Amazon’s Prime Day is here Tuesday and the company’s Greenwood mini-fulfillment center is ready for the two-day shopping extravaganza.
Prime Day is Amazon’s annual shopping event where Amazon Prime members have the opportunity to shop some of the company’s lowest prices ever on select products throughout the 48-hour event. In 2021, Prime Day was the most significant two-day sales period for third-party sellers on the platform, with those businesses growing even more than the company’s retail business, Amazon officials say.
During Prime Day 2021, members purchased more than 250 million items worldwide, according to company officials.
This year, Prime Day begins at 3 a.m. Tuesday, lasting a full 48 hours for customers to shop various national brands along with small- and medium-sized businesses. More than 30 million items will be available to Prime customers for fast, free shipping — 25% more items than in 2021, officials say.
Greenwood’s mini-fulfillment center, known as the SIN9 facility, will play a significant part in Prime Day sales in the Indianapolis area. The facility is located along Chaney Avenue near the Main Street interchange with Interstate 65 and opened last October.
The unique 100,000-square-foot facility is roughly a tenth of the size of a traditional fulfillment facility and is the first facility of its kind in the Indianapolis area. The facility focuses on fulfilling and delivering orders in the Indianapolis area, with over 100,000 packages making their way through the facility in a given week, Amazon officials said.
“This facility is focused on getting customers’ orders to the customer in the quickest possible manner,” said Andrew Vandenberg, operations manager.
To achieve this level of quickness, once items are purchased, Amazon associates pick the item, pack it, and give it to a delivery driver. The items are then on the customer’s doorstep in a matter of hours, Vandenberg said.
The facility employs over 100 associates, along with offering opportunities for Amazon Flex drivers. Amazon Flex is one of the company’s delivery services, for which drivers use their own vehicles to deliver packages based on their own schedules, officials said.
With Prime Day approaching, Vandenberg is excited. While the number of packages expected to go through the facility during the 48-hour shopping event is unknown, they are expecting to see an increase in volume on Tuesday and Wednesday, he said.
Regardless, the facility’s focus will remain on getting same-day items out as quickly as possible, he said. These items include the Apple AirPods Pro, iHeathCOVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test and the Amazon Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote.
“(I’m) really looking forward to just creating the quickest possible customer experience here,” Vandenberg said.
Company staff have also been working to prepare the facility’s employees for Prime Day by making sure all associates have the most comfortable, safe experience possible when working, he said.
With tons of offerings this Prime Day, anyone can find a deal on something. For Vandenberg himself, he’s excited for the back-to-school deals, as his wife is a teacher, he said.
“Super excited for it and just really excited to create a positive customer experience,” Vandenberg said.
Other Amazon facilities in Greenwood, Whiteland and Indianapolis will also see an increase in business for the company’s annual sale. The Franklin facility is not yet open.
To learn more about what’s on sale for Prime Day visit amazon.com/primeday.
