Amazon Deploys 10,000 smart staff lockers, Saving 20,000+ Hours Annually in Locker Management Time

Introduction

In 2017, eLocker launched smart staff lockers for warehousing with Amazon. We revolutionised storage locker management in the company’s warehouses. Starting with a single-site rollout of 2,200 storage lockers, the implementation rapidly expanded to over 10,000 eLocks, across three sites within the following 12 months in Dortmund and Hamburg. This transformative locker technology resulted in a staggering 94% reduction in locker management time, delivering substantial time savings for Amazon.

Customer

The customer is Amazon Europe, with eLocker providing smart metal lockers for warehouses in the German fulfilment operation.

Why Warehouses Need Smart Staff Lockers

Traditionally, Amazon utilised staff lockers secured with keys, padlocks, or combination locks to provide personal storage lockers for its warehouse staff. 

However, managing mechanical steel lockers and allocating them to thousands of employees proved time-consuming and challenging. The Amazon team were looking for alternative storage solutions and contacted eLocker to provide lockers for staff to store personal belongings and mobile phones

The Loss Prevention team at the initial site struggled to keep track of staff locker keys and locker allocations due to constant staffing changes because managing metal lockers through a spreadsheet were difficult for its small team of security staff

Headcount Fluctuations

The constant fluctuations in headcount, with an average monthly change of 10%, further complicated the locker management task. The Loss Prevention team struggled to maintain accurate records of locker allocations due to the ever-changing contact information of the staff, as well as staff swapping lockers by swapping keys which were impossible to keep track of the security team.

Manual Locker Audits

Additionally, the team had to undertake manual audits of the staff lockers. To run a storage purge, the team would place printed tickets in each storage space to see if they were still in use, which required significant time and effort, amounting to thousands of hours over a year. it is safe to say this was not a secure storage solution

Smart Steel doors

The team at Amazon were looking for a range of lockers with steel doors with sloping tops to allow staff to store personal belongings while on shift safely, and eLocker were able to offer a massive range of lockers, as well as smart lock options for the workplace

The Storage Lockers Solution

The introduction of eLocker brought about a transformative solution to the locker management challenges faced by Amazon. With eLocker’s experience in warehouse and office lockers, we were able to come up with the perfect range of storage options for Amazon staff to keep their personal items securely stored

A Serious Time Reduction

By leveraging eLocker’s wireless IoT locker system, the Loss Prevention team experienced a remarkable 94% reduction in locker management time.

The system integrated Amazon’s access badges, eliminating the need for physical keys. Each staff member was allocated a personalised locker and used their personal badge to access it.

To collect a locker, employees visited a self-service kiosk, where issuing a locker and printing a ticket with the assigned locker number took a mere five seconds.
 

The eLocker system provides a comprehensive and real-time view of locker usage, simplifying the implementation of a “use it or lose it” policy.

Additionally, as employees leave the company, their lockers are automatically placed in quarantine, allowing the security and HR teams to inspect them for any personal belongings left behind.

eLocker installed smart locker technology into standard steel lockers, giving customers the perfect cost/benefit balance. The solution brings overwhelming automation into this process which has been traditionally very manual, bringing this antiquated process into the 21st-century

The Implementation

The initial deployment of eLocker involved the installation of 2,200 lockers at one location, DTM2, in 2017.

eLocker seamlessly integrated its high-quality scratch-resistant steel lockers, eLocks, and self-service kiosks into the existing infrastructure, significantly streamlining the locker allocation process.  Giving each staff member access to a single-door

Delivering Across Europe

Despite being a UK-based company, eLocker successfully facilitated deployments in Germany, ensuring seamless integration with Amazon’s existing HID access badges for employee identification. This integration enabled a secure, AES-encrypted locker system through the locks’ eLocker ECS (eLocker card system).

Subsequently, projects have been rolled out in both Poland and Spain from the success of this project

Results and Benefits

During a 10-week trial period, the eLocker solution demonstrated impressive results, saving over 87 hours per week, equivalent to approximately 4,500 hours annually, compared to traditional key-based lockers. That equated to a saving of over two hours of time-saving per door

The trial showcased a significant 67% reduction in locker management time at the trial site.

Clear Results

Encouraged by these promising outcomes, subsequent projects with Amazon revealed an even more remarkable 94% reduction in locker management time, with a desktop study of over 70,000 lockers across the seven countries Amazon operates in the EU and UK.

The Trial’s Success

Building on the success of the trial, the local team in Germany proceeded with a rollout plan encompassing two additional sites, leading to the installation of over 10,000 eLockers.

eLocker also offered another project to deliver plastic lockers for wet rooms for the yard teams at Amazon, which was well received

Testimonial

Cara Kaiser, Loss Prevention Manager at Amazon, shared her experience with eLocker: “eLocker simplifies management problems associated with traditional locker keys. Management of the staff lockers in our warehouse with eLocker is simple and easy through the online management system. Kiosks are also easy to use and lockers are quickly issued