3000 Robots, 0 Humans – 7 Interesting Facts About Amazon’s Fulfillment Centers (+ Locations)
If you use Amazon FBA, you have probably wondered what happens to your products once they are handed over to one of the Amazon fulfillment centers.
It is clear that a multitude of items are stored in the fulfillment centers, or logistics centers. It is no coincidence that Amazon is considered the largest online marketplace in the Western Hemisphere. Millions of products must be sorted, rearranged, picked, packed, or shipped daily. To handle this flood of tasks, the e-commerce giant relies on trained professionals and automation.
You will learn how this is done and which Amazon fulfillment centers you can utilize as a seller in this article.
#1 There are nearly 300 Amazon locations worldwide
Amazon is known to be one of the most popular and largest online marketplaces in the world. The 200 million Prime customers expect the promise of next-day delivery to be fulfilled. With a total revenue of $386 billion, it is clear that Amazon stands out primarily due to its exceptional customer service. It is no surprise that the online giant has now established around 300 fulfillment centers worldwide – 20 of which are in Germany, employing 16,000 logistics workers.
The location of the centers is determined by their proximity to highways and industrial areas. Another factor is the purchasing power of customers in the region. As a result, a quarter of all fulfillment centers are located in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) alone.
#2 Listed: Amazon Fulfillment Centers in Germany
As an Amazon seller, you naturally want to build an efficient supply chain and strategically position your goods in the fulfillment centers near major cities. This shortens the shipping times for your products and delivers them to your customers faster. For FBA products, there is also the option to use the Inventory Placement Service. Amazon then takes care of the distribution to various Amazon locations near the customers.
We have compiled a list of all Amazon Fulfillment Centers in Germany for you (as of May 2024). However, we advise you to stay updated on the locations to provide your customers with the best possible service and to increase your sales.
| North Rhine-Westphalia | Dortmund DTM2 Kaltbandstraße 44 44145 Dortmund Mönchengladbach DUS4 Hamburgring 10 41179 Mönchengladbach Oelde PAD1 Aurea 10 59302 Oelde Rheinberg DUS2 Amazon-Straße 14 7495 Rheinberg Werne DTM1 Amazonstraße 15 9368 Werne |
| Bavaria | Hof-Gattendorf NUE1 Amazonstr. 19 5185 Gattendorf |
| Baden-Württemberg | Pforzheim STR1 Amazon-Straße 17 5177 Pforzheim |
| Lower Saxony | Achim BRE4 Max-Naumann-Str. 12 8832 Achim Großenkneten BRE2 Vechtaer Str. 35 26197 Großenkneten Helmstedt HAJ1 Zur Alten Molkerei 1 38350 Helmstedt Winsen HAM2 Borgwardstraße 10 21423 Winsen (Luhe) |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | Frankenthal FRA7 Am Römig 56 7227 Frankenthal Kaiserslautern SCN2 Von-Miller-Straße 24 67661 Kaiserslautern Koblenz CGN1 Amazon-Straße 15 6068 Koblenz |
| Saxony | Leipzig LEJ1 Amazonstraße 10 4347 Leipzig |
| Saxony-Anhalt | Sülzetal (Osterweddingen) LEJ3 Bielefelder Str. 93 9171 Sülzetal |
| Thuringia | Gera LEJ5 Am Steingarten 20 7754 Gera |
| Hesse | Bad Hersfeld FRA1 Am Schloss Eichhof 1 36251 Bad Hersfeld Bad Hersfeld FRA3 Amazonstraße 1 / Obere Kühnbach 36251 Bad Hersfeld |
| Brandenburg | Brieselang (to be closed soon) BER3 Havellandstraße 5 14656 Brieselang |
By the way: Those who do not explicitly exclude Europe-wide storage with Amazon FBA may have their items stored in an Amazon warehouse in Poland or elsewhere in Central Europe. This results in certain VAT obligations that sellers must pay close attention to. If you want to store your FBA products exclusively in Germany, Amazon will impose penalty fees.
#3 50% of Inventory Stock Comes from Third-Party Suppliers
Sellers on Amazon can either handle their fulfillment themselves or rely on the decades of experience of the e-commerce giant by using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).
The fact that around 50% of the inventory in the logistics centers now comes from marketplace sellers shows how well this offering is received. And rightly so. After all, Amazon FBA provides the perfect customer journey – an important aspect if you want to win the Buy Box.
All delivered goods are initially subjected to a quality check. This involves verifying whether the provided information matches the product and whether it complies with the guidelines.
