Everyone knows that Amazon is the king of online retail. They have set the standard for eCommerce excellence and continue to dominate the market. This is no accident. 

They have spent Billions of dollars into researching and developing the best proprietary techniques to speed up their shipping speeds. As a result they have set made customers expect their order in 2 days or less. 

This has hurt competitors as they struggle to keep up. Amazon never stops innovating and perfecting their micro-fulfillment strategies and neither should you. 

Here are 5 secret micro-fulfillment techniques that Amazon doesn't want you, the competition to know.

1. Modular robots for high-density storage
2. Smaller warehouses closer to urban areas
3. In-store lockers for customer pick-up
4. Multiple fulfillment methods from a single warehouse
5. Automated systems for order picking and packing

High-density storage

Amazon seeks to utilize every inch of their warehouse. In many warehouses they utilize modular robots to increase order picking speeds. Amazon has perfected the art of packing a lot of inventory into a small space with modular robots. 

This allows them to have fewer, but more powerful, warehouses which reduces overall costs. 

Additionally, it gives them the ability to store more inventory in a smaller space which is crucial given the amount of SKUs they carry. 

Smaller warehouses closer to urban areas

Smaller warehouses closer to urban areas: One of the keys to Amazon's success is their ability to get orders to customers quickly and efficiently. To do this, they have smaller warehouses located in close proximity to urban areas. 

This allows them to make use of smaller delivery vehicles and reduce shipping costs. Additionally, it cuts down on last mile delivery time which is crucial for customer satisfaction.

Optimized picking & packing methods

Organization is key to any and every warehouse operation. Sadly the vast majority of warehouses do not have any sort of organizational system in place. Inventory is just dispersed throughout their pallet racking. 

Amazon knows this, which is why it spent 56.052 Billion in 2021 just on R&D. They are constantly developing new ways to pick and pack better. 

This makes it even more pressing for competing companies to optimize their picking and packing methods too, otherwise they may be left in the dust. 

Multiple fulfillment methods from a single warehouse

Multiple fulfillment methods from a single warehouse: Amazon operates multiple types of fulfillment centers including traditional warehouses, distribution centers, and fulfillment services locations. 

This allows them to offer a variety of fulfillment options to their customers including same-day delivery, next-day delivery, and two-day shipping. 

Automated systems for order picking and packing

Automated systems for order picking and packing: Amazon has invested heavily in automated systems for order picking and packing. 

This includes both robotics and software systems that streamline the order fulfillment process. By automating these processes, Amazon is able to fulfill orders more quickly and efficiently which reduces costs and improves customer satisfaction levels. 

Did you know that your business can compete with Amazon?

Most companies aren’t amazon, Most companies haven't invested countless dollars into developing equivalent technologies. Most companies can’t afford to do that.

Good news, there is a solution that can help businesses of all sizes decrease picking times and increase shipping speeds while reducing overall costs. It empowers your human pickers by utilizing state of the art organizational techniques and software from WarehouseOS.

Check out our free product tour. 

Conclusion

While other retailers struggle to keep up with Amazon, you don’t have to. Amazon will continue to innovate but so will WarehouseOS. We are constantly striving to perfect micro-fulfillment techniques and improve the operational capacity of our software so that you can keep you costs low and your customers happy. 

Amazon masterfully utilizes the 5 techniques that  allow it to beat out the competition. But you can too.