More photos of the same centre can be found here
<a href="http://www.silicon.com/technology/networks/2009/12/23/photos-inside-amazon-at-christmas-39692316/" rel="nofollow">http://www.silicon.com/technology/networks/2009/12/23/photos...</a>
I own and run two smallish ( ~ $1 mill/yr ; ~ $0.5 mill/yr revenue) ecommerce stores ( <a href="http://smartflix.com" rel="nofollow">http://smartflix.com</a> and <a href="http://heavyink.com" rel="nofollow">http://heavyink.com</a> ) and I bought a few textbooks books on warehouse layout and design.<p>There really wasn't a lot in there that was applicable to me, but I bet that (a) the Amazon folks have all read these books, and (b) they could write much, much better ones if they wanted to spill some of their trade secrets!
I would pay generously to take a guided tour of Amazon's fulfilment centre. I imagine it to be a hive of activity. Most of us take next day delivery for granted now, but when taking into account the volume Amazon must process every day, I find it fascinating. Even more so when you take into consideration their same day (evening delivery) service.