What We Can Learn From Amazon’s Supply Chain Strategy
Today, we all hear about supply chain issues that challenge lead times and delivery times. But there’s one company out there that doesn’t seem to have any of these issues: Amazon. Mainly because, over the years, Amazon has established itself as a world leader in handling, delivery, and supply chain management. So you might be wondering just what it’s doing to continue to achieve high levels of success. Let’s look at some of the factors that have made Amazon the world’s best supply chain.
What is a Supply Chain?
Before we get into how Amazon excels at supply chain management, let’s first take a moment to define just what a supply chain is. A supply chain is a network between a company and its suppliers to produce and distribute products to buyers. If one piece of the network isn’t working effectively or efficiently, it will cause a ripple effect throughout the rest of the supply chain.
The Amazon Way: What You Need to Know (And What You Can Learn)
The Customer Always Comes First
Amazon takes a customer-centric approach to everything it does – fast fulfillment, standard two-day delivery options, and going the extra mile for its Prime members. Its end goal is to ensure the customer is satisfied when a product arrives at their door, and it works to make things right if this isn’t the case.
A Cost-Efficient Mindset
Amazon has a culture of efficiency and continuous improvement. It challenges its warehouse workers to fulfill orders in as little as 20 minutes – and they regularly meet that target. By optimizing efficiency in the warehouse environment, workers can fulfill orders faster, which means they can go out for delivery and get to front porches more quickly. Time is money, and Amazon utilizes a variety of strategies to reduce time and increase efficiency.
Warehouse Automation Technology
Automation is the future of the warehouse – and Amazon found this out many years ago. Robots are plentiful in Amazon warehouses, helping move products, assist workers and improve overall safety. At Amazon, warehouse automation technology and artificial intelligence aren’t designed to replace workers but to complement their efforts. And it has resulted in a more efficient warehouse overall. It’s something that you can take back to your warehouse to make yours more efficient.
Efficient Warehouses
A culture of continuous improvement, warehouse automation technology, artificial intelligence, and a dedicated workforce all make for a more efficient overall warehouse. And it’s a combination of all of these factors mentioned above that helps Amazon deliver on its two-day shipping promise to Prime members and even faster shipping to other members.
Improve Your Warehouse Today
Keep in mind that many of the points discussed here do not have to be exclusive to Amazon. You can roll some aspects into your operations to make them more efficient and effective – and keep your customers happy to boot.
For more information and tips on warehousing strategy and supply chain process, contact the materials experts at A-Lined Handling Systems today.