This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
E-COMMERCE giant Amazon has officially opened its first robotics fulfilment centre in western Sydney – the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and at 200,000 sqm the largest warehouse ever built in Australia.
With a federal election announcement imminent, Prime Minister Scott Morrison was on hand to cut the ribbon alongside NSW Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney, Stuart Ayres, and Mayor of Penrith City, Tricia Hitchen.
The Kemps Creek facility, located within Goodman Group’s Oakdale West Industrial Estate, will create more than 1,500 jobs.
Floor space across the four-level building is equal to the land size of Taronga Zoo or 24 rugby league fields, and can house up to 20 million of the smaller items sold on Amazon.com.au including jewellery, books, electronics, pantry items and toys.
It is Amazon’s second fulfilment in western Sydney, and sixth in Australia.
Robotic drives move pods of inventory to employees, reducing the time and effort that would otherwise be required to stow items for sale or pick them for new customer orders. They also allow up to 40% more items to be stowed, allowing for increased product selection.
“The opening of our first robotics fulfilment centre is a huge milestone for Amazon Australia, marking our continuous growth and investment in this country,” said Craig Fuller, director of operations, Amazon Australia.
Since launching down under in 2017, more than 11,000 Australian businesses are selling through Amazon, and have sold more than 25 million units across its Australian and international stores in the past year.
Amazon last month announced it would open its first dedicated Australian sorting centre in Melbourne’s northern suburb of Craigieburn, which will be able to process 300,000 parcels every day.
That 15,600 sqm centre will be built in the Amaroo Business Park, further extending Amazon’s relationship with Goodman. The ASX-listed industrial and logistics giant considers Amazon its biggest customer and has also delivered Amazon a fulfilment centre in Brisbane.
The Craigieburn centre will be Amazon’s fifth facility in Melbourne, where the company made its Australian debut with a 24,000 sqm warehouse in Dandenong South.
The pandemic has turbo-charged the growth of online shopping in Australia. Online sales accounted for 9.2% of all sales at the beginning of 2020, and now make up 14.7%, according to NAB.
