Woolworths has launched its latest micro-fulfilment system at the recently completed eCom floor of its Maroochydore store in Queensland. It is the fourth for the retailer, having opened one in Melbourne in 2020 and two in New Zealand earlier this year.
In the quarter to 4 April, Woolworths reported an annual ecommerce sales growth of 90.5 per cent, with online now accounting for around eight per cent of total sales.
The 1250 square metre facility uses micro-fulfilment technology to sort and move products from automated storage units to team members hand picking orders.
The units hold up to 10,000 of the most in demand grocery products. Fresh fruit, vegetables and meat are still picked from the shopfloor.
Woolworths said it will improve the speed, efficiency and accuracy of the picking process, as well as accommodating for thousands of extra online orders from Sunshine Coast customers and more same day deliveries.
Woolworths operations manager for the Sunshine Coast Peta Hartley said continued growth in online grocery demand has allowed them to remap prospects for their stores.
“This technology will help our team of 150 personal shoppers pick orders with greater speed and accuracy, while keeping us close to our Sunshine Coast customers for faster and more flexible deliveries to the home. The new delivery capacity comes at a critical time as more of our customers turn to home delivery through the pandemic,” said Hartley.
The Maroochydore eStore has appointed around 150 team members to fulfil the orders with 80 of them being new to the business. The eStore will provide home delivery orders spanning from Coolum Beach to Wurtulla.
