Journey of a package
From when you place an order to when its delivered to your home, the journey of a package is pretty long. We simplify this for you in pictures.
on 10 October 2018
THIS IS WHERE IT BEGINS: Welcome to one of our Fulfilment Centres - where the journey begins. Here is where seller inventory is stored and processed for customer orders every day.
ENTER THE INVENTORY: Sellers bring in their inventory to the Fulfilment centres in different vehicles – from a motorbike to a little auto rickshaw to long 24 feet trailers! Whatever the means, it's got all the products your order and here is where it is brought.
OFF LOADING BEGINS: Seller inventory is offloaded at the dock doors.
3-STEP 'RECEIVE' PROCESS: Every product that arrives into the building is scanned, checked for quality and received at the Receive Station. This is when the product lights up on Amazon.in. They then go through either of the 3 process – Receive, Cubiscan or else ready to be Stowed.
WHAT IS CUBISCAN: Every new product that has never been stored in any of our FCs before must go through a Cubiscan process. Cubiscan is a unique feature that measures all dimensions and the weight of the product. This technology plays a role further down the journey of the package. So hold on.
AISLES APLENTY: For the millions of products stored in each fulfilment centre we have hundreds of aisles across the buildings. With different kinds of shelving to store different types of products. Once the product is stored, they are now available on Amazon.in
WHATS IN A BIN? With different kinds of shelving to store different types of products. Like these drawer bins for apparels..
A LIBRARY LOOK ALIKE? Well you would be forgiven for mistaking it to be one! But these are shelves for storing the thousands of books.
FOR A LONGER SHELF LIFE: Bigger shelves for storing larger items like microwaves, printers, ovens and even walkers for little kids.
THE PIT STOP: These are pit areas used for storing products in large quantities
RANDOM ORDER: This is a random stow where products are kept in no particular order.
FINDING THE PRODUCT WHEN IT'S ORDERED: When a customer buys a product on Amazon, a picker is assigned a pick task. His hand held scanner guides him to the location and helps him pick the right product from the right shelf. And he doesn’t forget to do a six sided check again.
PICK n PLACE: The picker places the products he has picked into a tote and places them on a conveyor nearby
ON ITS WAY TO BEING PACKED: These long automated conveyors carry the totes through the building and deliver them to a Pack station
Photo By Pallon Daruwala
AUTOMATED SEGREGATION: The automated conveyors based on the barcode push the totes into different pack stations – depending on whether they are single or multi orders
SIMPLIFYING CUSTOMER ORDERS: Customers orders with multiple items in them first get consolidated into a single order, so we can pack them in just one box for delivery
Photo By Pallon Daruwala
'BOX'ING TIME: The pack stations are loaded with different box sizes, so we can get the closest match for an item being packaged
WHEN CUBISCAN MEMORY HELPS: When the packer scans the product, it prompts which of the packaging is to be used. Remember the Cubiscan process that gathers the volumetric details of every item!
A DIFFERENT KIND OF 'SLAM' BOOK: And now another scan at the SLAM station generates the name and address label of the customer. And confirms that the right package is being sent to the right customer. Remember the Cubiscan process again! If there is a weight mismatch, the package is kicked out of the process.
THE PACKAGE INCHING ITS WAY TO YOUR HOME: The packages now travel down the large conveyors to the Sorting area
3-WAY SEGREGATION: Now, the packages are segregated by customer promise, destination and mode of transport.
OUTWARD BOUND: The sorted packages are loaded into trucks waiting at the Outbound dock door that further go to airports or delivery stations
WELCOME TO THE SORT CENTRE: Packages now arrive at a Sort centre
THE JOURNEY CONTINUES: Packages are loaded back into conveyors.
PINCODES & THE CITY: These are then sorted by final destination city or pin code so they can be sent to the relevant delivery station
ALL SET TO DELIVER: Delivery associates at the Delivery Station further segregate these packages by pin codes in the city.
HOMEWARD BOUND: Packages are now picked up by Delivery Associate and delivered to the customer.
ALL SET TO DELIVER PACKAGES: Packages are now loaded into bags and the delivery associates are off to make their customer deliveries
YOUR ORDER IN YOUR HANDS: And this is how we deliver smiles!
About the Author
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