Coles has revealed their biggest transformation of supermarkets yet, with the launch of Australia’s first automated distribution centre. The huge complex in Brisbane will be the first of its kind to replace traditional packers and warehouse staff with hi-tech and high-speed robots.
The facility boasts a huge floor plan, twice the size of the MCG playing field at 35 metres tall, and is stocked with supermarket essentials bound for Coles stores across Queensland and NSW.
The warehouse features an automated system of nine pick robots who are responsible for manoeuvring around the aisles, packing boxes and transporting goods. This is a significant development for Coles, as it redefines the way in which shoppers can purchase items from their supermarkets.
The sorting and packing system in the warehouse determines the best way to stack the items placed on trays onto pallets for each grocery store order. These pallets are then delivered to stores to replenish their supermarket supplies when needed, having travelled along a conveyor belt.
A software and robotics system that gathers information regarding each product makes it possible to process items quicker, with higher precision, and with less damage than could be carried out by a human; all of this is accomplished.
“Automation allows us to be more precise in our selection of products, reducing damages and optimizing the pallet building process; it can also provide insight on the weight, size, and susceptibility to being crushed of each item,” Coles Executive General Manager of Operations Strategy & Transformation, Kevin Gunn, told Channel 9.
Mr. Gunn asserted the machinery could both package and organize products without requiring humans to take on the burden of any heavy lifting.
