We had the incredible fortune of meeting Isaac Smitley, during the Louisville Tweetup at Molly Malones. Isaac is in charge of the network at Zappos warehouse and was kind enough to provide us a tour. While cameras were not allowed, the audio below, with Jeff Cutler and John Johansen’s never ending commentary provide all the visuals that you need as they describe the incredible robots that we saw that are helping move Zappos to the forefront of online retailing.
Following the Innovators’ Road Trip, we were all in Austin for the SXSWi conference. While the weekend was busy for everyone, I managed to sneak in some time to grab a quick interview with Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh. Because time was limited, I limited myself to the one question that was on everyone’s mind while in their warehouse in Louisville.
Hear what Tony has to say about the robots being used in the Zappos fulfillment process.
We were lucky to receive a tour of the Zappos Warehouse from Isaac Smitley, of the IT department.
Towards the end of the tour, we came to a large rubber ball. It’s made entirely of rubber bands and is about the size of a yoga ball now. But it started out as a small project – or a challenge – that employees took to enthusiastically.
With each passing day, more rubber bands were affixed to the ball and it grew.
Now, at yoga-ball size, it’s impossible for one person to lift and it still get’s rubber bands added to it each day.
The ball speaks to persistence and loyalty to a project. Along those same lines, if you listen closely, you’ll hear Isaac say that he loves the company and hopes to have his entire working career with Zappo’s. Enjoy…
