Amazon

[Pete]

Amazon bringing first Oklahoma facility to OKC

Construction has commenced on a 300,000 square foot Amazon 'sortation facility' in west Oklahoma City.

Land has been purchased and site work has started on a 132 acre tract on the northeast corner of SW 15th and Council Road.

The property and building permit are in the name of Industrial Developers of Oklahoma of Tulsa which acquired the land earlier in 2017 for $1.5 million. The building permit value is listed at $12 million but does not include furniture, fixtures and equipment.

OKCTalk has learned from reliable sources this property will be leased back to Amazon and in fact the name on the permits reads “sorting facility”. Amazon is not specifically named on the plans which is typical of their real estate dealings.

On February 2nd, the State of Oklahoma announced an agreement whereby the internet powerhouse would start collecting sales tax on transactions made through its site and forward them accordingly. Besides the state coffers, Oklahoma’s cites, towns and counties will benefit from the move. The collections will begin on March 1.

It is unclear if the start of this project – the first physical Amazon presence in the state – is related, but the timing is closely correlated.

In 2014, Amazon announced plans to create sortation facilities which differs from a fulfillment center. Packages delivered to the sorting center will already be in sealed boxes, which employees will organize by zip code and forward to the U.S. Postal Service.

Fulfillment centers tend to be much larger, in the neighborhood of 1 million square feet and serve as warehouses for thousands of Amazon items with on-line orders being assembled and shipped via a massive shelf and conveyor system.

The addition of a sortation facility in a market typically shaves almost a day off the delivery time and Amazon may at a future date use other transportation methods for the “last mile” of delivery, an industry term for the final leg of logistics to the direct consumer.

Most Amazon sort facilities employ 100 to 300 workers.

Our sources also indicate that Amazon is close to leasing 80,000 square feet for a small fulfillment center in Oklahoma City.

City staff have confirmed communication with a real estate broker who was believed to be representing Amazon in the marketplace.

[Anonymous.]

Yay! We matter to Amazon!

[d-usa]

Is this where my delivery drones will be flying from?

[shadfar]

^^^ i was wondering the same thing.

[_Kyle]

^
Hope so

[Pete]

Here is an interested aspect to this...

Governor Fallin had to know last month that Amazon was bringing facilities to the state, so the announcement of sales tax collection looked like some sort of shrewd deal she negotiated on behalf of Oklahoma but in fact that collection would be mandatory once they opened a physical operation here.

Amazon has not been working with the city on incentives so you can bet some are coming their way at the state level.

[mkjeeves]

I drove by there Saturday and wondered what it was. Huge site they have scraped back.

[pure]

At the very least, I hope this could do same day delivery with Prime on the more popular items. Perhaps maybe even the Amazon Fresh thing that delivers groceries...that would be nice.

[mkjeeves]

Is this where my delivery drones will be flying from?

UPS recently tested a drone system.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/ups-t...ry?id=45650029

[onthestrip]

Here is an interested aspect to this...

Governor Fallin had to know last month that Amazon was bringing facilities to the state, so the announcement of sales tax collection looked like some sort of shrewd deal she negotiated on behalf of Oklahoma but in fact that collection would be mandatory once they opened a physical operation here.

Amazon has not been working with the city on incentives so you can bet some are coming their way at the state level.

I hope thats not the case, because you know incentives arent the reason Amazon wants a distribution center here. It'd be an unnecessary give away by the state.

[Teo9969]

Here is an interested aspect to this...

Governor Fallin had to know last month that Amazon was bringing facilities to the state, so the announcement of sales tax collection looked like some sort of shrewd deal she negotiated on behalf of Oklahoma but in fact that collection would be mandatory once they opened a physical operation here.

Amazon has not been working with the city on incentives so you can bet some are coming their way at the state level.

To be honest, we should have built the facility for them completely for free 5 years ago and given them $10M in their bank account.

We'd have recouped the incentive in non-paid use-taxes in, what, 8 months?

[Pete]

In other markets, Amazon has aggressively pursued incentives.

Since they have not been working with the City of OKC, I would be surprised if there was not some sort of deal at the state level.

Also, I suspect Amazon is setting up the same type of facilities in Tulsa it's just that no one up there has figured it out yet.

[Zuplar]

I've been a Prime member for awhile now, and it seems this past year they are a lot slower to ship, sometimes stuff even takes 3 days because they add a processing day in there, and I'd kind of slowed down shopping from there. Hopefully this takes care of the problem since I'm down the road from this.

[chuck5815]

I've been a Prime member for awhile now, and it seems this past year they are a lot slower to ship, sometimes stuff even takes 3 days because they add a processing day in there, and I'd kind of slowed down shopping from there. Hopefully this takes care of the problem since I'm down the road from this.

seems like they/UPS are intent on outsourcing the last mile to usps. i'm sure that saves them a pretty penny on shipping costs, but i'd say they're bordering on breach of contract w/ prime members. then again, i'm sure they've modified the user agreements to protect themselves

[catch22]

I'm wondering how this sorting center will fit into the greater PrimeAir plans. Amazon has begun to fly it's own bulk shipments from major distribution centers to sorting centers in various large cities. These cities are much larger than OKC, but I wonder if they eventually plan to use OKC as the sorting center for most of Oklahoma. DFW would be the closest large city, but it is still quite a drive from DFW, especially if they are wanting to increase Tulsa delivery times.



