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Middletown's Amazon Fulfillment Center tackles Cyber Monday rush

 

Amazon expects to ship more than 50 million items to customers around the world on Cyber Monday alone, and one of the facilities helping the company meet those deal-driven demands is in Middletown.

 

Inside the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Middletown, thousands of employees scramble to make sure customers get their holiday gifts on time. Katie Larsen, a spokeswoman with Amazon, said they pick, pack and ship items out to customers - all done inside of a facility as large as 28 football fields side by side.

 

“The packages are coming down this conveyer belt and our sensors read where the package needs to go, so these orange cones will push them into the shoot that corresponds with where they need to go,” said Larsen, explaining the general process for executing Amazon orders.

 

The entire process, from finding the item to packing it into a truck, usually takes less than two hours.

 

Credit Katie Peikes / Delaware Public Media
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Delaware Public Media
Packages zoom by on a conveyer belt, ready for shipping

 
“Down here you can see the packages going down the conveyer belt, someone is inside the back of that truck stacking it all in,” Larsen said. “We’re very efficient. We don’t have any wasted space. It’s kind of like real life Tetris - making sure we can fit as many packages into the space as we can.”

 

Amazon’s location in Middletown is just one of over 70 centers across the country processing orders.

 

“So depending where you are, where you place the order and where you want it shipped, our system will come up with the best place for that product to come from to get to you,” Larsen said.

 

Spokeswoman Allison Flicker said Cyber Monday through Christmas is the busiest time of year for Amazon.

During Cyber Monday 2015, customers around the world ordered over 54 million items - equivalent to 629 items per second.

 
“We like to say we are 100 percent focused on our customers, obsessed with our customers,” Flicker said. “So as we noticed, customers started to really enjoy shopping for the holidays this season maybe over a more extended period of time, we adjusted our deals in that matter. That being said, Cyber Monday is traditionally a huge day for Amazon…”

 
During last year’s Cyber Monday, customers from around the world ordered more than 54 million items on Amazon. Statistics show orders came in at 629 items per second.
 

So to keep up with the demand, Amazon employs more than 3,000 people year-round and about a thousand more for the holidays in the First State.

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