Amazon's new robotic fulfillment center streamlines the delivery process

Summary

Amazon's new robotic fulfillment center in Louisiana is transforming the future of delivery with unrivaled automation and efficiency, employing over 1,400 people and home to 10 times the amount of robotics compared to other centers. With robots handling most of the manual labor, the center can process orders 25% faster and at a 25% lower cost, allowing savings to be passed onto customers. This innovation not only streamlines operations but also enhances safety by reducing workplace injuries and offers employees upskilling opportunities into higher-paying roles. The integration of robots like Sparrow and Proteus represents Amazon's commitment to a new era where humans and machines work collaboratively, marking significant progress in reducing the environmental impact by eliminating excess packaging.

Highlights

• Amazon's Louisiana center has 10 times more robotics than other fulfillment centers. 🤖
• Robots handle repetitive and heavy tasks, reducing the risk of workplace injuries. 💪
• The center processes orders 25% faster and 25% cheaper than traditional methods. 📦
• Amazon's upskilling programs prepare employees for new tech-driven roles. 🎓
• Sustainability is a priority, with efforts to reduce packaging waste significantly. ♻️

Key Takeaways

• Amazon's new fulfillment center is a game-changer for efficiency and speed. 🚀
• Robots are performing tasks that previously required manual labor, improving safety and efficiency. 🤖
• Employees benefit from upskilling opportunities, transitioning into advanced roles with better pay. 💼
• The commitment to reducing plastic waste is part of Amazon's sustainability goals. 🌍
• Human roles evolve but remain crucial in a tech-driven work environment. 🧑‍💻

Overview

Amazon's state-of-the-art fulfillment center in Louisiana is reshaping how we think about efficiency and automation in the delivery industry. With over 1,400 employees and a staggering 40 million products stored, it's a technological marvel. By boasting ten times the robotics of other centers, Amazon can process orders faster and cheaper than ever before, passing those savings on to customers.

It's not just about speed and cost; safety and sustainability are at the forefront of this innovation. With robots like Sparrow and Proteus, menial and physically demanding tasks are automated, reducing workplace injuries and aligning with Amazon's sustainability goals by eliminating excessive packaging. It's a win-win for both employees and the planet.

Amazon upholds the importance of human roles in this tech-heavy ecosystem. While some manual jobs may disappear, new opportunities are emerging, thanks to Amazon's robust upskilling programs. Employees transition to roles overseeing and programming machinery, enjoying up to 40% higher wages. The future might be robotic, but it still needs the human touch.

Amazon's new robotic fulfillment center streamlines the delivery process Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 if you want to know how automation Ai and people are working together you can see it inside this 3 million ft building where Amazon employs more than 1,400 people and stores up to 40 million products Amazon says it logged its biggest Thanksgiving holiday shopping period ever this year and data shows consumers spent a record $10.8 billion online on Black Friday alone 10% more than last year making this kind of efficiency the future I'm here in reort
• 00:30 - 01:00 Louisiana inside Amazon's fulfillment center that just opened a couple of months ago this is the first time National media has been inside with me now is Chief technologist Ty Brady Ty what is happening here that's not happening anywhere else in the world here we have 10 times the amount of Robotics as compared to any of our other fulfillment Des centers we can uh process your order 25% faster and offer a 25% lower cost to serve which means that we can pass along that low cost to our customer we first took you inside the Boston lab where these systems were being tested this holiday thousands of
• 01:00 - 01:30 these robots are now fully operational including Sparrow Cardinal Sequoia Robin and Proteus it's possible because here everything is containerized instead of humans walking miles a day to get Products off the shelves the items are put into blue and yellow bins that robots can easily maneuver we don't want people to lift heavy objects we don't want people to take uh boxes and put it over their head or reach down really low we can have a robotic system do that for our employees all the better the injury
• 01:30 - 02:00 rate at Amazon is higher than those at other comparable warehouses according to a report by the national employment law project but the company says technology like this has helped make substantial improvements to Safety in March Amazon announced its reportable incident rate last year was 6.5 cases per 100 workers down from 6.9 cases in 2022 here Sparrow is taking on a repetitive motion job Amazon says having robots do this work is part of its pledge to reduce injuries so in other
• 02:00 - 02:30 warehouses that don't have Sparrow people are doing this job people can do this job but this is a menial mundane repetitive job we'd rather have our people do other things inside of our our building through Amazon's upskilling program people who used to do manual labor jobs are now moving into jobs overseeing repairing and programming these machines Amazon says these roles can offer pay that's up to 40% higher than entry-level jobs once the items are sorted they head here to seoa where humans and and robots work together the
• 02:30 - 03:00 goods are coming to the person on demand at just the right time and we design this system in order to be ergonomic for our people right yeah so he's not bending down he's not reaching exactly there's no ladders to reach up he's not bending down on his knees right it's in the the goldilock zone or the power Zone Brady says the best packaging is no packaging he says Amazon's eliminated more than 130 million plastic bags by replacing them with paper or even skipping packaging so if something already comes in its own box or packaging that's safe to ship you don't
• 03:00 - 03:30 need to add more packaging that's right this is proteus as you can see it's carrying a bunch of Amazon items ready for delivery and it has little eyes on its face and it can sense when we're close to it it'll chirp and stop when it notices people are in the way please carry on it looks like a Roomba on steroids but these robots work on the floor and when there aren't enough of them human workers push and pull those heavy carts Brady says the future will never be fully automated because people need to design and
• 03:30 - 04:00 program the robots and keep them running no question some of the basic manual labor jobs have been eliminated they won't be coming back I mean remember how we used to have tool takers and now we just drive through with those remote passes Amazon says though this Tech has created hundreds of new job categories and they are training workers for free on site to get them ready for those new roles in their career choice program thanks for watching stay updated about breaking news and top stories on the end BC News app or follow us on
• 04:00 - 04:30 social media