Construction of the southern hemisphere’s first Amazon robotics fulfilment centre (FC) is nearing completion.
Claimed to be the largest warehouse ever built in Australia, the robotics facility in the Sydney suburb of Kemps Creek spans 200,000sqm across four levels.
The building’s shell is complete, and the site is in the final stages of internal fit-out, external works and commissioning of building services. It will be Amazon’s second FC in western Sydney, and sixth in Australia.
More than 4000 people have worked on the construction and fit out of the site. This included installation of around 14km of advanced conveyancing equipment and 2.5km of Amazon robotics safety fencing.
Approximately 37,000 yellow storage pods have been built to house up to 20 million of the smaller items sold on Amazon.com.au. Hundreds of robotics drives have also been commissioned, ready to assist employees fulfil customer orders.
Robots will work collaboratively with employees by moving the pods of inventory to them. This, according to Amazon, will reduce the time and effort that would otherwise be required for the employee to stow items for sale or pick them for new customer orders. They also save space, says the company, allowing for 50% more items to be stowed per square metre which in turn allows for increased product selection.
Amazon Australia Director of Operations Craig Fuller says the opening of this site will double the company’s operational footprint in Australia while creating more than 1500 local jobs in western Sydney, with the opportunity to work alongside advanced robotics.
“The introduction of robotics enables us to exponentially increase our capacity for storing inventory, providing additional opportunities for the thousands of small and medium sized Australian businesses we support, while increasing product selection and improving delivery speed for our customers around the country,” he says.
“We’re pleased to offer quality employment opportunities for people in western Sydney in a safe and positive work environment, at a time when they are needed most. Along with specialised positions in areas like robotics, we have a range of roles that don’t require formal qualifications and provide an opportunity to work alongside advanced technology and build a career at Amazon.”