Toll designs ‘next-gen’ DC around e-commerce

The Hon. Melinda Pavey, Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight, New South Wales, has attended the official opening for Toll Group’s new distribution centre in Western Sydney, a facility the Australian logistics company claims is specially designed to support online retailing.
Pavey performed the ribbon cutting, alongside John Mullen, Chairman of Toll Group, and Alex Linton, General Manger – Logistics of Specialty Fashion Group, the new DC’s inaugural anchor tenant.
The $160 million “retail and e-commerce centre” is set across 32,000sqm, and incorporates 15,600sqm of automation equipment.
According to Toll, the facility is capable of picking, processing and packing 375,000 items per day, shortening delivery times “from days to hours.”
“Staying competitive in a rapidly changing global market requires vision, determination and an appetite for change, and that’s what Toll’s new facility will provide,” said Pavey.
Chris Pearce, Divisional Director – Toll Global Logistics, noted that today’s market is placing aggressive demands on retailers to provide fast fulfilment and delivery, while keeping costs down.
“Toll’s investment in the new facility is helping our customers adapt to the new retail environment,” he said. “The facility is equipped with $50 million in advanced automation technology so retails can deliver their e-commerce orders faster and in a much more economical way.
“This advanced technology will increase our productivity fivefold – capable of picking, processing and packing 70 million items per year.”
Specialty Fashion Group worked with Toll in the design of the facility, with scalability and future growth in mind.
“At Specialty Fashion Group, we’re constantly looking to improve the omni-channel experience for our customers,” said General Manager – Logistics, Linton. “We have a highly specialised supply chain, so we needed a customised solution that would meet our ongoing needs as a retailer.”
Automation of the facility will reportedly reduce manual handling by 70 per cent, expected to lead to a reduction in safety incidents.