First look inside new £500m Amazon centre serving West Midlands and beyond
The first item has been shipped. For posterity, it was a box of ink cartridges for a printer.
Amazon's new £500 million state-of-the-art fulfilment centre in the West Midlands – Sutton Coldfield, to be exact – is now operational.
The 547,000 sq ft fulfilment centre – the size of more than seven football pitches and with 11 miles of conveyancing – is not yet working at full capacity.
But the assembled team are already playing a key role in the company's day-to-day functions, handling customer orders and helping in the delivery of hundreds of items to expectant customers each day.
The huge centre, which has power-generating solar panels on its roof and is logistically well placed near the M42 and M6, has a total of 1,400 employees, growing to 2,000 people within three years.
It's arrival has coincided with the imminent closure of Amazon's Rugeley fulfilment centre.
Amazon insist all 1,000 employees have been offered roles at the new base or other Amazon buildings.
"Some of the Rugeley team have already started here," says site manager Celia Syme, who arrived in the Midlands from Scotland during the pandemic. "For some, it's closer to their home. Hopefully a high number will take up roles."
Bosses say the centre has created 400 additional new jobs for the West Midlands region, including teams of engineers, HR and IT professionals through to health and safety, finance specialists and operations managers, as well as the teams who pick, pack and ship customer orders.
Those staff are greeted by signs such as 'Welcome Amazonians' and 'Welcome Pioneers' on their arrival at work, I noticed, as I headed to the site for an exclusive look around.
Amazon has faced criticism and plenty of bad press in relation to both working conditions and pay. Indeed, staff at one of the company's receive centres, in nearby Coventry, have just announced a new round of strikes.
But, here, at least on this tour, I was struck by manager Celia's enthusiasm and interaction with the team around her while leading me around.
I'm told, by PR Manager Neil Williams, ahead of the visit that the technology in the centre 'provides a real wow factor' but that the importance of the team working there should not be under-estimated. "You need people," he adds.
And, as we walk around – you certainly get your steps in for the day – personable Celia is keen to stress the significance of her team.
"The connection I have with the team is hugely important," she says. "If you invest time in trying to get to know people then it lays a strong foundation that you can build on.
"I want people to come to work and feel valued and feel a sense of purpose. It's important for the team to get that human connection with their leaders. That and, connecting with each other, will be key to creating a positive environment here."
But what of the process? The set up is a terrific example of precision and detail in action. It's a slick operation, where employees work alongside an army of wheeled, robotic machines, busily picking up goods in preparation for dispatch.
Our first stop off in the factory is the 'in-bound' area where products come in. More than 50 per cent of the items you see in any centre of the Amazon Network are from other businesses – international firms, SMEs or an individual.
We chat about the impact of online retailers on the high street but Celia believes there is a place for both.
