Managing on an Amazon scale

October 8, 2024

Andrew Renner ’25 was hoping for a summer internship which would provide a glimpse into the fast-paced environment of a corporate giant. He got that and more during his 10-week internship at Amazon’s FTW3 facility in Fort Worth, Texas, the world’s largest shoe warehouse with more than 10 million pairs of shoes.

“I worked as an area manager intern, overseeing 110-plus employees on the inbound side of all goods,” said Renner, a Brighton, Michigan, native.  “I created an intern project to save over $1.3 million per year in labor hours.”

During his Amazon internship, Renner learned how products are brought into a warehouse and shipped once ordered. He also learned data analysis and how it impacts everyday operations at Amazon. 

“I was able to use data to make labor moves, make decisions for future success, and understand metrics for achieving daily goals,” he said. “As time progressed, I was able to obtain an understanding of the data and even create formulas to track it more efficiently.”

But make no mistake about it, the internship wasn’t solely about receiving, shipping, and deploying manpower.

“With over 1,000 people staffed at FTW3, meeting as many people and learning their names came slowly, but setting a time each day to know their names and something about them made working alongside everyone much more accessible,” Renner said. “Coming in, my head spun with all the information I needed to learn. Then, by Week 10, I was leading the meetings, creating projects to increase efficiency, and making analytical decisions for the company’s betterment, which was astounding.”

Renner said the Albion College management courses he’s completed (especially those taught by Professor Vicki Baker)  helped prepare him for his Amazon internship, as did other endeavors at the college.

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 “Whether it was being on the leadership council for the baseball team, president of SAAC, or working in admissions as a tour guide and scheduler, these all taught me different lessons that allowed me to gain the trust and earn the respect of the managers and associates at Amazon because I had leadership experience beforehand.”

Andrew Renner, ’25, is an economics and management and communications major with a minor in data analytics. He played baseball, and was on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He’s also served as an admission’s tour guide.