How does Amazon do it?

[dennis thompson]

On March 25 I ordered a power washer from Home Depot. They said it would be delivered on April 1. Yesterday I got an email from them that said it would be delayed to April 4.
I looked on Amazon and they had the same power washer for the same price and if I ordered it today,March 30,I'll get it by tomorrow, April 1!
How does Amazon do it?

[Jim Becker]

Amazon has many warehouses stocked with stuff and they are pretty good at anticipating demand and run-rate for things. HD has far fewer warehouses and often does drop shipping for larger items directly from the manufacturer. It's all about logistics and different companies have different methods to handle what they stock, where they stock and what the mix is between what they carry vs what they drop ship.

You may notice from time to time that if you have multiple items ordered from Amazon, they may arrive on the same day, but with different drivers that came from different warehouses, especially here in that big space between NYC and Washington DC. There are a "ton" of warehouses/distribution centers!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

It's the regional warehouses that make the difference and the location of them.

8 years ago around Thanksgiving, we lost our kitchen refrigerator. Home Depot sold the one we wanted but couldn't get it to us for 10 days and then we had to wait 3 days for delivery. A local Sears appliance store sold the same one and delivered it 3 days after we ordered it. Different warehouse locations and delivery strategies!

[Alan Rutherford]

I don't know how Amazon does it, but most of the time they come through like they said they would. Sometimes better. Home Depot is a different story. When our refrigerator went out we were initially happy that Home Depot had one in stock and could deliver it in a few days. When they tried to call the day before to confirm delivery, instead of calling the number we had given them they called an old one on file from ten years earlier and 3000 miles away. Got no answer, cancelled the delivery and the next available date was several weeks out. I had to go get it myself.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Amazon amazes me. Order it under prime, and have it tomorrow, which means it's in a close by warehouse. Order it non prime, and it takes four to five days for delivery, even though most likely it's coming from same warehouse. Unfortunately a couple of my prime orders didn't make it for several days after promised delivery date. Each day, there was a new problem causing delays. I only use prime when they offer either a free 30 day trial, or a $1.99 for30 day trial. Had a gallon of water based floor finish shipped FOUR TIMES before it got to me. Then it turned out to be satin, not the gloss that I had ordered.

[Lee DeRaud]

Amazon has many warehouses stocked with stuff and they are pretty good at anticipating demand and run-rate for things.
More to the point, in any given location, Amazon measures its warehouse space in acres instead of square feet.
Size matters. :)

[Larry Frank]

I ordered some Starbucks coffee this week at 9 AM and delivered just before lunch.

I often compare prices and find Amazon cheaper especially after I add in the cost of gas for my car. Of course, at times, Amazon is more expensive. I use CamelCamelCamel to track prices of expensive items to make certain I am getting a reasonable price.

[Bill George]

I ordered some Starbucks coffee this week at 9 AM and delivered just before lunch.

I often compare prices and find Amazon cheaper especially after I add in the cost of gas for my car. Of course, at times, Amazon is more expensive. I use CamelCamelCamel to track prices of expensive items to make certain I am getting a reasonable price.

Yes when you factor in driving over, finding a parking space and the trying to find it in the store, the check out lines and the drive home traffic. Its cheaper for me to pay for Amazon.

[Patty Hann]

Amazon amazes me. Order it under prime, and have it tomorrow, which means it's in a close by warehouse. Order it non prime, and it takes four to five days for delivery, even though most likely it's coming from same warehouse. Unfortunately a couple of my prime orders didn't make it for several days after promised delivery date. Each day, there was a new problem causing delays. I only use prime when they offer either a free 30 day trial, or a $1.99 for30 day trial. Had a gallon of water based floor finish shipped FOUR TIMES before it got to me. Then it turned out to be satin, not the gloss that I had ordered.

Ditto on the "Free Prime" offers. The offer shows up about every 60 days or so... free Prime for 30 days.
I set it up to warn me three days before it ends, at which time I cancel it sometime in that next 3 days.

[Mike Null]

I believe that HD does not inventory major appliances. Instead, they work from the manufacturers' warehouses or manufacturers' inventory. Sears used to inventory appliances at their regional distribution centers but I don't know what their practice is since they've closed so much of their operation.

[Rob Luter]

I have two Amazon fulfillment centers within 20 miles of my house. I get everything the next day.

[Mel Fulks]

We use it a lot. Only problem is carrying all that heavy stuff into the house. In the future all houses will have Amazon Package
Conveyor Belts. There will be NO SLIP-UPS !….but like all new endeavors there could be some gruesome entanglements.

