Amazon Australia officially opened its first robotics fulfilment centre (FC), with Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the NSW Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney, Stuart Ayres, and Mayor of Penrith City, Tricia Hitchen cutting the ribbon on the new facility in Western Sydney.
The new robotics site is the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and offers a diverse range of job opportunities in a high-tech, industry-leading workplace. These roles range from area managers, operations and graduates to workplace health and safety, supply chain and transportation, as well as the Amazon associates who work collaboratively with technology, to pick, pack and ship items.
The FC is the “largest warehouse ever built in Australia.” It spans 200,000sqm across four levels and can house up to 20 million of the smaller items sold on Amazon.com.au including jewellery, books, electronics, pantry items and toys. It is Amazon’s second FC in Western Sydney, and sixth in Australia, helping the company to offer great selection and faster delivery to customers around the country. It has been equipped with cutting-edge technology to support the 1500 Amazon team members who will work there. Robotic drives work collaboratively with associates by moving pods of inventory to them, reducing the time and effort that would otherwise be required for an employee to stow items for sale or pick them for new customer orders. They also save space, allowing up to 40 per cent more items to be stowed which in turn allows for increased product selection benefiting the small and medium sized businesses who use Fulfilment by Amazon to seamlessly service customers around Australia.
“The opening of our first robotics fulfilment centre is a huge milestone for Amazon Australia, marking our continuous growth and investment in this country. We are proud to create exciting new jobs for Australians, working with innovative technology in a safe and supportive environment. Over the coming months we look forward to growing our team here and are excited to welcome people from all backgrounds and experiences as we offer more quality job opportunities to people in Western Sydney,” says Amazon Australia Director of Operations Craig Fuller.
“Since we launched Amazon.com.au we’ve been focused on offering customers great value, wide selection and fast delivery. This new robotics fulfilment centre helps us deliver even more on this promise. We are proud to support thousands of small and medium size Australian businesses who sell on Amazon.com.au and the addition of this FC to our network will provide even more opportunity for these businesses to better serve their customers around Australia.”
Joining the team Amazon’s new robotics fulfilment centre, Amazon Associate Shelven Duazo, who works on inbound operations, says: “I came across the opportunity and just couldn’t say no. I wanted to learn new things like how to drive a forklift, meet new people and work in a great team. Amazon has provided all the necessary training to work on such a unique site and has given me the resources to chart my own career path here at the robotics FC. I’m really looking forward to seeing what I can achieve here.”
Since launching, more than 11,000 Australian businesses, many of which are SMBs, are now selling through Amazon, and have sold more than 25 million units across its Australian and international stores in the past year.
