Coles opens Queensland automated distribution centre

Coles has opened its first automated distribution centre (ADC), which uses Witron technology. Located in Queensland, this centre is said to be the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. It was opened by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese MP, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk MP, Coles Group Chairman James Graham and Coles Group CEO Steven Cain.

This is the first of two Witron facilities set to open in Australia and it comes after Coles Group’s biggest investment into technology in the company’s history. Over $1bn is being invested, with the second ADC set to open in NSW in 2024.

The ADCs are designed to create safer and more sustainable outcomes for team members and suppliers as well as better product on-shelf availability.

When operating at full capacity, the Queensland site can process up to four million cases per week, the equivalent of 32 million units sold in stores. Over the course of a year, this is around 1.6 billion sales units.

“Modernising our operations is how we improve efficiency and availability in our stores and deliver higher service levels for our customers, team members and suppliers,” Cain said.

The ADCs can process twice the number of cases and pallets compared to the current DCs, halving the company’s footprint. They will also eliminate almost 18 million kg of manual handling in the supply chain per week, increasing safety.

The Redbank ADC has LED and sensor lighting to reduce energy consumption and is fitted with 180,000 litres of harvested rainwater storage for toilet flushing and landscape irrigation. There are plans for a 3.5-megawatt solar installation that will be among the largest rooftop solar solutions in the Coles network. To minimise food waste, the edible food that can’t be sold in the ADC will be donated to Coles community partner SecondBite.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said this technology will help advance supermarket supply chains.

“Coles is one of the biggest employers in this country and its team was pivotal in ensuring food security during challenging times. A facility like this one in Redbank shows how retailers and manufacturers can look to the future to improve the productivity, safety and sustainability of their operations for all Australians,” he said.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk welcomed the investment in the Queensland economy.

“It’s great to see Queensland lead the way with the arrival of world-leading technology at the Redbank Distribution Centre. The distribution centre will be powered by renewable electricity provided by Queensland’s publicly owned energy company CleanCo,” she said.

WITRON Logistik + Informatik CEO Helmut Prieschenk said Coles has partnered with the market leader in warehouse automation systems for major food retailers globally, with plans for 93 ADCs to be built in 13 different countries.