As Flash Prime Days approaches on October 8-9, 2024, we had the rare opportunity to go behind the scenes of one of Amazon’s most advanced sites in Europe. In Augny, near Metz, a fascinating ballet takes place between humans and robots in a titanic 182,000 m² warehouse.
The Amazon warehouse in Augny, called “ETZ2”, is not an ordinary logistics site. With his 182,000 m² spread over four levelsit represents the avant-garde of Amazon technology in France. “ It is our most advanced robotics center », Says the operations director, who guides us through this high-tech maze.
The site employs 4,000 people on permanent contracts, a figure which climbs to 4,350 with the arrival of recruited temporary workers to cope with the peak activity of Flash Prime Days. In total, these are almost 90 different nationalities which are gathered under the same roof, with employees of all ages.
A bustling high-tech hive
Upon entering this logistical juggernaut, the spectacle is breathtaking. Overhead conveyors tirelessly transport black plastic boxes and packages stamped with the famous Amazon smile. Yet, despite the intensity of the activity, the atmosphere remains strangely serene. This may be due to the lack of vehicles. While we expected to see pallet trucks in all directions, Amazon tells us that it has instead focused on pedestrian vehicles, in particular to minimize the risk of accidents.
Here are stored nearly 25 million productsand nearly 1 million different references. 30% of products belong to Amazon, while the remaining 70% come from SMEs and VSEs who use Amazon services to deliver to their customers.
Also read – Amazon is testing humanoid robots to replace its warehouse workers
The journey of a package, from order to delivery
It all starts with a click on the Amazon site. As soon as an order is validated, the computer system identifies the closest warehouse with the requested items. For residents of north-eastern France, Luxembourg and western Germany, it is often Augny that comes into actionprovided it is a small item. Indeed, Amazon has 8 warehouses of this type in France6 of which handle small objects weighing less than 10 kg and less than 45 cm in length. Another takes care of larger packages in Amiens, and the other is more of a package redistribution center.
On the ground floor of the warehouse, two flows of goods converge: products from third-party suppliers and those from other Amazon centers. Specialized robots unload the pallets.
Each item then passes through a quality control station, where employees verify that the item matches warehouse orders, and the orders are then transported to upper floors by automated conveyors. This is where one of the most surprising features of the Amazon system comes into play: shelves that move on their own.
When an order arrives, the choreography begins. Autonomous robots, resembling large intelligent vacuum cleaners, slide under shelves containing ordered items. They transport them to the workstations where the preparers wait using QR codes placed on the floor.
Contrary to appearances, the 55,000 storage shelves follow no categorical organization. « We don’t put phones away with phones », explains our guide. And for good reason: “ Customers rarely order multiple identical products, so we prioritize efficiency “. It is therefore possible that an entire order of different items is available on the same shelf, conveniently.
The articles are thus stored randomly by employees, their location being memorized by the computer system. Visual aids advise employees on the preferred locations. If a box lights up purple, it means it is full. If it’s white, there’s probably room. It’s ultimately very fun, and it almost feels like a video game.
When it comes to placing an order in another position, the system does the opposite. To facilitate collection, a luminous square indicates precisely the location of each item to be collected on the shelves. The products are then placed in black bins which join the packaging circuit via conveyors.
On the lower floor, employees at packing stations benefit from advanced technological assistance. For each order, artificial intelligence determines the ideal carton or bag formatreducing waste and optimizing space in delivery trucks. These recommendations are sometimes modified based on customer feedback.
The system takes several factors into account: the size and weight of the items, their fragility, and even the final destination of the package. This optimization not only reduces costs, but also the environmental impact of deliveries. Besides, approximately 5% of packages are sent in their original packagingAmazon considering that it is not necessary to add an additional box.
The final preparation stage is entirely automated. Mechanical arms apply shipping labelsthus protecting the confidentiality of customer data. No employee has access to recipients’ personal informationan essential security measure in the age of online commerce.
Once packaged and labeled, packages are automatically sorted according to their destination. They are loaded into Amazon trucks which transport them to one of the 26 French distribution centers or to neighboring countries. From there, La Poste or other delivery partners take over for the final step.
For Prime customers, this ultra-efficient system allows particularly short delivery times. An order placed early in the morning can be delivered the same eveningwhile most orders are delivered the next day. The Augny center operates almost without interruptionstopping only for two four-hour slots on weekends for maintenance.
