Amazon Global Fulfillment Center Network
Introduction
This is an article that documents the Amazon global fulfillment center network. ORGA Logistics does not represent Amazon in any way and this article is only for informational purposes.
It all started in the July, 1994 when former investment banker Jeff Bezos left New York City for Seattle to launch a new on-line book store. Amazon.com took shape over the next 12 months and the company's web storefront recorded its first sale in July, 1995. By year-end 1996, Amazon.com had generated $15.7 Million in sales. On May 15, 1997 Amazon.com raised $54 Million of capital with an IPO on the NASDAQ (AMZN). The company grew at an astonishing pace with sales reaching $1.6 Billion by the end of 1999.
In 2000, Amazon took a sharp turn for the worse when a quarterly financial loss of $323 Million was reported. A subsequent quarterly loss of $200 Million sent the company share price tumbling by 70%. Losses continued through 2000 with Amazon reporting a massive $1.4 billion loss for the year. Speculation on the street was that Amazon would file for bankruptcy and the company's stock hit an all time low. In 2001, a major cost cutting and restructuring effort restored profitability to the firm and Amazon has not looked back since. Having said this, the company has still not generated any significant profits since this time.
From a distribution strategy perspective, Amazon started with two fulfillment centers in Seattle and Delaware. The original 93,000-square-foot Seattle facility was largely manual and now seems tiny relative to most of the new fulfillment centers being built today. The 202,000-square-foot facility in New Castle, Delaware was undoubtedly a brave gamble back in November 1997. In 1999, Amazon expanded by adding fulfillment centers in: Fernley, NV; Coffeyville, KS; McDonough, GA (later closed in 2001); Campbellsville, KY; and Lexington, KY. At the same time, Amazon expanded into Europe with fulfillment centers in Regensburg, Germany; Bad Hersfeld, Germany; and Marston Gate, UK. Things then went relatively quiet on the expansion front until 2005 and since then Amazon's fulfillment network has been growing at an incredible pace around the world.
As of July 2016, to the best of our knowledge, Amazon operates the following distribution infrastructure:
The Amazon Fulfillment Center and Distribution Center Network in the United States
Currently Amazon operates a variety of fulfillment and distribution centers in the United States including small sortable, large sortable, large non-sortable, specialty fulfillment centers, apparel and footwear, redistribution centers, returns centers, 3PL outsourced facilities, Amazon Fresh and Amazon Pantry facilities. A detailed listing of all Amazon Fulfillment and Distribution Centers appears in the table below. All figures provided are estimates based on our research. We have included the Zappos.com, Endless.com and Diapers.com fulfillment centers in our North American figures. Please note that the square footage figures below exclude mezzanine areas unless otherwise indicated.
The Amazon Sortation Center Network in the United States
Amazon currently operates a network of sortation centers across the United States to gain control of the last mile delivery process - These buildings are key enablers to steer shipping volume away from UPS and FedEx so that packages can be delivered by USPS or other regional couriers. The purpose of these facilities is to sort packages by zip code to pallets that are then delivered to the post office responsible for each zip code. From there USPS performs the last mile delivery to the customer. This system was introduced to the U.S. in 2014 and has been instrumental in Amazon taking greater control over its outbound shipping costs. Sortation centers are typically, but not always, standalone buildings within the Amazon Network.
A detailed listing of all Amazon Sortation Centers appears in the table below.
The Amazon Delivery Station Network in the United States
In late 2013, Amazon launched a build-out of its delivery station distribution network consisting of smaller facilities that are typically in the 60,000 to 100,000 sq. ft. range. These buildings are positioned close to large metropolitan cities across the country and quite often they are positioned near to airports. The delivery stations primary role is to unload merchandise from incoming containers and prepare outbound loads for local last mile delivery to the customer. Many of them are multi-temperature in order to manage fresh food distribution to markets where Amazon Fresh is up and running.
The data concerning this network is sparse so we provide the best information available listing all known Amazon Delivery Stations in the table below.
The Amazon Prime Now Hub Network in the United States
In late 2014, Amazon launched a rapid build-out of its latest distribution network consisting of smaller footprint distribution buildings positioned close to the centers of large metropolitan cities across the country. Amazons Prime Now Hubs are typically stocked with the highest velocity items that are popular such as bestseller books. These facilities only stock a limited line of products (e.g. 10,000 different items) to enable Amazon Prime Now members to place orders for this merchandise and receive rapid delivery in as little as 60 minutes from the time of order placement. It is highly likely that this build-out will continue throughout 2016 and beyond. In effect, these buildings are the equivalent of retail stores for Amazon since they enable customers to receive their merchandise in 1 - 2 hours or same day.
The data concerning this network is sparse so we provide the best information available listing all known Amazon Prime Now Hubs in the table below.
The maps below represent Amazon's current Fulfillment and Sortation Center networks.
The Amazon Fulfillment Network in the Rest of the World
Currently, Amazon operates fulfillment centers outside of the United States in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Czech Republic, China, Japan and India.
In Europe and Japan, the emergence of smaller delivery stations and Prime Now Hubs is enabling rapid regional delivery capability. A detailed listing of existing and projected fulfillment centers appears in the table below. Most countries use a value added taxation (VAT) system to collect retail sales tax up front at the time of purchase hence the taxation issue does not impact Amazon's fulfillment network outside of the United States. Please note that the square footage figures below exclude mezzanine areas in most cases unless otherwise stated.
Map of Amazon United Kingdom Distribution Network
Map of Amazon France and Italy Distribution Network
Map of Amazon Spain Distribution Network
Map of Amazon Germany, Poland, Czech Republic Distribution Network
Map of Amazon Japan Distribution Network
Map of Amazon China Distribution Network
Map of Amazon India Distribution Network
