Electronics retailer ‘doubles volume’ with automation in Sydney warehouse

Jaycar Electronics Group, an electronics retailer based in Australia and New Zealand, has officially opened its new automated distribution centre in Eastern Creek, Sydney.

The 232,000ft² facility features a range of automated solutions which, according to the company, have allowed for a significant increase in storage and output, despite the new warehouse being a similar size to the previous one.

“We’re doubling our volume within the same warehouse space, which is even more important with industrial land prices continuing to rise in Sydney and major cities,” said Justin Mackedie, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Electus Distribution – the wholesale arm of Jaycar Electronics.

Mackedie added that the warehouse is performing “exceptionally well”, with 99.7% of orders being delivered in full and on time.

Intralogistics solutions provider Swisslog was tasked with automating the facility. It features a fully-automated goods-to-person picking system supporting up to 24,000 totes and cartons, as well as a 20,000-pallet capacity multi-deep automated pallet store.

Electus Distribution’s Mackedie explained: “Utilising Swisslog’s Vectura crane multi-deep pallet storage system, we can store pallets seven deep instead of the typical one or two, which means we can achieve about a 30% increase in storage per square metre of warehouse space.”

The warehouse’s automated systems are connected by Swisslog’s SynQ warehouse management system (WMS), which Jaycar Electronics believes can “optimise warehouse productivity, efficiency, and throughput, while eliminating bottlenecks”.

There has been a global trend of increasing levels of automation within warehouses in recent years. According to a report by LogisticsIQ, the global warehouse automation market is expected to be worth around US$41 billion by 2027.

However, a 2023 JLL study revealed that only 60% of logistics occupiers across the Asia Pacific region have deployed some form of automation solution. JLL’s Director of Research Consultancy for Asia Pacific, Peter Guevarra, explained the reasons behind this, saying: “Most occupiers cited the high initial capital expenditure (CapEx) as the primary obstacle, although the long payback period is also a clear hurdle in the decision-making process.”

Source: logisticsmanager.com