ROANOKE, Va. – Roanoke’s first Amazon facility has been operational since October, and today, we had the opportunity to see firsthand how your orders are processed from a click to your doorstep.
This last-mile delivery center is the final stop before your package arrives at your door. Amazon leaders aim for two-day delivery for customers within their delivery area.
Patrick Hamilton, the site leader for the Roanoke Amazon facility, explained the process: “Anything you order on Amazon will start in one of our facilities where it’s stored, then package it, send it to a middle-mile facility where it will then be sorted out by different regions. Then it will come to a facility like this last, where we will then take it, organize it by delivery location or address, and then send it out on the road to the customers.”
Inside this 100,000-square-foot warehouse, more than 400 employees work around the clock to keep operations running smoothly.
Notably, all of these workers are local. Mayor Joe Cobb commented, “It’s indicative of our growth and our growth mindset. You know, I’ve heard a lot recently that Roanoke is considered the growth hub of Virginia right now, and we need to build on that momentum.”
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A local resident shared their thoughts: “That would be awesome. I mean, if you can have things consistently the next day or same day, that would be wonderful.”
This delivery center is focused on boosting local jobs, fueling economic growth, and, of course, ensuring faster delivery. Hamilton added, “Roanoke is one of the more urban areas within this type of business line, which is a really great opportunity for us to be able to deliver to more customers. But the focus is, these rural areas can a lot of times be left out when it comes to our fast delivery, so we want to really be able to help those customers get their packages quicker as well.”
With a major player like Amazon establishing a presence here, Mayor Cobb believes it could attract even more businesses to the area. “Well, it makes it very attractive, and you know, businesses talk with other businesses, and it reminds us of the connectivity. So, whether it is the delivery vans or where they fuel up, or local employees,” he said.
Amazon is still hiring to keep this operation running efficiently, with starting pay at $18.50 an hour. Apply here: Amazon.com/hiring
