According to last year’s Kantar BrandZTM ranking, Amazon was the world’s most valuable brand[1], with a value of $684 billion. The company's development is based on growing e-commerce, which is driven by the constantly expanding network of logistics centers around the world. In Poland, the online sales giant relies on Panattoni. Since 2014, we have provided the company with 10 BTS facilities in Poland and Czechia, with a total area of over 1.1 million sq m. The portfolio of our cooperation includes two warehouses with an area exceeding 200,000 sq m – in Świebodzin and Gliwice. We provide state-of-the-art, on a worldwide scale, fulfillment centers equipped with the innovative Amazon Robotics technology, which also significantly exceeds the environmental standards of the industry in Poland.
Amazon Robotics – automated e-commerce
Amazon Robotics technology is a revolution that enables significant automation of processes in the company's facilities. Panattoni has already delivered two/three fulfillment centers equipped with this solution, which made its debut in 2015 in Poland and is still a phenomenon on a global scale. In order to implement it, we prepare a perfectly smooth floor in warehouses, which is necessary taking into account this degree of automation. Only in our latest completed project, i.e. BTS Świebodzin with an area of 200,000 sq m, over 3,000 robots will ultimately work on the upper floors. Even more, i.e. 3,900 robots work at the BTS Gliwice facility, which was delivered by Panattoni in 2020 and is the largest Amazon logistics center in this part of Europe. Projects for the global e-commerce leader are usually much higher than the standard height, including nearly 27 meters in Gliwice, and often boast several storeys inside and so-called pick towers that support processes.
Not only a warehouse, logistics center or fulfillment center
We have provided Amazon with a number of adapted and technologically advanced facilities for various purposes. In addition to traditional logistics centers or order fulfillment and warehouses, our cooperation portfolio includes the company's most modern clothing printing center with an area of 11,000 sq m, which we carried out in Sosnowiec. The project was created for the needs of the Amazon service that allows customers around the world to create unique graphics on sweatshirts or t-shirts and print them on an on-demand basis.
Environmentally friendly e-commerce
The advanced technology of Panattoni projects for Amazon goes hand in hand with sustainable construction. All investments for the global e-commerce leader have passed BREEAM certification, and the latest one, i.e. BTS Świebodzin, with its Excellent rating and a score of over 75%, has become one of the most environmentally friendly industrial facilities in Poland. To exemplify, as part of the project implementation, we managed to achieve water savings at the level of 55%, or waste recovery at 96%. In addition, we used nearly 3,900 photovoltaic panels. Very high environmental certification ratings were received also by other facilities, including BTS Bolesławiec, which obtained the maximum number of points for water systems, and, as part of the investment, it was possible to obtain waste recovery at 90% and to apply numerous solutions in the field of sustainable transport, including infrastructure for bicycles or EV charging stations. Within the BREEAM certification, a Very Good rating was received by the largest facility ever completed for Amazon, i.e. BTS Gliwice. In particular, numerous energy-efficient solutions have been applied in the Silesian fulfillment center, such as intelligent lighting or lifts with smooth speed adjustment.
Extension of local infrastructure
Joint projects by Panattoni and Amazon have repeatedly involved the expansion of local infrastructure. While carrying out the project in Szczecin, we delivered 7,800 sq m of roads, including a dog-bone roundabout. The investment in Poznań involved the construction of a WB junction on the DK92 road with two roundabouts. In Świebodzin, we prepared special, extended descents to the plant in order to avoid traffic jams on the exit road to Krosno. Together, we also financed the construction of a roundabout in the vicinity of the investment, and in the future, another descent is to be built leading straight to the S3 expressway junction.
Leader to leader
Amazon is a giant in its industry, and it is constantly and rapidly developing. Over the past 8 years, the company has quadrupled its online sales revenue in the world, and over 300 million users use the services of one of the largest e-commerce portals in the world. Therefore, choosing Panattoni to implement almost all of the company's investments in the CEE region is the best possible way to appreciate our achievements to date. It also means trusting that, as part of BTS facilities, we can create a technologically advanced e-commerce center.
