Toll Group has opened a new, next-generation distribution center in western Sydney to help retailers deliver parcels and letters to their customers faster and more efficiently.
The A$160m (US$127.7m) retail and e-commerce fulfillment center is specially designed to support the growth of online shopping in Australia. Spanning across 32,000m² (344,445ft²), the hub has 15,600m² (167,917ft²) of automation equipment and is capable of picking, processing and packing 375,000 items per day.
A ribbon cutting ceremony took place to mark the opening, which was attended by Melinda Pavey MP, minister for roads, maritime and freight; John Mullen, chairman at Toll Group; and Alex Linton, general manager logistics at Specialty Fashion Group.
Chris Pearce, logistics president at Toll Global, said, “Toll’s investment in the new facility is helping our customers adapt to the new retail environment. The facility is equipped with A$50m (US$39.9m) in advanced automation technology so retailers can deliver their e-commerce orders faster and in a much more economical way.”
“Retailers will benefit from the ability to deliver goods to their stores and direct to customers faster and more efficiently. And shoppers will enjoy flexible order times and faster processing so they can receive their purchases within hours not days.
“This advanced automation technology will increase our productivity fivefold it is capable of picking, processing and packing 70 million items per year.”
The facility was constructed in collaboration with apparel retailer, Specialty Fashion Group (SFG), Toll’s anchor tenant at the new site. Toll and SFG worked closely to design the facility with scalability and future growth in mind.
The facility will be one of the country’s most advanced e-commerce fulfillment centers, transforming the way retail orders are picked, processed, sorted and delivered to customers.
Linton commented, “At Specialty Fashion Group, we’re constantly looking to improve the omni-channel experience for our customers, which includes offering faster and more convenient delivery options for online and click-and-collect orders.
“We have a highly specialized supply chain, so we needed a customized solution that would meet our ongoing needs as a retailer. We’ve worked with Toll to develop the site from the initial design and development through to build, operation and delivery and we’re excited to see the state-of-the-art capability in action.”
The center operates as a shared, multi-user facility, with capacity to support additional retailers and their supply chain operations. It offers complete omni-channel capability to help retailers adapt to the changing needs of their customers in an ever-competitive sector.
The site will provide jobs for around 200 operations workers, technicians and engineers.
February 2, 2018