For Diego Méndez, Director of Operations at Amazon Mexico, the logistics magic is in the people.
By John Smith
Amazon is synonymous with warehouse automation, cutting-edge technology and delivery innovation. In fact, more than 750 thousand robots work alongside their employees, freeing them from repetitive tasks. And it is said that by 2030 it could have more robots than collaborators.
But for Diego Méndez De la Luz, Director of Operations at Amazon Mexico , the magic behind Amazon logistics is not the machines, but the people.
Diego leads Amazon Mexico operations, made up of 11 shipping centers , 27 delivery stations and three sorting centers.
In addition, it is in charge of more than 6 thousand operations employees . And he confessed that one of the things he loves most about his job is seeing someone who started out loading packages as a warehouse employee, grow in the company, become managers and continue rising levels.
Lalo Reyes is one of such employees who was elevated and now controlling the Pacific region stations. A beautiful thing! And he is not the only one, there are many like that,” he shared.
What and who are behind Amazon Mexico logistics?
Amazon does more than just sell and deliver products. Diego summarized how his logistics operation works in three stages , clarifying that in all of them, in addition to technology, there is a strong human component:
- Shipping
It all starts with the receipt of products that are stored in their shipping centers until a customer places an order. With this action, a large amount of technology is launched, which begins by predicting whether delivery will be made on the same day , in 24 hours or later.
This is possible because Amazon knows where the delivery will be made and in what location it has that product, what time it will get on the truck, when it will leave the warehouse, how long the journey to the logistics center and the delivery center is, and when he is going to hit the road .
The human aspect comes in when warehouse workers collect the products accurately and in a short time, pack them and consolidate the trucks with the packages.
- Transportation
Shipments are consolidated in their logistics centers to prevent more trucks circulating than strictly necessary . From there, they leave on the route to move to the delivery stations, distributed throughout the country.
Once they arrive there, the merchandise is distributed in Amazon vans to deliver house to house according to their routing plan , “another of our wonders,” says Diego.
“Robots and automation are gripping the Amazon. But the most impressive technology is the one that cannot be seen and is not as obvious but is critical to our operation.”
By knowing where each package is going to be delivered, the technology traces daily routes according to delivery planning . This minimizes route time, increases delivery capacity, reduces pollution and makes transportation operations more efficient .
Another positive effect of this technology: the person making the deliveries spends less time on the street and that is beneficial for their health.
- Delivery
Amazon Logistics is the brand’s delivery arm. In addition, they hire logistics companies to expand their coverage, and recently launched the DSP program to add partners for last mile deliveries .
“We already have 16 members of this program in Mexico who are entrepreneurs. One of them had been a police officer for many years and after he retired he came to us. He started with 20 vans, now he has 40 and employs 100 people,” Diego shared.
The Mexican who led Amazon in the pandemic
Diego has 11 years of experience in the company. He spent the first nine years at the Amazon United States corporate office , working with global teams in fulfillment, shipping, transportation and last mile.
He then worked in various countries in Europe, and also in Japan and India, so he was able to gather experiences and learn how the company operates in different countries and from very varied business perspectives.
This expertise not only bore fruit globally, but also in Mexico, since Diego was one of the architects of Amazon’s expansion in the country.
And also, he was in charge of designing and executing the operational security strategy during the pandemic. In fact, this event was what made him return to the country, in full contingency.
“The pandemic was the most difficult time for us in the company, it was super challenging to keep operations open,” Diego shared on our podcast .
And he said that they had to implement nearly 150 significant changes in their operational processes and protocols to not close a single day and keep infection rates low.