Coles has announced the opening of its first Automated Distribution Centre (ADC) in Redbank, Queensland, which is the largest single capital investment in the retail giant’s history.
The ADC, also the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, will provide a safer, more efficient and sustainable supply chain.
The state-of-the-art facility spans 170,000 square metres, and with a building size of 66,000 square metres it’s reportedly one of the biggest and most productive ADCs in the world.
The facility, due to be opened today [27 April] by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, Coles Group Chairman, James Graham, and Coles Group CEO, Steven Cain, can process up to four million cases per week – the equivalent of 32 million units sold in stores.
Coles Group CEO, Steven Cain, said the opening of the Redbank facility will be one of the most significant moment since Coles was founded in 1914.
“Modernising our operations is how we improve efficiency and availability in our stores and deliver higher service levels for our customers, team members and suppliers,” he said.
“Our new ADCs can process twice the number of cases and hold twice the number of pallets compared to one of our current distribution centres. The ADCs enable us to half our current total footprint, leading to a more productive and sustainable business model.
“Over 90 per cent of the cases processed in these automated distribution centres will be processed fully by automation or ergonomically which will be a step-change for the safety of our team as it eliminates almost 18 million kilograms of manual handling in the supply chain each week once the ADC is running close to full capacity.”
Coles has invested more than $1 billion in the ADC technology, with a second centre set to open in Kemps Creek, New South Wales in 2024.
The ADCs are designed to create safer and more sustainable outcomes for team members and suppliers and better on-shelf availability for customers.
Albanese said the world leading technology will help advance supermarket supply chains.
“This technology is not only a first for Australia, but also a win for the state of Queensland,” he said.
“A facility like this one in Redbank shows how retailers and manufacturers can look to the future to improve the productivity, safety and sustainability of their operations for all Australians.”
Meanwhile, another upgrade has been completed for Bruce Highway.
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