Inside a Netflix Warehouse
chicagotribune.com
Inside a Netflix Warehouse
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Re: Inside a Netflix Warehouse
#2OK, so where is this warehouse? I doubt that they have kept the location secret for this long. (Also, who cares where it is?)
Re: Inside a Netflix Warehouse
#3OK, so where is this warehouse? I doubt that they have kept the location secret for this long. (Also, who cares where it is?)
Fear of corporate espionage perhaps? Netflix seems to have perfected the system, maybe they don't want competitors snooping around.
That and ppl asking to drop off/pick up discs at the warehouse.
Re: Inside a Netflix Warehouse
#4Surprisingly manual process - at least on the incoming side. I was interested to know how many discs are stored at one warehouse, but that is probably too specific for them to disseminate freely.
Re: Inside a Netflix Warehouse
#5OK, so where is this warehouse? I doubt that they have kept the location secret for this long. (Also, who cares where it is?)
Fear of corporate espionage perhaps? Netflix seems to have perfected the system, maybe they don't want competitors snooping around. That and ppl asking to drop off/pick up discs at the warehouse.
The story explains Netflix's reasons.
Re: Inside a Netflix Warehouse
#6Their Philadelphia-area distribution center, where I get my Netflix DVDs from, is located in a place called "Southeastern, PA".
This place does not actually exist. That is, there's no city or town called "Southeastern". It's just a name for the particular post office they use.
Re: Inside a Netflix Warehouse
#7Netflix has deployed the largest "legacy adapter layer" business process that I can recall. This is a great example of how to start a business where the end-state model is dependent on things outside of its scope of control (or even influence).
When Netflix started in 1997, Most of its potential customers were using dial-up, and there was no way Hollywood would have allowed digital distribution anyway. So, they rode on top of some existing infrastructure: (1) the US mail system, and (2) existing laws that allowed physical media movie rentals.
My wife and I have been Netflix subscribers for years. However, most of our viewing is now done via the little Roku box, and physical disk delivery is of a much secondary importance (their streaming media is better than DVD but not as good as Blu-Ray).
Netflix is in this fantastic position of having a large customer base that can shift from its relatively high marginal cost* business model to its new, much lower marginal cost* * one.
* postage and manual labor.
* * I presume the movie studios are getting paid per-view?
Re: Inside a Netflix Warehouse
#8Surprisingly manual process - at least on the incoming side. I was interested to know how many discs are stored at one warehouse, but that is probably too specific for them to disseminate freely.
I remember reading an article (don't ask me to find it, it was a long time ago) about how they don't actually "store" many DVD's, they unpack them, see who is next in the queue to receive it, and put it in the pile to ship back out. This sped up the turnaround and reduced storage costs significantly.
Re: Inside a Netflix Warehouse
#9Heh, the onomatopoeia in this article really rescued it towards the end there.
Re: Inside a Netflix Warehouse
#10This warehouse sounds like a job that is far too tedious for me. I'm glad they get full health insurance and a 40 hour work week though.
I can't wait until every title they offer can be streamed to the Xbox360. They have a great selection already, but it will make Netflix even better than it already is!