Metal Fabrication’s Place in the Fulfillment Economy

D+M Metal Products has been especially busy since the COVID-19 pandemic began, fabricating parts that are incorporated into cleanroom products, healthcare technology, and other very necessary items. We’ve also been busy making parts for conveyor systems that are used in the fulfillment economy. Since the lockdowns have been put into place around the country, people have been more dependent on delivered goods from companies like Amazon. Those goods are sorted and shipped using conveyor technology, and conveyors run using fabricated parts we make here.

Delivery Stations in the Fulfillment Economy

The demand for goods ordered online and delivered to customers’ front doors isn’t new. It’s been ramping up for years. Amazon, in fact, has been focused on expanding its delivery network for some time, trying to compete with UPS, FedEx, and the United States Postal Service. Amazon has customers nationwide, but they don’t yet have the permanent facilities necessary to complete their network. So in a number of American cities they have erected enormous tents like the ones you see at carnivals. These serve as delivery stations – the last leg of each package’s journey. Inside workers sort products, pack boxes, and use long conveyor belts to get them from sorting area to truck and on to their final destinations.

Many other businesses besides Amazon rely on conveyors in their material handling systems too. Americans are used to going to the store and choosing their own products and then taking them home on their own. The new online ordering model means that many diverse products need to be shipped and received from different vendors and then sorted and organized and boxed up in regional service centers for individual customers. This process requires different equipment that will become more prevalent and necessary as the fulfillment model of shopping overtakes the one we are used to.

Conveyor technology is relatively straightforward, but there are many types of conveyors, and they all have different parts. We are currently manufacturing conveyor side rails. These hold rollers in place. We also make leg pieces. These get bolted to the floor to keep the conveyor built upright and in place.

D+M Metal Products works with our customers to supply what they need when they need it, whether that means parts for in-store displays, the healthcare sector, or the fulfillment economy. Because our products are small parts of greater wholes, they aren’t often recognizable as their own products. They are still vital for the product they augment to function properly, though. If your company needs fabricated parts for any purpose, please call us. We will be happy to discuss what we can do for your business.

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