Dive Brief:
- Amazon is planning to construct five new facilities in the Detroit area to support operations in the city, according to an announcement.
- One of the five sites will be an 823,000-square-foot fulfillment center within the city. It will become the fourth fulfillment center in Michigan to use robotics for helping workers pick, pack and ship smaller items to customers.
- The other four sites in the area will include a same-day facility, an XL fulfillment center and two sortation centers.
Dive Insight:
Here is the breakdown of Amazon buildings coming to the Detroit area this year:
- Detroit: Amazon robotics fulfillment center.
- Hazel Park, Michigan: sub-same-day fulfillment center.
- Pinnacle Park, Michigan: Amazon “XLFC” fulfillment center and Amazon sort center.
- Plymouth, Michigan: Amazon sort center.
- Pontiac, Michigan: Amazon robotics fulfillment center.
The online retail giant currently operates 10 sites in Detroit, including four facilities that launched in 2020.
Although the Detroit centers mark the largest number of buildings in one area the company has announced recently, Amazon has made moves to construct new facilities across the country, especially in areas that haven’t had them before. Amazon announced just in December:
- Its first fulfillment center in Louisiana.
- Two fulfillment centers and a delivery station in San Antonio, Texas.
- Its first fulfillment center in South Dakota.
- A fulfillment center in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
- A fulfillment center in Missouri City, Texas.
- A fulfillment center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Sortation centers aid with the fulfillment of large products and “middle mile” — or process of transporting packages between Amazon sites before last-mile delivery to customers' homes, the announcement said. Packages arrive at sort centers after delivery from Amazon Air hubs, gateways or fulfillment centers. They are then sorted by ZIP codes before they are shipped to delivery stations or last-mile delivery partners.
