Amazon has confirmed its ambitious venture to construct the biggest automated warehouse in Australia.
The fulfilment centre, set to be located in the Melbourne suburb of Craigieburn, has an impressive 209,000 square.
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The facility will symbolise technological innovation and efficiency, measuring up to 11 times the size of the iconic Melbourne Cricket Grounds (MCGs).
This announcement comes on the heels of Amazon’s previous robotic fulfilment centre in Kemps Creek, Western Sydney.
Scheduled for inauguration in 2025, the Craigieburn centre is a testament to Amazon’s commitment to revolutionising order fulfilment.
Robots will work alongside human employees, gathering items and transporting them to human associates responsible for packaging and shipping.
Janet Menzies, Amazon Australia’s country manager, said the “items are coming to the associate” rather than the traditional approach of associates retrieving items.
“We are making a significant investment in Victoria. It really says that Australia is a very important market for Amazon and we’re really buoyed by the consumer reaction to our offer,” Ms Menzies told The Australian.
“That helps speed (up) order processing time,” she said.
“This will help the small businesses that are so much an important part of our offer, and also what this will mean, of course, for customers.”
The new facility is expected to create about 2,000 local jobs once fully operational and will take a total of 9,000 employees.
With $8.4 billion already poured into Australian operations since inception, the company’s long-term strategy becomes a sharper focus.
Industry analysts from the investment and advisory group Jarden anticipate that Amazon’s merchandise sales in Australia will soar to $5 billion by 2024.
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