Amazon to help firms reopen for business
Online giant teams up with chambers
ONLINE GIANT Amazon has joined forces with a leading business group to offer advice on how firms can get back to work safely as the lockdown continues to ease.
Under the arrangement with the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), 1,000 UK businesses can tour Amazon fulfilment centres – including in Doncaster – where staff have been working throughout the coronavirus crisis.
Business leaders will see firsthand how Amazon has implemented a range of measures to keep staff safe while continuing to serve its customers.
The tours will begin from Thursday, June 11 and be available on a first come, first served basis.
The BCC said its research found that most firms are in a position to partially restart operations as lockdown restrictions are eased, but some companies are still struggling, mainly citing social distancing as a difficulty.
Car showrooms and outdoor markets reopened this week, and shops will follow suit later this month.
Amazon said it has made more than 150 “significant” process changes to ensure the health and safety of its staff, from enhanced cleaning and social distancing measures to the distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) and the implementation of temperature checks.
BCC director general, Dr Adam Marshall, said: “Businesses will be taking a safe, risk-based approach to returning to work, in close consultation with their staff, but for many this will be an entirely new way of working.
“Firms of every size and sector from across the UK will appreciate the chance to see the practical reality of working within existing guidelines first-hand at Amazon
and apply this learning to their own operations as they begin to reopen.”
Amazon UK operations regional director, Stuart Morgan, said: “Nothing is more important to us than making sure that we protect the health of our teams, and we’ve been working around the clock since the early days of the outbreak to make changes to our processes and procure the necessary supplies for this.
“We’re delighted to share that experience with fellow Chamber members around the country and help restart British business.”
The tours are available to members of the following Chambers of Commerce: Greater Birmingham, Greater Manchester, Essex, Doncaster, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, East Midlands, South Wales and Business West.
Members should contact their relevant Chamber to book a place.
Mr Morgan added: “Whether it’s fulfilling orders in one of our fulfilment centres, delivering an order to a customer’s doorstep, or one of the many roles in between, we couldn’t be more proud of the critical role our teams are serving by enabling people to stay safe at home while receiving the products they need.”
We couldn’t be more proud of the critical role our teams are serving.
Stuart Morgan, regional operations director, Amazon