Is Amazon Coming to Escanaba? The Value of Warehouses (Business Development)

If you have been reading the local news lately you might come to realize that a new distribution center is possibly coming to town. It is not a fact but it is a possibility. That could offer additional positive support for local jobs if we consider improved employment, its lure for other businesses, improvements in regional distribution, export infrastructure (rail, road, airport, and port) as well as possible ways to coordinate local businesses to maximize product sales online (getting them organized and listed could help).

The article is Amazon to build shipping facility in Escanaba If you want to know how their distribution system works check out Amazon Distribution System

One thing to think about is how to maximize a distribution center to sell local products and goods outside the area. Are there any advantages to that? Sell on Amazon. Sometimes if you have a few local businesses/employers that do well and hire a lot of people, produce products that are sold nationally or internationally. When a strong business takes off on the national or global market it may be able to increase wealth and investment in the area for businesses that use the same major input factors.

In other words, strengthening an export focus, and understanding what products can be sold to bring in wealth, can lead to improved economic/financial draw for a community. Getting local businesses to put their products into the system to be purchased in other locations is important (I have a product up. I should probably do more with that.). A business owner might consider improving their market range and expand into new markets.

According to the study below those places with distribution centers increased in personal wealth, expanded jobs, and raised wealth. Chamber of Commerce Distribution Center Impact. Further, while this distribution center will likely start with a limited focus and we can consider another warehouse designed around a local export market of local products could help (In and out of Amazon where their services don't reach. Small orders on Amazon and large orders by truck. rail, plane,. i.e. Ammish furniture or metal products. There is/was an import and export area at the old KI that might be utilized. ).

Distribution centers will also impact the efficiency of the whole product distribution system. An extra stop in a town with an airport, a port, rail, and roads is a great place to collect/break apart orders and ship them out. It provides greater flexibility to the regional supply chain in a rural area that takes a long time. When I'm in San Diego I get my stuff same/next day but here it takes a week or more.

(From a research transactional cluster perspective warehouses in general improve transactional speed and this is how they find business. However, having a running list of all the products in an area, marketing those products to other markets, and coordinating efforts to build an export market might further help. Combine that with a 'bring your headquarters' to Esky from overseas and invest might attract a few cluster-worthy businesses. Remember we are talking theoretically here so there are other options but this one is more or less food for thought.)

Other considerations from an economic perspective are does it improve distribution around the U.P and its impact on businesses/communities, whether is it possible to create an export market for the U.P. by getting businesses to distribute branded products, does it attract other industrial investors, and so on and so forth. There are opportunities if you can get the right people to think about expanding UP business in a coordinated manner. Theoretically, once the infrastructure is built, this or another warehouse could be used for impact/export opening wealth creation lines of development. Whether we take that, have the resources for it, can must the regional coordination, etc. is a whole different level of discussion. Warehouse Import/Export Demand

Remember, we are just exploring ideas and possibilities here as the city reconnects to the global market. So far it has come a long way and attracted new industries, arts, events, quality of life, tourism, etc. Hoping for more entrepreneurs that can use these warehouses and Amazon.