SAUGET, Ill. — Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) is ramping up a facility that is the first of its kind in the St. Louis area, enabling the e-commerce giant to provide delivery service in five hours or less.
The “mini-fulfillment center” in Sauget, Illinois, began to deliver packages last month and is employing 200 full-time and part-time workers. Amazon plans to hire an additional 300 as the facility reaches capacity over the next few months.
The Sauget site is the 34th that Amazon has opened across the country, combining three functions – fulfilling orders, sorting items into routes and having delivery drivers pick them up, said Site Lead Todd Grimes.
At just 202,000-square feet, the building is about one-quarter the size of the typical Amazon fulfillment center, and its location in Sauget — right on the state line, just south of downtown St. Louis — allows Amazon to operate closer to customers and shorten delivery times, the company said. The facility covers a 40-mile radius area of the bi-state area. Up to 3 million items are available through the five-hour delivery service, including school supplies, pet food/supplies and household goods, the company said.
Amazon Prime members receive free faster delivery times on orders of $25 or more and pay up to $2.99 on orders under $25. Those who aren’t Prime members pay up to $12.99, the amount depending on the item and the location.
Overnight orders, such as one made at 10 p.m., are expected to be delivered from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m., but delivery drivers will leave the package at the front door and not ring the doorbell or knock on the door, an Amazon spokesman said.
“From that final click of the button saying, ‘yes, I want to purchase it’ and five hours later it arriving on your doorstep, it’s a lifeline for our customers,” said Grimes. “Whether you can’t get out or you don’t have a car, it’s nice to be able to have that package come to you.”
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