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I took a tour of the Amazon FC in Fall River, Mass., last month. It stocks about 400,000 SKUs, all larger items (as I recall meaning at least one size of the it

I took a tour of the Amazon FC in Fall River, Mass., last month. It stocks about 400,000 SKUs, all larger items (as I recall meaning at least one size of the item is more than 15") and they have a lot of irregular items - mops, rakes, window blinds, pool noodles, you name it. One of the most interesting parts of the tour is the "box machine" used to scan and make custom boxes for these odd-shaped items. We watched a worker take a bundle of tiki torches and quickly package them using the machine, and it seemed pretty efficient in terms of matching the size of the box to the size of the item.

m463 7y ago
Amazon has been getting a lot better in this respect. However there must be some wierd corner cases. I ordered two lithium coin cells (about the size of a credit card), and they came as the sole item in a grossly oversized box (maybe 12x8x6?) with a strip of inflatable cushion things and a huge lithium ion battery warning sticker. I couldn't help but wonder if the box was sized for the sticker and not the contents.
- howard941 7y ago
  That is strange. I bought a strip of four (five?) CR2032 lithium coin cells and they arrived in the plastic envelope but the distribution center is close enough to Davenport FL that almost everything comes by way of their own courier, which I have to whinge about because even though $DAY_JOB is half the distance to Davenport than $HOME almost nothing is next day to $DAY_JOB but everything is next day to $HOME. I suppose only Jeff knows why.
  - zrobotics 7y ago
    If the DC is close to the destination, then there is no real need for the scary warning stickers--AFAIK the lithium warnings are only required for air freight. I have experienced the grandparents problem as well, I thing the supposition that the box is sized to the warning label is likely correct.
    - abrowne 7y ago
      I recently did battery shipping training. You need labels for ground transport as well. But maybe Amazon's own delivery doesn't count somehow?
      - zrobotics 7y ago
        Apparently my friend had misinformed me. They work at UPS, but this was info from a casual conversation rather than serious research.
blairanderson 7y ago
I know for certain they're working on this, and pushing this boxing up the stack to suppliers. As of August 1st, Amazon started charging/fining their suppliers $2/unit if large items are not able to ship in their own packaging. Meaning anything that is A) large, and B) unable to ship with UPS adding a label will cost suppliers an extra $2. They call this program SIOC (ships in own container) The fun part is that amazon does not accept price increases very easily. Especially not in this scenario... so suppliers either have to A) repackage their shit, B) eat the cost, C) find a partner to help distribute. source: I'm an Amazon Consultant [1]. and we help brands figure this stuff out. https://www.andersonassociates.net/2018/frustration-free/ https://www.andersonassociates.net/2018/frustration-free/
- ilamont 7y ago
  They mentioned SIOC as an option for sellers of any type of good but they positioned it as a way for sellers to save money ("we're not charging them for the box") and have better control over branding. I am an Amazon seller myself (two brands) and I am interested in your comment about changing prices. I've done this in the past and don't recall getting any pushback. Is this something new, or is there a threshold you have to hit that triggers a rejection of a price increase?

m463 7y ago

Amazon has been getting a lot better in this respect. However there must be some wierd corner cases. I ordered two lithium coin cells (about the size of a credit card), and they came as the sole item in a grossly oversized box (maybe 12x8x6?) with a strip of inflatable cushion things and a huge lithium ion battery warning sticker. I couldn't help but wonder if the box was sized for the sticker and not the contents.

howard941 7y ago
That is strange. I bought a strip of four (five?) CR2032 lithium coin cells and they arrived in the plastic envelope but the distribution center is close enough to Davenport FL that almost everything comes by way of their own courier, which I have to whinge about because even though $DAY_JOB is half the distance to Davenport than $HOME almost nothing is next day to $DAY_JOB but everything is next day to $HOME. I suppose only Jeff knows why.
- zrobotics 7y ago
  If the DC is close to the destination, then there is no real need for the scary warning stickers--AFAIK the lithium warnings are only required for air freight. I have experienced the grandparents problem as well, I thing the supposition that the box is sized to the warning label is likely correct.
  - abrowne 7y ago
    I recently did battery shipping training. You need labels for ground transport as well. But maybe Amazon's own delivery doesn't count somehow?
    - zrobotics 7y ago
      Apparently my friend had misinformed me. They work at UPS, but this was info from a casual conversation rather than serious research.

blairanderson 7y ago

I know for certain they're working on this, and pushing this boxing up the stack to suppliers. As of August 1st, Amazon started charging/fining their suppliers $2/unit if large items are not able to ship in their own packaging. Meaning anything that is A) large, and B) unable to ship with UPS adding a label will cost suppliers an extra $2. They call this program SIOC (ships in own container) The fun part is that amazon does not accept price increases very easily. Especially not in this scenario... so suppliers either have to A) repackage their shit, B) eat the cost, C) find a partner to help distribute. source: I'm an Amazon Consultant [1]. and we help brands figure this stuff out. https://www.andersonassociates.net/2018/frustration-free/ https://www.andersonassociates.net/2018/frustration-free/

ilamont 7y ago
They mentioned SIOC as an option for sellers of any type of good but they positioned it as a way for sellers to save money ("we're not charging them for the box") and have better control over branding. I am an Amazon seller myself (two brands) and I am interested in your comment about changing prices. I've done this in the past and don't recall getting any pushback. Is this something new, or is there a threshold you have to hit that triggers a rejection of a price increase?