RICHMOND, Texas — Today is Cyber Monday — one of the busiest online shopping days of the year.
KHOU 11 News got an inside look at Amazon's Robotics Fulfillment Center in Richmond to see how man and machine work together to sort it all out.
In this part of the fulfillment center, several packages make their way inside a trailer box truck. That truck will then head to distribution centers, where the packages will be delivered right to your doorstep.
On Monday, a total of 500,000 items from this 3.7-million-square-foot Amazon facility will be delivered to customers in the Greater Houston area.
"On a normal day, we ship about 250,000, so a significant jump, but we are ready for it," Gina Tom, Outbound Senior Ops Manager, said.
She said Cyber Monday is like their Super Bowl. Her team, she says, prepares early in the year to ensure everything runs smoothly.
"We increase our employees to ensure we have the headcount. Checking all of our mechanics to make sure our robots are good to go,” Tom said.
But today isn’t just a big day for Amazon — it’s also a big day for small business owners.
"Cyber Monday boosts our sales tremendously,” said Liz Butts, who owns Sprinkle Pop in southwest Houston. “My product is getting shipped nationwide. It's pretty incredible."
To ensure her customers get their hands on Sprinkle Pop’s popular sprinkle blends — perfect for cupcake decorating and baking — quickly, she also relies on Amazon.
"This time of year, shipments can take longer to arrive to customers. All of the fulfillment networks are inundated with packages for the holidays. So for us to be able to utilize Amazon's FBA to get our products to our customers in two to three days… it's incredible. It keeps our customers coming back," Butts said.
It’s all thanks to the teamwork between Amazon employees and machines in this fulfillment center, working together to get items delivered to you in record time.