For the past five years, Amazon has held four tours
a month at the Chesterfield fulfillment center, and
about 11,400 people have visited the site.
Under an expanded program being offered at
23 Amazon facilities in the United States and
Canada, the number of tours is increasing tenfold.
The Chesterfield site is offering two tours a day,
Monday to Friday.
“I think it is a phenomenal experience to get out
and see one of these fulfillment centers, to see
what the scale is, and meet the people who are
behind all that hard work that goes into making
the magic happen in getting that box to your
doorstep,” Miller said.
A recent walk through the facility on a media
tour revealed items in the “stow” area ranging
from bottled soap to Bisquick. The stow area is a
vast array of tall shelves where items are stored
before shipping.
Amazon has made some investments in
technology upgrades at the Chesterfield
facility, most recently in a new robotic arm that
palletizes totes, and in an expanded package
sorting system that helps speed delivery times.
While the fulfillment center can ship orders
anywhere, Amazon’s recent announcement
that it was expanding its one-day shipping
option for its Prime member customers means
the local plant is seeing some of its volume
shift more toward shipping orders within a
300-mile radius.
“We really kicked up more of that volume about
two weeks ago,” said Miller, a Marine Corps
veteran who joined Amazon eight years ago as
an entry-level manager.