Amazon's Tulsa Fulfillment Center Prepping 650,000 Items Per Day During Holiday Season

Amazon says it prepares all year long to be ready for the demand of the holiday season. 

The fulfillment center in Tulsa says it's hired 1,600 people this season to be able to handle it all.

Amazon says 650,000 items are shipped from this fulfillment center per day. 

Things are moving as fast as ever as packages are being prepped, taped, labeled, and waiting to be delivered. 

"We're servicing different areas, from the Great Lakes region, Chicago, Kansas City region, to Texas region; we have not seen decrease in the volume. We're actually seeing the same trends that we saw last year," said senior operations manager Gracjan Szuba.

There are 25 million items inside the fulfillment center being separated and sorted.

During the holidays, Amazon says they ship out around 200,000 more items a day here. 

"The customer clicks on the order on Amazon.com, the system recognizes the order. Within two and a half hours, we're able to pick it, pack it, and successfully load it on a trailer," Szuba said.

Operations Manager Jeanaude Senatus says robotics and artificial intelligence play a part in how quickly they can get things done. 

They use AI for product selection and adjusting to customer's needs. 

There's also a robotic arm that can move bins from place to place. 

"We've got technology for so many different reasons," Senatus said. "The safety of our associates is definitely number one. For example, the robotic arm we have cuts down the steps of our associates where they don't have to walk back and forth to get the exact same thing."

He says a lot goes into the busiest time of year, but as soon as Christmas is over, they'll already start prepping for next year. 

As stressful as it can be, he's glad to be able to help make sure gifts arrive just in time. 

"We absolutely feel like Santa's helper," he said.