Supermarket chain Coles has inaugurated its first automated customer fulfilment centre (CFC) at Truganina in Victoria, Australia.
The Truganina CFC, 20km west of Melbourne, was officially inaugurated by Victorian Acting Premier Tim Pallas MP, Coles group chairman James Graham and CEO Leah Weckert.
The facility is the first of two CFCs set to launch in 2024, as part of a $400m partnership with Ocado, an online grocery and technology provider.
The Truganina CFC promises to deliver an improved shopping experience for online customers, with improved product availability, reduced substitutions, a broader range of items and extended shelf-life for essentials such as mince and milk.
The facility’s delivery catchment covers the expansive Melbourne region, from Ballan in the west to Bunyip in the east, and Beveridge in the north to the Mornington Peninsula.
It stores speciality brands and local foods, including offerings from smaller suppliers such as Lello Pasta.
Customers can access an extended range of products across categories including health, dietary needs, vitamins and baby care.
The facility also has an on-site bakery and a fresh produce area, both operating on an order-to-demand basis, minimising wastage.
The 87,000m² facility can hold three million units of stock and process 10,000 customer orders per day at full capacity.
Coles offers extended delivery windows from 5am to 10pm, with later cut-offs for next-day deliveries.
The CFC utilises advanced Ocado technology, incorporating AI, robotics and automation to revolutionise the picking, packing and delivery process for online orders.
The CFC also features the Hive, a central hub with 700 bots that can fulfil 50-item orders in five minutes.
An AI "air traffic control" system manages the bots as they navigate giant 3D grids.
The CFC employs more than 1,000 team members, including drivers and fulfilment roles, and operates a fleet of 200 specially designed home delivery vans with dual compartments for fresher products and a side door for safer unloading.
Ocado's technology will optimise delivery times by calculating the most efficient routes in real-time.
With sustainability in minds, the Truganina CFC also features a 2MW solar installation, sensor lighting, a water recycling system and a commitment to 100% cardboard recycling.
Leah Weckert said: "Today's opening signals a major step change in our online grocery deliveries that will offer our customers greater choice, better availability, improved freshness and more flexible delivery options. We sought the best global technology in the world to reimagine the Coles Online experience here in Australia."
The Truganina CFC's launch will be followed by the opening of a second site in Wetherill Park, New South Wales, in October 2024.
In August, Coles inaugurated its second automated distribution centre in Kemps Creek, western Sydney.