#4 30,000 Shelves, 3,000 Robots, and No Employees – The First Center with Robots
The logistics center in Winsen-Luhe is the first center in Germany where Amazon’s smart robots have taken over the storage area. 3,000 intelligent robots move around 30,000 shelves from point A to point B, centrally controlled by a computer. Signposts and QR codes on the floor guide the smart helpers to their destinations. The computer organizes the routes and avoids collisions – even when employees need to access the area.
Of course, this center does not operate completely without human colleagues.
From Picking and Packing – How Humans and Robots Work Together
When stocking the goods on the shelves, humans and robots work hand in hand – or rather, hand in wheel. The items need to be placed from black bins onto the shelves, which is why the robots bring the required shelves to the logistics employees.
They then take an item from the bin, scan it, and place it in an available slot. Cameras accurately detect which slot the item was placed in and store this data.
Of course, the shelves also have their limits and can only be loaded up to a maximum of 350 kg. To ensure that the weight is evenly distributed across the shelf and to prevent accidents, smart technologies indicate to the employees which available slots the scanned items should be placed in.
Due to the weight limit, only small and lightweight items up to 15 kg can be packaged in this Amazon fulfillment center. Larger or heavier items are processed in other logistics centers.
Supported by the latest technologies, the products are also packed and prepared for shipping. For this, robots bring the corresponding shelves to the packing station, where employees pack the items back into the black bins. A significant amount of this process is automated. By scanning the barcode on the bin, employees know exactly which products they need to select. Additionally, a light beam indicates the slot where the corresponding item is located to avoid longer searches.
#5 Goods are Randomly Sorted
Of course, most items are not stored just once in a fulfillment center, but multiple times to ensure that demand is always met. It seems logical to store all units of product XY in one common location or to keep similar products together. In reality, however, the items are stored individually and randomly distributed throughout the center. This primarily allows for shorter distances during manual picking.
The logistics employees are also supported by smart technologies. The so-called handheld scanner informs them which items they need to pick, where to find them, and what the shortest route is, much like a navigation device.
#6 From Shelf to Truck Takes Only About Two Hours
When customers place an order, the first step is to check which fulfillment center is closest. The order is then assigned to that center. Next, it is checked when which truck will depart in the right direction. This saves time and ensures that the promise of next-day delivery can be fulfilled.
Once the order is received, all wheels are already in motion. The robots bring the corresponding shelves to the appropriate employees, who pack the box, which is then directed to the next station. There, the individual packages are packed – also supported by technologies that specify the appropriate box size. The process continues with machine labeling and loading onto the correct truck. The entire process from the smart shelf to the truck takes just two hours.
#7 Returns are Processed in Dedicated Return Centers
Returns are a part of online retail just like the saying “Amen” in church. Of course, this is no different with Amazon. The reasons for returns are varied, which is why Amazon has established dedicated return centers in addition to fulfillment centers. All returns are collected there and processed by specialized staff.
The reason for the return is, of course, also taken into account. If an item is still in new condition, it is returned to the inventory. Products with minor damages are released for Amazon Warehouse Deals. Those that can no longer be sold are either donated or destroyed.
#8 Amazon Makes Mistakes Too
Yes, the online giant has immense expertise when it comes to fulfillment. However, even an experienced company makes mistakes – and not infrequently. For instance, items in Amazon’s logistics centers can be damaged or incorrectly recorded during rearrangement. Or a return may be replaced for the customer but not credited to the seller. It can even happen that products are lost in an Amazon fulfillment center, and the seller does not receive compensation for the loss.
As a seller, you must always check your FBA reports and look for discrepancies in these reports. The larger the business, the bigger and more complex it becomes.
But smaller companies are also affected by this issue, as often not all errors are found manually. On average, sellers on Amazon miss out on about 3% of their annual revenue from FBA sales due to refunds. Therefore, it is advisable to rely on smart automations, just like Amazon does.
SELLERLOGIC Lost & Found analyzes and reimburses all FBA errors for you retroactively for up to 18 months. No hours spent sifting through FBA reports, no tedious gathering of all information for a case, no copy-and-paste into Seller Central, and above all, no nerve-wracking communication with Amazon. This way, you can quickly and easily get your money back.
Conclusion: Automation and Trained Professionals Instead of Chaos
With the help of the latest technologies and well-trained personnel, the sophisticated Amazon logistics system manages the flood of deliveries and shipments. What started small quickly grew into massive Amazon fulfillment centers, where millions of products are now stored, packaged, and shipped.
The success of Amazon FBA also influences the fulfillment centers – half of the inventory in the centers comes from marketplace sellers who utilize this fulfillment service. Despite all the expertise and automation, mistakes occur that every seller should monitor through smart services.
Image credits in the order of the images: @ gohgah – stock.adobe.com / @ Negro Elkha – stock.adobe.com