This is their current in-house air transportation network, obviously some huge gaps. I see DEN and SLC coming on urgently as it's a huge gap in their network.



Current 130 mile radius of currently served airports.

Same map with OKC, which would improve delivery times for OKC, Tulsa, western and North Oklahoma, and Wichita (just outside the window)

[d-usa]

It looks like it is in a good location in relationship to our airport.

[Zuplar]

seems like they/UPS are intent on outsourcing the last mile to usps. i'm sure that saves them a pretty penny on shipping costs, but i'd say they're bordering on breach of contract w/ prime members. then again, i'm sure they've modified the user agreements to protect themselves

I've definitely seen an increase in surepost shipping, but I'd still say mine is 50/50. I really wish they'd cut it out, cause our postal lady is horrendous. At least a couple of times a month she delivers mail to the wrong house or forgets a package. I've called numerous times to gripe that they say I was unavailable even though it says leave at residence and it's because she forgot it. We actually have a neighborhood group and it's littered with posts of hey I got your mail, I can bring it over or you can come get it. So honestly I'd welcome the drone packages if that were possible.

[corwin1968]

I've definitely seen an increase in surepost shipping, but I'd still say mine is 50/50. I really wish they'd cut it out, cause our postal lady is horrendous. At least a couple of times a month she delivers mail to the wrong house or forgets a package. I've called numerous times to gripe that they say I was unavailable even though it says leave at residence and it's because she forgot it. We actually have a neighborhood group and it's littered with posts of hey I got your mail, I can bring it over or you can come get it. So honestly I'd welcome the drone packages if that were possible.

We must live in the same neighborhood.

[baralheia]

seems like they/UPS are intent on outsourcing the last mile to usps. i'm sure that saves them a pretty penny on shipping costs, but i'd say they're bordering on breach of contract w/ prime members. then again, i'm sure they've modified the user agreements to protect themselves

If an order isn't delivered when Amazon says it will be, the member agreement entitles you to one free month of Prime, up to a full year. Just contact customer service about it. Here's more information about their policy (along with the script I follow when e-mailing CS about it): http://dealnews.com/features/How-to-...ee/938946.html

[Zuplar]

If an order isn't delivered when Amazon says it will be, the member agreement entitles you to one free month of Prime, up to a full year. Just contact customer service about it. Here's more information about their policy (along with the script I follow when e-mailing CS about it): http://dealnews.com/features/How-to-...ee/938946.html

I can't speak for Chuck, but I know the date Amazon says is almost always the day it comes, the problem is Amazon gives themselves an extra day. It's 11am as I'm typing this, and my guess is if I went and found a Prime item with 2 day shipping, it's guarantee date would be Saturday instead of Friday. It's possible it still gets here Friday, but it seems as though they've given themselves some leeway because of using the crappy USPS for final delivery. It's definitely hit or miss, so what I've been doing is just telling myself it's probably going to be 3 days, and if I need it any sooner pay for the overnight shipping, which I hardly need. Not a huge deal but I'd imagine this sorting facility is going to help with that, as well as bring in tax dollars.

[_Cramer_]

I agree on Denver and Salt Lake, but I see them opening in Omaha, KC, or Nashville too. They need something between us and Indiana/Carolina's.

[Pete]

The plan to place an 80,000 SF fulfillment center here tells me we are a few years away from a full-scale center, which average about 1 million SF.

[stile99]

I actually requested Amazon to not use UPS for my orders because not a single one sent from Amazon via UPS was ever delivered on time. So I could order on Wednesday, and UPS could claim it's going to be delivered Friday, but then it isn't, and of course it also doesn't come Saturday because the extra charge for Saturday delivery wasn't paid, and they don't deliver on Sundays, so I get it Monday. Whereas with USPS, sure, Amazon might be padding it a day, but when they say it will be delivered Saturday, it gets delivered Saturday (if not, as you note, Friday). I've even had Amazon packages delivered on Sunday before.

So to me, delivery via UPS means "You'll get it. Eventually. Probably." Whereas USPS means "When we say it will be there is when it will be there, unless we can get it there faster." This is a drastic switch from as recently as just a couple years ago. The joke used to be USPS's slogan should be "When it absolutely, positively has to be there someday."

[catch22]

I agree on Denver and Salt Lake, but I see them opening in Omaha, KC, or Nashville too. They need something between us and Indiana/Carolina's.

They plan on adding 40+ 767's to the fleet. I think there's plenty of expansion location but Denver and SLC are the most urgent. I think if OMA, OKC, sized cities etc. are on the radar, they are probably on a 2-4 year time span.

[Zuplar]

The plan to place an 80,000 SF fulfillment center here tells me we are a few years away from a full-scale center, which average about 1 million SF.

So would they have enough land there on Council to add that footage or would they acquire and build elsewhere? Current location seems like a good spot, good interstate access plus airport access like someone mentioned.