Toll Group has officially opened a new, next-generation distribution centre in western Sydney to help retailers deliver to customers faster and more efficiently.
The $160 million retail and eCommerce fulfilment centre is specially designed to support the growth of online shopping in Australia. The new centre:
- is set across 32,000 square metres
- incorporates 15,600 square metres of automation equipment
- is capable of picking, processing and packing 375,000 items per day
- shortens delivery times from days to hours.
Toll global logistics president Chris Pearce said today’s market is placing aggressive demands on retailers to provide fast fulfilment and delivery, without increasing costs.
“Toll’s investment in the new facility is helping our customers adapt to the new retail environment. The facility is equipped with $50 million in advanced automation technology so retailers can deliver their eCommerce 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 – 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.
SFG GM logistics Alex Linton said Toll and the group worked closely to design the facility with scalability and future growth in mind.
“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 specialised supply chain, so we needed a customised 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 facility operates as a shared, multi-user facility, with capacity to support additional retailers and their supply chain operations.
The combined Prestons site will provide jobs for around 200 operations workers, technicians and engineers, providing a boost to the local western Sydney economy.