Look behind the scenes at Davenport Amazon Distribution Facility
Amazon revolutionized the way we shop. A simple click. Then, an item goes into your bag and packages are on their way.
The Amazon Robotic Fulfillment Center in Davenport continues that work. It sits on 158 acres near I-80. It covers 2.3 million square feet, the equivalent to nearly 40 football fields. It also has six floors, and 1,500 people work there.
The big picture: It’s only been open a few months, and it’s already impacting the local economy.
“1,500 jobs. Already high-paying jobs. The starting salary of $17.50 an hour,” U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks said. “We often think of large, big-boxed warehouses, distribution centers, and we forget that they are actually serving small businesses, so they’re allowing people to remain in Iowa and remain in rural areas, but expand their reach all across the country and even internationally.”
Our Quad Cities News had the chance to take a closer look and see how the Davenport Amazon facility works from the inside. The Fulfillment Center’s general manager, Nate Rudy, said he is excited to be involved within the local community. “Were proud and actually thrilled to be the first Amazon in the Quad Cities market,” Rudy said.
The tour also brought in Senator Joni Ernst, Davenport Mayor Mike Matson and other community leaders. To start off the tour, we got to find out how packages are received in the facility. They call it the ‘inbound process.’ “Those items are opened up out of the boxing,” Rudy said. “[They] remove the cellophane. Basically, getting the shipment ready for the consumer.”
Next, storing the items. Multiple floors in the facility have tall, yellow storage pods that hold product and move around freely. Workers and robots scan every piece. They place them into storage pods and then items are now sellable. “The next step in the process is for our pickers to select those items that have been selected for purchase,” Rudy said.
The Amazon facility has nearly 5,000 robots. They take certain items to what Amazon calls a ‘packing solution.’ “If they purchase just one item, it will go to the single, packing solutions that we have in the facility,” Rudy added.
If a customer orders multiple items, it goes to another area. It’s not just about moving product for Amazon. It also supplies support to our community.
Before the tour, the fulfillment center presented a $10,000 check to the Davenport Community Schools STEM Program.
Amazon plans to add to the workforce at the facility over the next few years. It is currently hiring. The facility has full-time and part-time positions open that start at $17.50 an hour. They include benefits starting on the first day. Amazon also has a program called ‘Career Choice;’ the program has the company pay for tuition for employees to further their education and training.
“We have a number of opened positions in each of the support team areas,” Rudy said. “We are not under-staffed by any means, but we are looking to fill a few more support team positions. This month, we are partnering with our staff team. This month, will hire another 300 associates from the community.”
You can see what jobs are available here.
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