And the battle for that edge will be fierce this year. Among the rivals eToys faces online is a Toys R Us-Amazon alliance that aims to wed the toy giant's product expertise to Amazon's site and delivery strengths. EToys built two distribution centers to begin to fill orders in-house. Last year, eToys processed orders in California and Midwest facilities run by a third-party firm. Blue, bar-coded bins transport orders through picking and packing areas connected by some 4 miles of conveyor belts and tracks.
Forklifts fly through the aisles to stock inventory or pull orders.
A normal staff of 300 will total 1,500 for the holidays. Demand, infrastructure, systems and staffing. The last three of those elements are in control. During peak capacity, we can handle 20,000 orders per hour. One-two marketing punch.