Woolworths has “switched on” a $20 million high-tech eStore in Sydney’s St Marys, doubling online delivery capacity for thousands of families across western Sydney.

The 2500sqm facility is promoted as the largest of its kind in the country, merging a traditional supermarket with an automated fulfilment centre, to fulfill up to 6000 orders per week.

Woolworths says it has built its online grocery order fulfilment network to be close to local communities, making it fast and easy to dispatch online orders, providing greater convenience to customers. Online orders are fulfilled either wholly from stores, from eStores such as St Marys, or from customer fulfilment centres (CFC) across the country.

Amitabh Mall, Managing Director for eComX at Woolworths Group, says western Sydney families are busier than ever, with 60% of the retailer’s orders now being fulfilled on the same day they’re ordered.

“This $20 million investment allows us to meet increasing customer demand in western Sydney for faster delivery of a full grocery shop, in under two hours,” he says.

“We have the strongest delivery network across Australia with 43% of delivery orders dispatched within two hours of order placement.”

St Marys eStore Site Manager Russell Fatt says the new launch is a major boost for the local community and jobs.

“We’re incredibly proud to create 150 new roles, including welcoming 15 refugees from the area into the team through our partnership with Community Corporate,” he says.  

“These jobs provide career opportunities where our newest team members, many in their first job, will be helping us serve the local community.”

The eStore uses KNAPP automation technology specifically designed for Woolworths to support high-volume online grocery fulfilment. The automation replaces traditional in-store picking from shelves with a streamlined ‘goods-to-person’ system where team members hand select each item. The items picked from the automation side of the eStore are combined with items from the supermarket side to ensure customers have access to the full bakery, deli and frozen range. 

The St Marys eStore is the third site of its kind in the Woolworths network, including in Maroochydore, Queensland and Carrum Downs, Victoria. The eStores complement seven CFCs located in all major eastern cities.