It's not every day you get to see robots in action. Well, unless you're Joshua Dawe.
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The 32-year-old is going to show his office to the community as a tour guide for Amazon Australia's first robotics fulfilment centre (FC) in Kemps Creek in Sydney's west.
Amazon Australia has launched free live virtual tours of its fulfilment centres in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to give people a sneak peek behind the scenes of staff work collaboratively with advanced robotic technology at the site to see how their online shopping cart gets to their doorstep.
"When something is ordered from Amazon I think there is a bit of mystery on what exactly happens within these walls and what our tours do is essentially follow the journey of something you purchase," said Mr Dawe, who led his first tour on Monday, August 15.
"It's been exciting to watch this robotics fulfilment centre grow into a thriving community right here in my neighbourhood. I can't wait to show people the heart of our operations as well as the people and technology such as our robotic drives, which help move the inventory around the site.
"I used to go on the bus to school in Kemps Creek and it was all farmland. To watch this area grow has been a wonder to see.
"I got to watch this site go from being an empty shell to being full of people and technology that I have a chance to showcase every day."
Amazon Australia's FC in Kemps Creek spans 200,000 square metres across four levels (around the land size of 24 rugby league fields) and can house up to 20 million of the smaller items sold on Amazon.com.au.
Mr Dawe said the tours take people on the journey of products from start to finish, starting with products entering the building from the vendors, to the robotic drives that moves storage pods "like shelves out of Harry Potter". It then follows the packing and the SLAM (scan, label, apply, manifest) process before the product is sent for shipping.
"We got so much great feedback during our rehearsals so I am looking forward to showing people the efficient and intuitive process," he said.
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Amazon Australia director of operations Mindy Espidio-Garcia said the tours provide customers with an opportunity to learn how their orders are fulfilled.
"With online shopping now a part of everyday life, this is the perfect opportunity for customers to join us for an hour to see what happens after they place their order," she said.
"At Amazon, our promise is all about providing great value and fast delivery for our customers. In order to do that, we've hired talented employees from right across the country, and invested in the systems and technology to support them."
The free virtual tours will operate four days a week for one-hour at 10:30am on Monday and Thursday and 1:30pm on Tuesday and Friday. The tour offers an interactive experience to understand how the Amazon operations come to life with Q&As facilitated by the onsite tour host.
- Bookings: amazontours.com/au/virtual. After registering, guests will receive a link that allows them to take the tour using a PC, tablet or smartphone.