7 ms·

A Rare Peek Inside Amazon’s Massive Wish-Fulfilling Machine

80 points by ghosh 12y ago

williamstein 12y ago
Ugh: "Unlike software, fulfillment centers aren’t built overnight."
- gamegoblin 12y ago
  Maybe the author is referring to a really complicated build script that takes a few hours to run! But probably not. Though really, "overnight" is just a figure of speech. Many startups probably are formed, ship a product, and die in the amount of time it takes to build a large fulfillment center.
tsomctl 12y ago
Looks like it took a huge amount of engineering to build. The extensible conveyor belt going into the truck took some effort to design and build. The software wouldn't have been terribly difficult to implement, but is still impressive how it keeps track of where everything is. I'm wondering if their software keeps track of the dimensions of objects, so that it tells the workers what shipping box to use and how to arrange the objects in it.
- mcpherrinm 12y ago
  The inventory database definitely knows dimensions: that's key data to making the whole operation work. It isn't just the box at the end, but also how much shelf space, what kind of shelf, whether it can be moved by a single person... A 60" TV and a TV remote need vastly different things to happen in the FC. There is a lot more to the software than meets the eye too: trip planning, various UIs for pickers and packers to read. Predictive modeling for where to store products to minimize pick time.
  - mabbo 12y ago
    ... You totally work in AFT, don't you?
  - Shivetya 12y ago
    It doesn't cease to amaze me how fast people dismiss the actual complexity of tasks they don't understand. As you pointed out, there is a lot going on that most people overlook when it comes to managing inventory. I am in distribution, we have many interconnected systems to manage our inventory, whether it is in stores or distribution centers. Within each there are many places and item can and cannot go, whether because of size, weight, volatility, or toxicity. Who processes are dedicated to having large volume items readily available to minimize trip times for stocking and fulfillment. I am curious if Amazon relies on separate system for each location or centrally managed. There are benefits to both
- retroafroman 12y ago
  Dimension data is an important part of the warehouse management system for any automated system. The size data will be used to figure out how the order should be shipped, but in my experience, it doesn't tell the packer how to place it in the box. Packers will often pick a larger or smaller box and then update the order information to note which size it shipped in before closing the order and sending it back into the system.
aditya 12y ago
Interestingly, AMZN bought Kiva and will deploy 10,000 robots soon. Very cool video here: http://money.cnn.com/2014/05/22/technology/amazon-robots/ http://money.cnn.com/2014/05/22/technology/amazon-robots/
- pests 12y ago
  Do you have another source for that video? It keeps playing the ad twice and then loading an unrelated video.
  - phoboslab 12y ago
    Found this on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWsMdN7HMuA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWsMdN7HMuA
    - pests 12y ago
      I was hoping the one aditya linked was newer as the article was written this year. Did they reuse that old video or is there indeed new footage?
      - aditya 12y ago
        Not the same video, this has more real world footage...
- amac 12y ago
  I'd be surprised if these aren't already deployed. I visited a logistics trade fair in Stuttgart and was impressed with the concept. That said, it will work for things in the "library" aka small goods, but let's see how they scale these up to deal with pallet sized goods. I've got no doubt they will, though developing these machines will not be cheap.
- pcestrada 12y ago
  I work at Kiva Systems as a software engineer, located north of Boston. We do a lot of work with robotics and Amazon scale web service development and we are hiring. Check it out at: http://www.kivasystems.com/careers-at-kiva/ http://www.kivasystems.com/careers-at-kiva/ Happy to talk about it further. Email me at pestrada AT kivasystems.com
mabbo 12y ago
Just going to throw this out there, but the software division of amazon fulfillment is always hiring. I'm a developer here and I really enjoy it. Interesting problems, and you get to visit places like PHX6 fairly often. Based in Seattle, Toronto and I believe Bangalore. My username at Amazon. Happy to answer questions.
- harmegido 12y ago
  Working conditions in FC's have been criticized in the past. Is there any consideration in the optimization process of minimizing human usage/energy, or is it just all "get as much stuff into a space as possible and then out the door as quickly as possible, however it needs to be done?"
  - zeriff 12y ago
    I've spent time at Amazon, I suspect: - Amazon persistently strives for efficiency and frugality over all else: applies in FC and HQs. I think this culture could turn off many people - Kiva will reduce human usage/energy (not sure if that's where you were headed though) - Inevitably, optimization means reducing the cost (inc human effort) required to store and fulfill products - Having visited FCs, the ones I saw had fine working conditions though I understand the reality of publicity in the past
  - Retric 12y ago
    Minimizing human effort does little to change working conditions as you just downsize.
  - mabbo 12y ago
    I have many replies, good answers, etc. But I don't speak for the company, and that's a touchy subject I wouldn't want to go near. I can say this: if I felt that the company wasn't doing a good job of working to improve the lives of associates in the warehouses, I wouldn't work here.
- ProAm 12y ago
  What languages and tools do you use? How big is the code base you work with? How do you unit/system test changes (dev/test warehouse?)
morsch 12y ago
It only mentions the working conditions in those fullmilment centers as a brief aside: apparently the building is air-conditioned and water is readily available -- no mention if there's time available for a drink during your shift. I guess you can write an article about just the technical marvels of these buildings, but don't forget that it's only half of the picture. The motto "work hard. have fun. make history." printed in 2m letters struck me as Orwellian.
- Rapzid 12y ago
  In Amazon warehouse computer drives YOU.
- calibraxis 12y ago
  Yes. The real message is the motto's first sentence.
- chillingeffect 12y ago
  Yes, for example, check out https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7904673 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7904673 for news of two recent worker deaths at Amazon.
  - contingencies 12y ago
    It comes up blank?
    - chillingeffect 12y ago
      Hmmm. It's working for me. Anyway, that was just the HN submission. Try the orig. link of you just want to read the story: http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/06/17/amaz-j17.html http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/06/17/amaz-j17.html
- ColinDabritz 12y ago
  This was the best article I've seen so far for describing and understanding the conditions inside: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/02/mac-mcclelland-free-online-shipping-warehouses-labor http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/02/mac-mcclelland-f...
jayvanguard 12y ago
Wow, I didn't realize that one map on COD: Black Ops was designed after an Amazon warehouse.

