The early phases of the pandemic showed Amazon what happens when demand spikes above what a warehouse network can handle. The company struggled to manage incoming product and outgoing packages. Order fulfillment slowed, and Amazon temporarily barred non-essential items from coming to warehouses.
The solution, in part, was hiring. Amazon announced plans to hire 100,000 fulfillment workers in mid-March and by mid-April, it had done so. More square footage is another part of the fix. CFO Brian Olsavsky said the company would increase its square footage by 50% YoY by the end of 2020.
For Amazon’s first-ever peak season in a pandemic, the company is focused on safety first, capacity second and shipment speed third, according to Olsavksy. Amazon aimed to hire 200,000 workers for peak season 2019 — the first with one-day Prime shipping — which puts its total hiring for the year not out of the normal realm, though with different timing.
Source: Supplychain Dive
Omni Talk is the retail blog for retailers, written by retailers. Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga founded Omni Talk in 2017 and have quickly turned it into one of the fastest growing blogs in retail. 