How has Amazon Impacted the Material Handling Industry

Material handling equipment, also known as PIT (powered industrial trucks), play a vital role in the smooth-running of warehouse operations today, especially as an increasing number of people are now looking to do their shopping online. Much of the online consumer market is spearheaded by Amazon, a multinational technology company based in Seattle, Washington.

Over the years, Amazon has gone from leading the way in e-commerce to focusing on cloud computing, artificial intelligence and also digital streaming. But as their portfolio expands, so does the need for more distribution centres and other facilities. Subsequently, this will lead to a rise in demand for PITs and people to operate them.

But how have Amazon become so efficient when it comes to the storing and distribution of goods across the world and what can you do to up your game when it comes to warehouse operations? Multy Lift are on hand to explain.

What is PIT equipment?

PIT equipment is essentially material handling machinery that comes in the form of a truck, such as walkies, reach trucks, stand-up machines, forklifts, clamp trucks and order pickers, to name a few. Although, other warehouse equipment is also implemented, like scissor lifts and cherry pickers, for example, that’ll complement the use of PIT.

Amazon uses this type of equipment as a way to quickly and efficiently retrieve items from their warehouse racking. This then enables the fast distribution of goods to ensure customer satisfaction at the other end – one of the reasons why Amazon is so successful.

Do Amazon offer PIT training to new employees?

Amazon will take on warehouse staff, even if they have no experience operating material handling equipment. This is because Amazon will instruct them to go on a thorough training course which enables employees to operate the vehicles safely and efficiently. Even if an employee already has experience in driving forklift trucks, for example, they will still be sent on the training course.

This ensures that all of Amazon’s warehouse workers are trained to the same standard and follow the same rules and practices. Although, it’s not always feasible for warehouse owners to send all of their employees on the same training course as it can become expensive.

Something you might want to do instead is brief them on your health and safety policy when it comes to operating vehicles either indoors or outside, just so the same regulations are being adhered to at a basic level.

What are Amazon’s innovations

Something else, as well as having the right equipment at the helm of their operations, that makes Amazon so successful, is their innovative approaches and perspectives on e-commerce as a whole, often enlisting the help of third-party sellers and taking up food sales for those who are looking to bulk-buy their produce.

But what else is generating Amazon’s success and can you do something similar to help improve the way you run your warehouse?

The implementation of drones

Drones are now being used by Amazon as a futuristic way of delivering packages to their customers. Although this isn’t an option for the majority of people in the UK, it has been done in major cities, like London. The reason for this is that Amazon sees drone usage as a future prospect and, yet again, they’re trying to stay ahead of the game, pioneering new ways of satisfying their customers.

It’s also a novelty right now, which might make more people order from Amazon just to see how their items will be delivered to them. But aside from being out-of-the-norm, there are a number of different benefits of using drones to deliver products to their customers, including:

• Drones can drop off packages quickly and efficiently
• It’s a safe and secure way of providing customers with their parcels
• They can be tracked and operated remotely, with absolute ease
• Drivers will no longer be needed to deliver packages to the door
• It’s more eco-friendly than driving a fleet of vans or lorries

But as drone delivery services are still relatively new to the e-commerce market, there are still a few issues that need to be ironed out by Amazon as there have been a number of reports of customers receiving the wrong items.

Once this problem has been rectified, we might well see drones being widely used across the country as a new, efficient and environmentally-friendly way of delivering parcels to customers, when ordered from Amazon.

Where your business might not have the budget or scope to acquire and use drones to deliver items to your customers (it might not be feasible if you work with wholesalers, for example), there are other ways of getting products to your buyers more effectively.

Perhaps look at operating a more local delivery service, distributing products out to smaller facilities in local towns. This way, staff manning that building will be able to go out, promptly, and deliver the package to that customer who will reside nearby.

By doing this, they’re still receiving their parcel within a reasonable timeframe and customer satisfaction levels will soon rise. This, in turn, will help to generate a new client base whilst also retaining a loyal one.

As drone technology becomes more widespread and affordable, perhaps look into the possibility of acquiring drones to perform delivery tasks for you, as you’ll be moving with the times and implementing tools that are state-of-the-art and exceptionally advanced technologically, which could also make your brand or business more attractive to consumers.

Purchasing and collaborating with Wholefoods

Amazon sells almost everything on their website, from beauty products and photo frames to cleaning supplies and batteries, but they’re recently added Wholefoods to their repertoire. Wholefoods is an upmarket supermarket chain based in Texas, USA, and was bought by Amazon in 2017 as a way of providing customers with consumables, which is highly-convenient for many of its consumers.