80 points by ghosh 12y ago

williamstein 12y ago

Ugh: "Unlike software, fulfillment centers aren’t built overnight."

gamegoblin 12y ago
Maybe the author is referring to a really complicated build script that takes a few hours to run! But probably not. Though really, "overnight" is just a figure of speech. Many startups probably are formed, ship a product, and die in the amount of time it takes to build a large fulfillment center.

tsomctl 12y ago

Looks like it took a huge amount of engineering to build. The extensible conveyor belt going into the truck took some effort to design and build. The software wouldn't have been terribly difficult to implement, but is still impressive how it keeps track of where everything is. I'm wondering if their software keeps track of the dimensions of objects, so that it tells the workers what shipping box to use and how to arrange the objects in it.

mcpherrinm 12y ago
The inventory database definitely knows dimensions: that's key data to making the whole operation work. It isn't just the box at the end, but also how much shelf space, what kind of shelf, whether it can be moved by a single person... A 60" TV and a TV remote need vastly different things to happen in the FC. There is a lot more to the software than meets the eye too: trip planning, various UIs for pickers and packers to read. Predictive modeling for where to store products to minimize pick time.
- mabbo 12y ago
  ... You totally work in AFT, don't you?
- Shivetya 12y ago
  It doesn't cease to amaze me how fast people dismiss the actual complexity of tasks they don't understand. As you pointed out, there is a lot going on that most people overlook when it comes to managing inventory. I am in distribution, we have many interconnected systems to manage our inventory, whether it is in stores or distribution centers. Within each there are many places and item can and cannot go, whether because of size, weight, volatility, or toxicity. Who processes are dedicated to having large volume items readily available to minimize trip times for stocking and fulfillment. I am curious if Amazon relies on separate system for each location or centrally managed. There are benefits to both
retroafroman 12y ago
Dimension data is an important part of the warehouse management system for any automated system. The size data will be used to figure out how the order should be shipped, but in my experience, it doesn't tell the packer how to place it in the box. Packers will often pick a larger or smaller box and then update the order information to note which size it shipped in before closing the order and sending it back into the system.

