Read the following case study based on Amazon and answer the questions that follow
Inside Amazon’s largest warehouse — where you’ll find more robots than people
Amazon’s biggest, newest warehouse, with more robots than ever, brings America closer to an automated future when machines do all the work of moving everything from groceries to laptops, from makers to users. And do it faster. While Amazon has been building increasingly automated warehouses since opening its first satellite center in 1997, five miles down the road in New Castle, Del., this $250 million showcase is something entirely different.
The staff, as much as it has grown since opening this summer, is still fewer than Amazon employs at fulfillment centers one-quarter this size. The facility is the flagship of a sweeping expansion by Amazon across the Philadelphia region. Amazon has plans to open as many as nine new facilities in the coming months. That’s on top of the 14 sites added last year across Philadelphia and its suburbs, the Lehigh Valley, South Jersey, and northern Delaware. Amazon said automation frees workers from dull, repetitive tasks. But workers have complained that automated production has been accompanied by speed-ups and a higher-than-average rate of injuries. Why Delaware? It helps that the state gave the company, whose profits top $2 billion a month, about $4.5 million in up-front aid, while the local government cut realty taxes to a fraction of what GM paid. Wilmington’s proximity to workforces in Maryland, New Jersey, and Philadelphia’s southern suburbs helped, too. “They try to find locations they can run at lower cost,” Kumar said. (Amazon officials say the plant’s proximity to the Port of Wilmington, airports, and on-site railroad sidings don’t matter, since cargo goes in and out by truck.) “I call these very large plants the ‘motherships,’” said Brittain Ladd, a former Amazon logistics executive turned automation consultant. Ladd said Amazon’s latest expansion draws upon location and system-management lessons from its highly profitable Amazon Web Services network of services to corporations. He sees accelerating automation as inevitable. “During the pandemic a lot of people decided they don’t want to spend 20 or 30 years working in a fulfillment center,” Ladd said. “Amazon may employ a million people. But turnover in some places is nearly 100% a year. They can’t hire enough people. They have no choice but to invest in automation and robotics.” Amazon bought Kiva, which developed the robots deployed in Delaware and elsewhere, eight years go — and, thinking ahead, stopped supplying Gap and other retailers with Kiva machines as if to forestall competition and keep the savings for itself, Kumar said. Ladd expects the robotics arms race to accelerate, with Amazon forcing competitors to upgrade. “In the long run, if they are not going to innovate and automate, they will not survive,” said Temple’s Kuma. “Amazon is moving very fast.” 1. Amazon is embracing automation with robotics. Examine Levels of automation and information technology (IT) functionality in relation to Amazon. |
Trending nowThis is a popular solution!
Step by stepSolved in 2 steps
- Hi, I need help solving this OM problem. Thank you! Table E.3 is shown in the blue box onscreen.arrow_forwardAnalyze the challenges of managing service operations in the digital age, considering factors like automation and customer expectations.arrow_forwardWhat is the difference between manufacturing and service operations?arrow_forward
- In terms of customer service will machines and software replace the need for human customer service?arrow_forwardHello, can you help me with one of my work please? can you discuss the operations performance in an organisation? in 800 words. Thanks in advancearrow_forwardwhat aspects of Operations Management can be done most efficiently by working remotely Vs. working in-person at a work site?arrow_forward
- Is management of operations applicable to non-profit organisations, such as universities and hospitals? Why or why not? Why not?arrow_forwardHow do production plants address issues related to product quality and customer satisfaction?arrow_forwardImagine an office is considering introducing one of the following: a four-day workweek, flex-time or telecommuting. What are the pros and cons of each system? How would factors such as the nature of the business, the age of the workforce, and the average commuting distance affect the choice of systems?arrow_forward
- So much technology is required to run tasks behind the scenes, whether it is the baggage deliver system, security, staffing, equipment maintenance, tickets, scheduling, etc., and that can be problematic if it relies on other systems to work. Other than losing Internet connection, how might technology be a burden or slow down the operations process?Provide two examples along with solutions.arrow_forwardOperations Management A Give examples of measuring service quality and measuring product quality? (2 examples) Explain why measuring service quality be more difficult than measuring product quality?arrow_forwardmany U.S. firms have moved their manufacturing operations to overseas locations in the past decade. Although there can be sound financial benefits to this choice, moving production overseas can also raise new challenges for operations managers. Identify several of these challenges, and offer suggestions for how operations managers can use the concepts to minimize or solve them?arrow_forward
- Practical Management ScienceOperations ManagementISBN:9781337406659Author:WINSTON, Wayne L.Publisher:Cengage,Operations ManagementOperations ManagementISBN:9781259667473Author:William J StevensonPublisher:McGraw-Hill EducationOperations and Supply Chain Management (Mcgraw-hi...Operations ManagementISBN:9781259666100Author:F. Robert Jacobs, Richard B ChasePublisher:McGraw-Hill Education
- Purchasing and Supply Chain ManagementOperations ManagementISBN:9781285869681Author:Robert M. Monczka, Robert B. Handfield, Larry C. Giunipero, James L. PattersonPublisher:Cengage LearningProduction and Operations Analysis, Seventh Editi...Operations ManagementISBN:9781478623069Author:Steven Nahmias, Tava Lennon OlsenPublisher:Waveland Press, Inc.