Editing Amazon (company) (section)

== Operations ==
{{See also|List of Amazon locations}}

=== Logistics {{anchor|Delivery service partners}} ===
[[File:Amazon Logistics, Borgstedt (APC 0067).jpg|thumb|Amazon Transportation Services truck at an Amazon Logistics delivery station]]
[[File:Amazon Prime Delivery Trucks (44155424640).jpg|thumb|Amazon Logistics Delivery Service Partner company vehicles in [[Florida]]]]
Amazon uses many different transportation services to deliver packages. Amazon-branded services include:
* [[Amazon Air]], a cargo airline for bulk transport, with last-mile delivery handled either by Amazon Flex, Amazon Logistics, or the U.S. Postal Service.
* Amazon Flex, a [[Mobile app|smartphone app]] that enables individuals to act as independent contractors, delivering packages to customers from personal vehicles without uniforms. Deliveries include one or two hours [[Prime Now]], same or next day [[Amazon Fresh]] groceries, and standard Amazon.com orders, in addition to orders from local stores that contract with Amazon.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://flex.amazon.com/faq |access-date=December 31, 2020 |title=Frequently asked questions about Amazon Flex |archive-date=January 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104112032/https://flex.amazon.com/faq |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Amazon Logistics, in which Amazon contracts with small businesses (which it calls "Delivery Service Partners") to perform deliveries to customers. Each business has a fleet of approximately 20–40 Amazon-branded vans, and employees of the contractors wear Amazon uniforms. As of December 2020, it operates in the United States, Canada, Italy, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://logistics.amazon.com/marketing/faq |access-date=December 31, 2020 |title=Amazon Logistics / Frequently Asked Questions |archive-date=February 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204213921/https://logistics.amazon.com/marketing/faq |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Amazon Prime Air]] is an experimental drone delivery service that delivers packages via drones to Amazon Prime subscribers in select cities.

Amazon directly employs people to work at its warehouses, bulk distribution centers, staffed "Amazon Hub Locker+" locations, and delivery stations where drivers pick up packages. As of December 2020, it is not hiring delivery drivers as employees.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=December 31, 2020 |url=https://www.amazon.jobs/en/search-jobcategory |title=Find jobs by job category |archive-date=November 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129084657/https://www.amazon.jobs/en/search-jobcategory |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Rakuten Intelligence]] estimated that in 2020 in the United States, the proportion of last-mile deliveries was 56% by Amazon's directly contracted services (mostly in urban areas), 30% by the [[United States Postal Service]] (mostly in rural areas), and 14% by [[United Parcel Service|UPS]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/10/14/amazon-prime-day-usps-ballots/ |title=Prime Day, early holiday sales create new potential for USPS ballot delivery tie-ups |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=December 31, 2020 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225114439/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/10/14/amazon-prime-day-usps-ballots/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In April 2021, Amazon reported to investors it had increased its in-house delivery capacity by 50% in the last 12 months (which included the first year of the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States]]).<ref>{{cite news |title=Amazon is spending big to take on UPS and FedEx |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/30/amazon-is-spending-big-to-take-on-ups-and-fedex.html |date=April 30, 2021 |author=Annie Palmer |access-date=September 22, 2021 |archive-date=September 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922033211/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/30/amazon-is-spending-big-to-take-on-ups-and-fedex.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Supply chain ===
Amazon first launched its distribution network in 1997 with two fulfillment centers in Seattle and [[New Castle, Delaware]]. Amazon has several types of distribution facilities consisting of cross-dock centers, fulfillment centers, sortation centers, delivery stations, Prime now hubs, and Prime air hubs. There are 75 fulfillment centers and 25 sortation centers with over 125,000 employees.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Routley |first1=Nick |title=Amazon's Massive Distribution Network in One Giant Visualization |url=https://www.visualcapitalist.com/footprint-all-amazons-warehouses/ |access-date=July 7, 2019 |date=September 8, 2018 |archive-date=July 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707122602/https://www.visualcapitalist.com/footprint-all-amazons-warehouses/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=9 facts about Amazon's unprecedented warehouse empire |url=https://www.curbed.com/2017/11/21/16686150/black-friday-2018-amazon-warehouse-fulfillment |access-date=July 7, 2019 |date=November 21, 2017 |archive-date=July 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707122602/https://www.curbed.com/2017/11/21/16686150/black-friday-2018-amazon-warehouse-fulfillment |url-status=live }}</ref> Employees are responsible for five basic tasks: unpacking and inspecting incoming goods; placing goods in storage and recording their location; picking goods from their computer recorded locations to make up an individual shipment; sorting and packing orders; and shipping. A computer that records the location of goods and maps out routes for pickers plays a key role: employees carry hand-held computers which communicate with the central computer and monitor their rate of progress. Some warehouses are partially automated with systems built by [[Amazon Robotics]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-18 |title=Amazon announces 2 new ways it's using robots to assist employees and deliver for customers |url=https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/operations/amazon-introduces-new-robotics-solutions |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=US About Amazon |language=en |archive-date=October 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022174510/https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/operations/amazon-introduces-new-robotics-solutions |url-status=live }}</ref>

In September 2006, Amazon launched a program called FBA (Fulfillment By Amazon) whereby it could handle storage, packing and distribution of products and services for small sellers.<ref name=amazon-fulfill-press />

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Lauwin-Planque - Lauwin-Park (02).JPG|Amazon.fr fulfillment center in [[Lauwin-Planque]], [[France]]
File:Amazon España por dentro (San Fernando de Henares).JPG|Amazon.es fulfillment center in [[San Fernando de Henares]], [[Spain]]
File:Amazon warehouse Glenrothes.jpg|Amazon.co.uk fulfillment center in [[Glenrothes]], [[Scotland]], [[United Kingdom|UK]]
File:Amazon.de 1204 - panoramio.jpg|Amazon.de fulfillment center in [[Graben, Bavaria|Graben]], [[Germany]]
File:AmazonIchikawaFC (78316917).jpg|Amazon.co.jp fulfillment center in [[Ichikawa, Chiba|Ichikawa]], [[Japan]]
File:Larry Hogan tours Amazon warehouse in Maryland (36490655883).jpg|Amazon.co fulfillment center in [[Baltimore]], Maryland, [[United States|US]] featuring [[Amazon Robotics]]
</gallery>