EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Amazon Prime Day is next week (July 16–17). FOX 2 was given a glimpse inside Amazon’s Edwardsville Fulfillment Center to witness the calm before Prime Day storm.
“Our team is geared up, ready to go,” George Bowman, general manager of the nearly 800,000 square-foot Edwardsville center, said.
Bowman and outbound senior operations manager Alice Ely took us behind-the-scenes to show us what it takes to serve a 220-mile radius.
“We start planning for Prime Day almost five months out at this point. It’s a big deal,” Ely said. “The associates anticipate it. The managers anticipate it.”
“When I tell people, it’s like Christmas in July. People are calling me; all my relatives are saying, ‘Hey, should I buy something?’ I say wait until Prime Day to see what the sales are.” Bowman said.
This year marks Amazon’s 10th Prime Day event. Prime members get exclusive access to millions of deals across more than 35 categories, including electronics, kitchen, beauty, and apparel. New deals will continue to drop as often as every five minutes during select periods throughout the event.
“Aside from the holiday season, this is really our Olympics,” Ely said. “This is where we—as fulfillment center managers and associates—this is where we shine.”
“We’re focused on preparation so that we can serve our customers,” Bowman said.
