The Amazon Fulfillment Center is a network of warehouses and distribution centers owned and operated by Amazon across different parts of the globe. These fulfillment centers enable sellers to store their inventory and subsequently deliver products to customers, process and manage returns more quickly and efficiently.
What Are the Different Types of Amazon Warehouses?
Since a large plethora of Inventory gets listed and fulfilled by Amazon hence the warehouses are further categorized into different types depending on the type of inventory they store.
1.IXD: Inbound Cross Docks (IXD) are Amazon warehouses that accept standard-sized freight from vendors/sellers and ship products to various fulfillment centers. IXDs do not ship customer orders.
2.AMXL: They are cross-dock warehouses specifically allocated for large, often palletized products like screen TVs, Bathtubs, mattresses, and other similar commodities that require some kind of special handling. Just like an IXD, they do not ship direct customer orders instead.
3.Sortable (Standard Size): Sortable fulfillment centers deal with customer orders such as books, toys, housewares, and other general items. These are further classified into 2 sub-categories:
a)Traditional Sortable: Traditional Sortable Fulfillment Centers are around 800,000-1,200,000 square feet in size, and they employ more than 1,500 full-time associates. In these buildings, Amazon associates pick, pack, and ship customer orders such as books, toys, and housewares.
b)AR Sortable: AR stands for Amazon Robotics. Thanks to the innovations of Amazon Robotics, associates often work alongside robots, allowing them to learn new skills and help create a more efficient process to meet customer demand. Here, the items from racks of the warehouse are carried by KIVA robots.
4.Non-sortable (Oversized): These centers contain and ship bulky or larger-sized customer items such as patio furniture, outdoor equipment, rugs, big-screen TVs, furniture, appliances, and more. Just like a sortable warehouse, they are also sub-categorized into:
a)Traditional Non-Sort: Ranging in size from 600,00 to one million square feet, Traditional Non-Sortable Fulfillment Centers employ more than 1,000 full-time associates. In these centers, associates pick, pack, and ship bulky or larger-sized customer items such as patio furniture, outdoor equipment, or rugs.
b)AR non-sort: These Fulfillment Centers use the innovation of Amazon Robotics to pick, pack, and ship bulky or larger-sized customer items and related huge items as such.
5.Apparel: These Fulfillment centers are dedicated to all kinds of apparel: general clothing items and related accessories.
6.Kariba: Kariba is one of the newest Fulfillment centers. It was introduced with the onset of COVID-19 to maintain an adequate stock of certain items like hand sanitizer, and masks. Presently It receives items that are high in demand. They play an important role in freeing up space/capacity in the FCs but can quickly replenish the FCs if they get low on stock.
7.Hazmat: Hazmat Fulfillment Center contains products containing certain materials, substances, or components (e.g. lithium batteries) that are classified as dangerous goods – or hazardous materials (hazmat). Products classified as hazmat must be stored and transported with certain precautions in place, as compared to non-dangerous products. Products that may be considered Hazmat include but are not limited to Laptops, cameras, cell phones, tablet devices, tools, chargers; magnets such as speakers, headphones, and children's toys; and Chemical-based products like glue, dyes, and aerosol products.