Take a look inside Amazon’s new fulfillment centre in Cambridge, Ont.

Amazon's new Cambridge facility is open The new Amazon fulfillment centre in Cambridge is the first-of-its-kind in Canada. Heather Senoran tells us why.

Amazon says its new fulfillment centre in Cambridge, Ont. is the first-of-its-kind in the country.

The one-million-square-foot facility on Old Mill Road is unique because it acts as both a storage and distribution site. The packages, however, aren’t going to customers but other fulfillment centres across southwestern Ontario.

“The inventory will essentially come through here,” explained Greg Clutton, YMH2’s site lead, during Wednesday’s grand opening. “We allow ourselves to carry more inventory of the top selling items or items that made may turn a little bit slower.”

Those on hand for the event said the fulfillment centre will benefit the community, as it currently employs 250 people and possibly an additional 1,000 workers over the next year.

“What it really does is indicate that our history of innovation and collaboration have come to the fore, and that's probably why they chose here,” added Karen Redman, chair for the Region of Waterloo.

The facility initially faced pushback from some nearby residents.

Mike Harris, the Kitchener-Conestoga MPP and Ontario’s Minister of Red Tape, said he’s glad the project went ahead despite the controversy.

“There was a lot of community engagement at the beginning, and I think the communities surrounding this area had some concerns, and a lot of that was alleviated,” he explained. “I think Amazon has done a very good job now of being good community stewards.”

What’s inside?

The fulfillment centre has about three million units of inventory stacked throughout the building.

Trained staff members, meanwhile, move through the aisles on special trucks to sort the products.

“It allows us to vertically store and to really maximize on the space in order to keep the right assortment for our customers,” Clutton explained.

He said that, depending on the item, it could help get them to your doorstep faster – if you’re a local customer.

“If that unit had to come from a vendor and then go into our network and then be fulfilled, we avoid that step as it is already within our network.” Clutton explained. “It’s able to be picked and shipped back to the warehouse and shipped to the customer from there.”