On a cold and rainy day in October, the 504th Military Police Battalion and 66th Military Police Company personnel received the great opportunity to tour the BFI4 Amazon fulfillment plant in Kent, WA. Leaders focused on learning about sustainment and logistics. The personnel that went were all leaders in positions that dealt directly with logistics and sustainment. The group was able to gain a new and healthy perspective on their current job in the military and the cost of what it takes to be the greatest logistics company of all time.
Stephen Covey, a leadership icon and professor said, “to change ourselves effectively, we first have to change our perspective.” In the military, overcrowded schedules and training demands make gaining new perspectives difficult. Regardless, leaders are responsible for the challenge to change perceptions. The army demands innovation from its leaders. Leaders must institute innovative and perception changing events.
“Innovation describes the ability to introduce or implement something new. Innovative problem solvers tend to be inquisitive, looking to understand why something is the way it is or questioning how something could work better. Being innovative requires creative thinking that uses both adaptive (drawing from expertise and prior knowledge) and innovative approaches (developing completely new ideas).” ADRP 6-22
The military is a challenging, time-consuming, and taxing career. People can become negative, cynical, and downtrodden after the daily grind. Leaders must pursue creative means of implementation to combat complacency and the Groundhog Day mentality. Taking a trip to break up the daily monotony can build a team, grow perspective, and introduce new ways of thinking.
A Look Inside Amazon
Staff Sgt. Billy Messer, a platoon sergeant in our company, recommended the trip. He had a great interest in robotics and wanted to know more about the technical side behind how they function and the programming for efficiency. We took this idea in stride and reached out to Amazon to request a visit and learn about their automated fulfillment process. Amazon graciously accepted our request to visit their doorstep and take a look inside its incredibly automated fulfillment center.
Instead of sitting around on a typically meeting filled Tuesday on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the personnel from the 504TH headed out to the Amazon fulfillment center in hopes of bringing some logistics lessons learned back to the unit. What ended up happening was unanticipated.
The group arrived at a nearby restaurant, for a pre-tour lunch. At the restaurant a list of questions was sent out to the group in an attempt to connect military logistics/sustainment to Amazon’s logistics/sustainment. The group read the questions with mild interest. At a minimum, the questions established a baseline for thought for the tour. At 12:45PM the crew moved over to the fulfillment center to meet up with Michelle, our phenomenal tour guide.
The Tour
Our Amazon experience began by putting on some white over-the-ear Amazon basics headphones to assist in listening to Michelle over the noise of the center. We first moved over to the robotic fulfillment cage. The cage was a perfectly orchestrated, complex labyrinth of everyone’s wants and needs. We watched in fascination as one of the 5,000 robots in the building scooted along the floor to retrieve a 6-foot stocking shelf pillar filled with consumer items. The robot moved the pillar of items to the most optimal location to patiently wait for a consumer to order one of its items.
The conveyer belt system was the next part of the center. A complex 19.8 mile racetrack of ever changing speeds ensuring items ultimately get to the correct outbound delivery truck. One of the 14,000 yellow bins, that hold a multitude of ordered items, gets filled from the Amazon employee, called a picker, and then begins its quick, complex, yet efficient, journey down the conveyer belts to the packaging wall.
At the final stop, the packaging wall, Amazon personnel pick out the ordered items and group them by order to be packaged. The packagers stand on the other side of the wall and collect the ordered items. They place them in boxes or bags before they are moved to the outgoing chute. The packages are then loaded into a bulk shipping box, placed on a truck, and moved to a distribution center. The distribution center then ensures the packages arrive at your doorstep in two-days or less. It is a process. A lot to take in, a lot to think about, and it all moved in perfect harmony with no interruption. What lessons could possibly be applied to the military?
Translating the Lessons
How in the world was any of this applicable? Why did the group even go when this process was so out of reach of the current logistical environment in the military? Well, the honest answer is that none of the packaging process was directly applicable. We appreciated the view into Amazon’s logistical machine. But the real value was the opportunity to get outside the military bubble. We opened up to a new perspective in a different industry. It was a unique and insightful experience.
Upon the return to the base we conducted a final debrief. There, we reengaged the questions posed at the restaurant. Most of their answers featured phrases like, “the experience was not really applicable but it would be cool if we were more efficient, had more machines, and had more systems/automation.” The true value of the trip was not realized until hearing the final question, “how did this trip change your perspective?”, a softball question meant to close out the day.
At first, our leaders paused, but then they began to give genuine responses. A couple of the senior sergeants said that there was no way they could endure the repetitive jobs that the Amazon employees seemed to embrace. The sergeants came to appreciate the variety of their jobs. Although the tasks were overwhelming at times, it allowed them to use problem-solving skills regularly and kept them moving.
Another senior sergeant made an observation about how efficient it was, but at the sake of humanity. The only thing slowing down production in the plant, it seemed, were the people. It gave off a sense that nothing about the jobs made them feel special or valued. At the end of the day, a computer system and robot could probably be doing the job more effectively.
In their military job it is all on the leader and Soldiers to create systems that work. We are responsible for finding efficiencies within our sustainment mission. These tasks gives value and worth. Soldiers and leaders must communicate directly and personally to make things happen. It is not always the most efficient or easiest, but it keeps it human and meaningful.
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In the end, everyone had their perspective changed. A factory-level, fulfillment center position might be great for most, but could be hell for others. Far from perfect, the military gives people the opportunity to work, problem-solve, and find value in their work. The grind of the military did not seem so bad that on that Tuesday in October. While we didn’t learn translatable logistics or sustainment lessons, our leaders gained something more. We had a perspective changing experience that will carry over to our soldiers.
Sometimes, to change our organizational culture, we need to get outside the box and change our perspective. This starts with implementing innovative ways to introduce new experiences. As stated in chapter 6 of ADP 6-22, “simple actions can demonstrate respect and care, such as listening patiently or addressing families [and Soldiers] needs.” Going above and beyond the scope of duties and caring for subordinates is what fosters a sustainably positive culture. Try something new for those you lead; positive innovation is your duty as a leader.
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