Inside Newegg: They give us a Tour and you a Prize
by Anand Lal Shimpi on February 14, 2006 3:31 PM EST- Posted in
- IT Computing
The Picker
Finally, at the very back of the warehouse there's a three-level rack/picker setup and this is where your order from Newegg is actually born.
The three levels are organized in terms of product "velocity" or the speed at which Newegg sells through of that particular product. A proprietary algorithm designed in-house by Newegg determines velocity. High velocity products (pictured below) such as in-demand motherboards or video cards will be found on the first floor, while medium and low velocity products such as server boards, certain optical drives, etc... will be found on the second and third floors respectively. The idea is that the easiest to load floor is the first floor, and that's where product that needs to be frequently replenished should be.
Some "medium velocity" items
As soon as Newegg receives your order it is allocated a bar-coded tub; the encoded in the tub's label is data on every item that's in your order as well as where it is located within Newegg's warehouse. The automated system will not print a shipping label for your order unless every item in your order matches all of the barcodes in the tub.
The tub glides along a rolling conveyer, which will carry the tub from the start on the first floor all the way up to the third floor. Along its journey it will pass by Newegg's inventory; the system (pictured below), knowing exactly what your order should contain, will stop the tub whenever it gets to an item that needs to be put into it.
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Minot - Monday, February 20, 2006 - link
Anand, did Newegg give you any insight into their refurbished product opteration? I'd be interested to know where the items come from (i.e. percentage from working returns and percentage from manufacturers) and how often they arrive at Newegg. I'b been buying refurbished parts from Newegg for years and I've found some brands that always come with full accessories and others that are hit and miss. Is there any rhyme or reason to know the accessory status of the item before you order?Great article! Keep it up! -MINOT-
JumpyBL - Monday, February 20, 2006 - link
Any winners yet?DAPUNISHER - Saturday, February 18, 2006 - link
It is Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory for Computer enthusiasts :Pneweggvp - Friday, February 17, 2006 - link
To confirm what Anand explained, Newegg did not pay Anandtech for this article. Anand and Newegg just thought it would be nice to show a little bit of the Newegg operations.Newegg also has no affiliation with EggHead.
Hope this clears up a couple questions.
Best Regards,
NeweggVP.
andrep74 - Friday, February 17, 2006 - link
It's completely a win-win situation. NewEgg gets advertising, costing them perhaps a lunch with Anand, several CPUs for a contest, and draws more consumers to their website. Anand gets a free meal, perhaps some free product, and draws more readers to his website with a contest. Now if that isn't capitalism, what is?My kudos to them both...
PWNettle - Friday, February 17, 2006 - link
Thanks for the article - it's cool to read how NewEgg does its thing.I've bought parts for 3 builds and some additional components from NewEgg and I've always been very happy with it all.
UPS el cheapo shipping usually takes 3-4 days to reach me but it's not THAT big a deal since that's still pretty quick.
The only thing that irritates me is that when I order parts for a complete PC they usually get shipped from 2+ locations - and it's painful to have every part for a new build EXCEPT the case, which arrives the next day. :)
Davelo - Friday, February 17, 2006 - link
Is Newegg related to EggHead Software? Remember them?Glenn - Friday, February 17, 2006 - link
What a way to start my day!! Read this article and was enlightened and impressed with the way an order progresses and how they get them to me so fast! As usual Anand~ good work and thank you!Then I read all these bulls**t childish comments! I could go on for hours about what I'm thinking but all I really need to say is~ Anand has earned the respect of most of us because of his informative website and articles. I've gained most of my computer knowledge from his website since I first signed on in 1996. I really don't know what I would do without it. In my opinion, NewEgg owes some of its success to Anand and the exposure they gained in his forums. Particularly early on! I really don't mind if they paid Anand for the article, in fact, I hope they did! He earned it well before this article was ever written! A good part of these etailers profits are directly attributable to Anands website! With so many of us having the ability to share experiences, information and recommendations on this website they have benefited greatly! Keep it up Anand and I wish you continued success! My only recommendation would be to have the mods filter out the childish jerks that never seem to have anything productive to say about anything!
And jnmunsey, where do you come off with comments like that? What an idiot!
JBT - Thursday, February 16, 2006 - link
Man I wish I could spend just 5 minutes in there with a shopping cart...amish - Thursday, February 16, 2006 - link
i used my work email addy for the contest. not like i'm going to win, but i hope that any email that could be sent makes it through my employers spam guard.anyways, the pic of all of those CPUs just sitting there was awesome