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New $560m site for Woolworths

Vaughan Constructions has successfully delivered Woolworths’ latest facility in Melbourne’s south, the distribution centre (DC) is the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

Part of a national effort to expand the company’s supply chain, the new 70,000m² $560m purpose-built DC is positioned on a 15.9 hectare site owned by Charter Hall and leased to Woolworths for 20 years.

Like Woolworths Meat Company facility located in Truganina, the Lyndhurst Distribution Centre will be operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week without limitation.

The development showcases a number of technological, development and sustainability innovations with several market firsts for both the retail and industrial sectors.

The 45 metre highbay has a capacity for 60,000 pallets and is fully automated.

Pick and packing technology and innovative IT applications allow the distribution centre to monitor and replenish stock levels of individual stores automatically.

With multi-story racking systems, robotics technology, 14 kilometres of high-speed conveyors and sorting systems, the distribution centre provides Woolworths with the capacity to sort and distribute stock at far greater levels of accuracy and at a pace not yet available in traditional warehousing operations.

Installation of innovative IT applications connecting the distribution centre directly with in-store point of sale software, means stock orders are automatically tailored to the specific needs of individual stores. Picking and packing technology allow for cartons and pallets to be loaded onto trucks in the correct sequence required in-store.

The facility also houses the largest solar panel installation on an industrial building in Australia, with more than 3,800 solar panels installed on the rooftop.

The solar panels will save 1,400MWh of electricity each year, equivalent to powering 250 households and providing 20% of the facility’s power needs.

 

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