It looks like a "billion" contract, but it's just under: The supermarket chain Coles plans to invest 880 million Australian dollars (around 512 million Swiss francs) to establish a new distribution center with Witron to supply the states of Victoria and Tasmania with up to 4.6 million retail units per week.
Further investment in technology and automation near Melbourne is part of Coles' strategic direction to create a more efficient and sustainable logistics network. It follows the completion of the first two Advanced Distribution Centers (ADCs) that Coles has already finished in the past 18 months in partnership with Witron. Implementation of the new project is expected to begin in fiscal year 2025, with completion taking up to five years.
The automated plant in the state of Victoria is expected to have a capacity approximately 15 percent higher compared to Coles' ADCs in New South Wales (Kemps Creek / Sydney) and Queensland (Redbank / Brisbane).
The distribution center will supply all branches in Victoria and Tasmania and integrate into Coles' existing supply chain in South Australia and Western Australia to further improve product availability for Coles customers in these states.
Together with the ADCs in New South Wales and Queensland, the project enables the complete automation of the logistics network of Coles' distribution centers on Australia's east coast. Leah Weckert, Managing Director and CEO of Coles, said: "This is another important step in the company's transformation as we continue to invest in future-proof technology to increase product availability for our customers and improve the efficiency of our entire supply chain. The new automated distribution center in Victoria will complement our existing logistics sites in Queensland and New South Wales, allowing us to further increase productivity and leverage the benefits of Witron's automation technology."