[Jim Becker]

I believe that HD does not inventory major appliances. Instead, they work from the manufacturers' warehouses or manufacturers' inventory. Sears used to inventory appliances at their regional distribution centers but I don't know what their practice is since they've closed so much of their operation.

Interestingly, I ordered my GE Café Induction Range directly from GE because of a discount I have available and it was delivered and installed by a division of Home Depot out of their distribution center in the Leigh Valley of PA. All the delivery calls and post-delivery surveys were Home Depot. The same thing happened half a year later when I ordered our new GE washer and dryer...

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Living in a remote area, if I need something quickly but can't find it in town, I try to locate it in Spokane and drive there to purchase it. If I can wait, I often use Amazon. But Walmart, Costco and Amazon, if you are price shopping, you need to look around because you can often find the same thing at a different place cheaper but then you have to check the cost of shipping!

[Mike Null]

Jim

That is strange because my last couple of purchases from HD came from a Frigidaire warehouse and delivered by a company that I assume was contracted by HD. One of the products arrived damaged and I talked to a Frigidaire person who offered an exchange or an allowance. I took the allowance as it was quite substantial for such a small damage.

HD was not involved in the transaction beyond the original purchase.

[Jim Becker]

Mike, "location" may matter on things like this. That distribution center in the Lehigh Valley (Allentown PA area) is able to handle deliveries to eastern PA and a "yuge" chunk of New Jersey, so perhaps HD justified it and got some good distribution partnerships at the same time. I'm pretty sure that there's a lot more than just GE products coming out of that place, too.

[Brian Elfert]

I once ordered something from Amazon and it was delivered three or four hours later. I have no idea where the item was actually warehoused, but at the time the main Amazon warehouse was about an hour away. I didn't need it that fast, but the other option was two or three days.

[Tom M King]

We're a long ways from anything, and Amazon is still amazingly fast. Not quite as fast as Supplyhouse for HVAC stuff though. I get most stuff from SH next day.

[Dave Lehnert]

This has been years ago but I ordered a new miter gauge for my tablesaw. It was about 10pm before bed. It was at my door when I got up the next morning.

[Jonathan Pace]

Location, warehousing, and all that other logistical stuff. And, on the internet, you just never know what you'll get and when you'll get it.

[Bill Dufour]

Interesting to see the UPS electric trucks only lasted about five years here before they were worn out and replaced with Diesel. With Diesel I understand they will do one engine and transmission replacement then crush the truck . So five years is not a short life span.
BilLD

[Rich Engelhardt]

The only thing I can say about it is this...

If I would like or need something quick, it takes five to ten days to get here.
If I don't care when I get it, it comes overnight.
If getting it means doing something unpleasant my wife wants me to do - it comes in an hour.

And that's all I have to say about that..

(did I say that right Forrest?);)

[Brian Elfert]

Interesting to see the UPS electric trucks only lasted about five years here before they were worn out and replaced with Diesel. With Diesel I understand they will do one engine and transmission replacement then crush the truck . So five years is not a short life span.


I wonder how long the Amazon Promaster vans last in package delivery service? I would not be surprised if they are pretty well worn out by five years. I bet most of the delivery drivers drive them like a rental with lots of hard braking and hard acceleration to keep up with the number of deliveries they are expected to do daily.

[Curt Harms]

More to the point, in any given location, Amazon measures its warehouse space in acres instead of square feet.
Size matters. :)

True. There's an Amazon warehouse in Opa Locka (?) Florida that might be the biggest building in length/width that I can recall.

[Patty Hann]

The only thing I can say about it is this...

If I would like or need something quick, it takes five to ten days to get here.
If I don't care when I get it, it comes overnight.
If getting it means doing something unpleasant my wife wants me to do - it comes in an hour.

And that's all I have to say about that..

(did I say that right Forrest?);)

Too funny :D

[Alan Lightstone]

Getting a 4am Amazon delivery is kinda freaky.

[Doug Garson]

UPS electric trucks only lasted about five years
BilLD
Where did you get that information? A Google search of that quote does not return anything to support that statement.

[Bill George]

Where did you get that information? A Google search of that quote does not return anything to support that statement.

Ditto, Duck Duck Go comes up this and more > https://about.ups.com/us/en/social-impact/environment/sustainable-services/electric-vehicles---about-ups.html

[Jim Becker]

And that page says nothing of only getting 5 years out of an EV truck...at least that I can see. In fact, it shows them moving more and more toward electrification.