Woolworths has opened a new, state-of-the-art Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) in Western Sydney.
The new Sydney RDC completes the group’s Moorebank Logistics Precinct at which the group’s recently opened National Distribution Centre (NDC) is also located.
Together, the new facilities will move over 5 million cartons per week to supermarkets, with a range of 20,000 individual products.
The $1.3 billion precinct is the Group’s largest-ever single investment, with direct links to Port Botany, interstate rail and Sydney’s M5 and M7 motorways.
The two new distribution centres (DCs) will also take 26,000 truck movements off Australian roads each year.
The automated DCs will move food, grocery and everyday items onto shelves faster, with pallets arriving in store ‘aisle-ready’ – suited to individual store layouts – enabling speedy restocking by teams.
In total, the two DCs cover 75,000m² of floor space — about five times the size of Sydney Cricket Ground.
The investment has been a major driver for local employment, creating over 1,300 jobs during the construction phase and will employ around 800 team members in operational roles across the two DCs.
The precinct was officially opened yesterday by the Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, the Catherine King, Woolworths Group CEO, Amanda Bardwell and Woolworths Group Chair Scott Perkins.
“This investment is about more than just infrastructure. It is critical for our customers, our team and our future capability,” said Woolworths Group CEO Amanda Bardwell.
“Our customers will benefit from better product availability and convenience, particularly in the run up to the busy Christmas season. We know they want to be able to come in store and find what they need quickly and easily,” she said.
Bardwell called the new facilities a game-changer that will put products in stores more efficiently and seamlessly for Woolworths in time for the peak build up to the festive season.
“Behind the scenes, this investment delivers a more resilient supply chain, while the automation also significantly reduces heavy manual handling, which makes a real difference to our team members every single day,” she said.
Both DCs have achieved a 5-star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia, featuring solar panels that will generate 5.3 megawatts of energy each year – equivalent to 880 households’ annual energy consumption – as well as rainwater harvesting.
