Woolworths has begun building on its first automated fulfillment center in Auburn, Sydney’s west, outfitted with Knapp technology. The center, which is set to open in 2024, will employ “hundreds of personal shoppers at the location to gather and send up to 50,000 home deliveries every week,” according to the company.
Annette Karantoni, director of e-commerce, stated that demand for online buying groceries in Western Sydney had more than quadrupled in the last two years.
“To keep up with demand and growing consumer expectations, we need to continue investing in new capacity,” Karantoni added.
“The expansion of Auburn will significantly increase our same-day delivery capacity in Western Sydney, enabling our customers to enjoy speedier and more flexible online purchasing alternatives.”
“It will also enable us to provide a broader choice of items to our consumers online, with the facility holding up to 40,000 products.”
In addition to enabling home deliveries, the center would offer to pick up bays that will provide “direct to boot service for local consumers who wish to retrieve online goods directly,” she said. This year, the NSW Planning Department approved the center as an important state development.
Woolworths stated that, while the center would increase online order fulfillment, it will supplement rather than replace the retailer’s prior in-store fulfillment approach, in which orders are routed to and completed by the shop nearest to the client.
Woolworths claims that “more than 80% of online orders are completed through shops.” The Auburn center also leverages previous investments in “micro-fulfillment technology” at the retailer’s Carrum Downs and Maroochydore supermarkets, utilizing Takeoff Technologies and Knapp systems.