GAINES TOWNSHIP, Mich. — FOX 17 checked in with the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Gaines Township Friday as it enters its peak holiday rush.
The center has more than 2,000 employees, 22 miles of conveyance and is shipping nearly a million packages a day.
“So, what you’re witnessing here is the picking process,” Amazon Facility Manager Matt Moss explained to FOX 17 Friday. “Part of the beauty of Amazon’s Robotic Fulfillment Center is that we use the technology to make it easier to deliver to our customers. So, in the past, someone would have to walk down aisles and aisles and aisles of shelves to get a product. Now, we have the robots bring the product to the person.”
The Gaines Township fulfillment center has more than 19 million products. Once someone picks the item, it heads to the heart of the facility, where it’s sorted by order.
The items are put into a tray before being taken to the walls and put into a chute. From there, items head to the “slam station” where they’re boxed for shipping.
“Sometimes customers order multiple items. Sometimes they order just one item. So, this is the department where we’re packing up just that last minute item that somebody ordered to get it to him as quick as possible,” Moss added.
The fulfillment center has three shifts working around the clock. Moss says it’s like a small town that never stops— with workers taking extra pride this time of year, knowing they play a major role in the holidays.
“It’s an honor to be able to serve the customer base of West Michigan and East Michigan and the surrounding states,” Moss added. “Every package has a story behind it. Every package is somebody’s Christmas or something that, you know, somebody needs.”
Despite having state-of-the-art technology, Moss says it’s the thousands of Amazon employees that make possible this level of production.
“The building is full of hard working, amazing people from the Western Michigan area. This building has been a really, you know, high performing building for Amazon, and it’s due to, you know, just the amazing people in this community and how hard they work.”
Amazon says if the product you want is in the fulfillment center, the last day to get any last-minute Christmas gifts is December 23.