But with fast delivery times and efficient warehouse operations going on behind the scenes, perishable goods can be feasibly sent out to customers in a very short space of time, mainly because it’s a requirement when transporting and delivering consumable goods.

The fact that Amazon has decided to delve into this side of the consumer market is testament to their sheer dedication to short delivery times and also to their material handling operations as a whole. Without this, it wouldn’t have been possible for Amazon to bring food and drink into their list of sellable products.

If, like Amazon, you too sell a wide range of different products, then perhaps taking on consumable or perishable goods would be beneficial to your business, financially. If you have the space and means to store those items safely and if you have effective material handling equipment available to you, like forklifts, reach trucks and order pickers, then you could branch out and start serving the needs of your customers even further. This would be especially advantageous if you already have a fast and efficient delivery service, as that’s essential when providing consumers with perishable items.

Taking on third-party sellers

Amazon has enlisted third-party sellers as a way to make some money. In some sense, they may well have struck gold with this one as it makes up around 50% of Amazon’s overall business. Making a decent commission off 50% of their third-party sellers, together with the other half of their business being owned purely by them, Amazon is continuing to turn a decent profit year-on-year.

This is something to consider if you have a small warehouse, as third-party sellers will house the products themselves, leaving you with the space you need for your side of the business. Although enlisting third-party sellers seems counterintuitive, it’s actually more beneficial in the long run as you’ll be taking a percentage of the money earned for that item and turning a profit that way.

Where you could just use third-party sellers alone to make your money, many companies prefer to mix it with the selling of their own products to ensure they make as much profit as possible. Either way, it’s working out exceptionally well for Amazon, so why not give it a go?

Express delivery options – at an extra cost

Many would argue that this is the key to Amazon’s success. If one of their customers would like express delivery every time they order, they’ll have to pay an extra fee or a monthly subscription for unlimited Prime deliveries. Amazon Prime is their express delivery service and it’s highly-convenient as packages can be delivered to your door, even on the day you ordered the item.

You could offer something similar as an extra service to your customers, but only if they’re willing to spend a small amount extra a month. Perhaps start with a fee of around four or five pounds a month to make it look like an affordable, attractive option. Once the service picks up, you could gradually increase the price, if you wish. But make sure you look at implementing a plan and the right equipment in order to improve delivery times before offering it as an additional service.

Order pickers, forklifts and even pallet trucks can help to improve delivery times and Multy Lift can provide you with high-quality, robust machinery that’ll enable you to do just that. If your equipment is old or no longer operates efficiently, then it’s time to purchase a replacement machine. Multy Lift have an extensive range of new and used forklifts available, as well as scissor lifts, warehouse racking and even mezzanine floors if you’re looking to maximise space.

Prime warehouse locations across the country

This is an important element of your business model as it’ll enable you to serve major towns and cities no matter where you are in the country. Placing warehouses close to transport links is also a good way to go in terms of shipment and delivery times. Not only will this help to cut overall running and transportation costs, but it’ll make your business, as a whole, more efficient.

When it comes to warehouse location, perhaps place yours on the outskirts of cities rather than directly in them. Having your premises in small towns is also beneficial as you’ll have better, more direct links to major A and B roads, enabling you to bypass motorways and other built-up areas.

How has Amazon impacted the material handling industry

Amazon has hubs all around the world, often located in large counties and cities. But where Amazon is distributing goods on an exceptionally large scale, you’ll be able to cover a gap in their market. Due to the size of the company, Amazon can’t offer a personalised service to all of their customers; this just isn’t possible.

Instead of looking to expand your business, you should look to fill in that gap by making your customers feel appreciated for deciding to purchase items from you. Whether your client base includes large companies or individuals, this is important for customer retention initiatives as their experience with you as a whole will be extremely positive – so why would they deviate from you to your competitors?

Amazon has also implemented a range of heavy equipment that’s operated around the clock to ensure customers are receiving goods as quickly as expected. Multy Lift can provide you with all of the warehouse machinery you need to be able to improve productivity and efficiency throughout your own warehouse, and all for a reasonable price.

For more information about how Multy Lift can help you today, whether you need a VNA forklift to navigate efficiently around your modest-sized warehouse or an electric forklift as an eco-friendly, yet effective, solution, get in touch with a member of our team today – we’re even able to supply diesel forklifts and LP gas forklifts to cover your every need.