Amazon’s fulfillment centers play a major role in the company’s supply chain, but the exact number of fulfillment centers around the country has largely been a mystery because it’s a dynamic number rather than a static one.
The retail giant has been on a fulfillment-center-opening-spree since the start of this year. Amazon announced its plans to open two fulfillment centers in Illinois in December last year, taking the number of facilities in the state to eight. Since then, Amazon has announced plans for eight more fulfillment centers across the country, entering, for the first time, into states like Colorado, while adding to existing muscle in Texas, California, Maryland, Virginia and Florida.
Fulfillment centers play a crucial role in the shipping journey of Amazon’s products. This is where Amazon stores all the inventory, sorts it, packs it and ships it for final delivery to the end customer.
The company has been furiously trying to cut down the shipping time and shipping costs as well. From that perspective, the bigger the fulfillment center footprint, the better it is for Amazon. Their same-day shipping, one-hour and two-hour delivery deals will never be possible without a fulfillment center at drivable distance from the customer – or “drone-able” distance in the future.
Last April, Amazon added 11 more cities to its same-day delivery program, taking the availability of the service across the country to 27 metros. The key to achieving that growth tempo is, once again, fulfillment centers.
Source: Forbes
The plan to add ten more fulfillment centers in the last four months looks aggressive; but in reality, Amazon still has plenty of ground to cover. The recent move to start collecting sales tax nationwide, except for four states where there is no sales tax requirement, is a clear indication that the company is all set to have a physical presence in all the states across the U.S., and their warehouses in new states could be the first step towards that goal.
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