How Amazon Mitigates Risk Whilst Preparing for Prime Day
Prime Day is Amazon’s annual deal event, where Prime members can save big on a wide range of products. The 2025 iteration was a four-day event, outperforming every previous Prime Day and saving customers billions.
Each of these events take months of planning, with proper staffing required and enough resources to maintain employee safety and efficiency.
Event logistics
In preparation for Prime Day, all Amazon employees go through planning meetings and training sessions months in advance.
Teams must ensure that fulfilment centres and delivery stations are properly staffed and there are enough drivers available to distribute parcels promptly.
New staff are hired several months ahead of the event so they can be trained properly and safely work to match the high demand that Prime Day brings.
Staff are distributed around the fulfilment centres (where orders are picked, packed and shipped) and delivery stations (where packages get sorted, routed, then distributed to drivers) to ensure maximum efficiency.
Senior operations manager at Amazon, Jae Garcia, says: “We’re seeing close to 500 to 600 people—drivers, employees, leadership and support teams such as our janitorial team—coming into the building at different times throughout the day.”
Delivery stations also rely on third-party delivery companies to meet demand and distribution needs.
As a result of these measures, typical supply chains see some diversification, including Amazon working with Delivery Service Partners (DSP) to ensure it is hiring enough drivers to meet demand.
Avoiding risk
Each new employee goes through meticulous safety training to ensure they understand how to handle products safely to avoid injury, and how to navigate around the buildings with carts full of packages.
“We prepare a playbook for the team, which is essentially a one-stop shop for all the information an employee might need,” Jae adds, noting that the playbook “describes every single part of our operation from front to back.”
Moreover, Amazon provides refresher lessons and monthly team training. These go over scenarios such as faulty equipment or transport delays in order to prepare employees to handle them appropriately.
Jae notes that delivery station managers meet regularly in advance of big events as a way to discuss progress, issues faced and solutions found.
This helps them to plan responsibly and ensure efficiency and transparency.
The facilities themselves need to be accessible to a greater workforce, so heat safety measures are put in place in preparation for warmer weather.
As well as this, more resources are made available.
Jae notes: “We even take into account the fact that there needs to be more food available on site leading up to and on Prime Day.”
Everything is considered, from toilets to parking spaces, in order to ensure staff are working in a safe and well-prepared environment to deliver Amazon's events.
Giving back to staff
In the run up to events like Prime Day, Amazon’s centres and stations are alive with activity.
As a means to give back to the staff for all of their work in the run up, and in anticipation of the event itself, Amazon aims to offer fun perks for each employee.
“Our employees are the heart and soul of our operation and we want to show extra appreciation for their hard work during busy shopping events like Prime Day,” comments Beryl Tomay, Vice President of Transportation.
“Sites are buzzing with excitement during the event and leaders arrange things like barbecues and ping-pong tournaments to build on that energy and thank our employees for everything they do.”
It is clear that Amazon is taking the appropriate steps to mitigate any and all risk throughout these events, from transport delay to staff wellness.
The company is ensuring its supply chain remains strong so that it can deliver efficient service to its Prime members.