aditya 12y ago

Interestingly, AMZN bought Kiva and will deploy 10,000 robots soon. Very cool video here: http://money.cnn.com/2014/05/22/technology/amazon-robots/ http://money.cnn.com/2014/05/22/technology/amazon-robots/

pests 12y ago
Do you have another source for that video? It keeps playing the ad twice and then loading an unrelated video.
- phoboslab 12y ago
  Found this on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWsMdN7HMuA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWsMdN7HMuA
  - pests 12y ago
    I was hoping the one aditya linked was newer as the article was written this year. Did they reuse that old video or is there indeed new footage?
    - aditya 12y ago
      Not the same video, this has more real world footage...
amac 12y ago
I'd be surprised if these aren't already deployed. I visited a logistics trade fair in Stuttgart and was impressed with the concept. That said, it will work for things in the "library" aka small goods, but let's see how they scale these up to deal with pallet sized goods. I've got no doubt they will, though developing these machines will not be cheap.
pcestrada 12y ago
I work at Kiva Systems as a software engineer, located north of Boston. We do a lot of work with robotics and Amazon scale web service development and we are hiring. Check it out at: http://www.kivasystems.com/careers-at-kiva/ http://www.kivasystems.com/careers-at-kiva/ Happy to talk about it further. Email me at pestrada AT kivasystems.com

mabbo 12y ago

Just going to throw this out there, but the software division of amazon fulfillment is always hiring. I'm a developer here and I really enjoy it. Interesting problems, and you get to visit places like PHX6 fairly often. Based in Seattle, Toronto and I believe Bangalore. My username at Amazon. Happy to answer questions.

harmegido 12y ago
Working conditions in FC's have been criticized in the past. Is there any consideration in the optimization process of minimizing human usage/energy, or is it just all "get as much stuff into a space as possible and then out the door as quickly as possible, however it needs to be done?"
- zeriff 12y ago
  I've spent time at Amazon, I suspect: - Amazon persistently strives for efficiency and frugality over all else: applies in FC and HQs. I think this culture could turn off many people - Kiva will reduce human usage/energy (not sure if that's where you were headed though) - Inevitably, optimization means reducing the cost (inc human effort) required to store and fulfill products - Having visited FCs, the ones I saw had fine working conditions though I understand the reality of publicity in the past
- Retric 12y ago
  Minimizing human effort does little to change working conditions as you just downsize.
- mabbo 12y ago
  I have many replies, good answers, etc. But I don't speak for the company, and that's a touchy subject I wouldn't want to go near. I can say this: if I felt that the company wasn't doing a good job of working to improve the lives of associates in the warehouses, I wouldn't work here.
ProAm 12y ago
What languages and tools do you use? How big is the code base you work with? How do you unit/system test changes (dev/test warehouse?)

morsch 12y ago

It only mentions the working conditions in those fullmilment centers as a brief aside: apparently the building is air-conditioned and water is readily available -- no mention if there's time available for a drink during your shift. I guess you can write an article about just the technical marvels of these buildings, but don't forget that it's only half of the picture. The motto "work hard. have fun. make history." printed in 2m letters struck me as Orwellian.

Rapzid 12y ago
In Amazon warehouse computer drives YOU.
calibraxis 12y ago
Yes. The real message is the motto's first sentence.
chillingeffect 12y ago
Yes, for example, check out https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7904673 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7904673 for news of two recent worker deaths at Amazon.
- contingencies 12y ago
  It comes up blank?
  - chillingeffect 12y ago
    Hmmm. It's working for me. Anyway, that was just the HN submission. Try the orig. link of you just want to read the story: http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/06/17/amaz-j17.html http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/06/17/amaz-j17.html
ColinDabritz 12y ago
This was the best article I've seen so far for describing and understanding the conditions inside: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/02/mac-mcclelland-free-online-shipping-warehouses-labor http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/02/mac-mcclelland-f...

jayvanguard 12y ago

Wow, I didn't realize that one map on COD: Black Ops was designed after an Amazon warehouse.