2012: the figures are not in yet but already Amazon is predicting its biggest year yet in terms of products order, picked, and shipped

This is across 80 different fulfilment centres that move products all over the world and do so with high accuracy. Yet, when you walk into one of Amazon’s fulfilment centres, you might not think you’re standing in one of the world’s biggest online retailer’s warehouses; you might picture the ‘chaos’ and think you’ve just stepped inside an unruly teenager’s bedroom!

By Line:

This article was written on behalf of The Barcode Depot, a company which supplies barcoding goods to companies throughout the UK. If your company needs a label applicator, or barcode printer, we’ll help you out – best prices guaranteed!