In a project that wasn’t without disruption thanks to Covid, The Arnott’s Group officially commissioned its $65 million automated distribution centre today (30 August). With almost four times previous capacity and comprehensive automation, efficiencies have already been unlocked.
The company announced plans for the ADC in 2019, looking to streamline operations and provide greater flexibility to respond to changing customer needs, while also improving the reliability and efficiency of the business. While it started operating in earnest last year, the celebration allowed 50 of Arnott's top suppliers and representatives of the companies involved to tour the facility and see it in action.
Arnott’s Group director of Procurement and Logistics, Tom Vicars, said the now fully operational site is an “incredible asset”.
Located next to the group’s largest bakery, the ADC will be the main thoroughfare for more than 60 per cent of its national inventory, giving Arnott’s operational savings and prime proximity to key retail partners’ distirbution hubs.
Vicars said, “We continue to expand our Australian operations and need the storage and logistics infrastructure in place to accommodate this growth. We intend for Western Sydney to be the beating heart of our national operations, and you need only step into the warehouse to get a sense of the sheer scale of what we are hoping to achieve.
“It has already unlocked significant efficiencies and scale for the business.”
The 43,000 sqm site can accommodate 28,000 pallets – almost four times the site’s previous capacity and set to deliver operational savings of more than $10 million.
distribution centre.
Robotics and automation are at the heart of the build, with a sophisticated ‘one-touch’ logistics solution that incorporates minimal touch point automation and a new palletising system by Robotic Automation.
Daifuku supplied the ASRS cranes and other equipment, Northrop provided structural engineering services, FDC Construction & Fitout was the builder, Robotic Automation delivered palletisation systems, TMX operated as building consultant and project management, and Auxiem provided project management.
It was a successful team, with the project winning the Master Builders Association of NSW Award for Industrial Buildings ($20m+).
The building also has a 2464 solar array on the roof, which will generate more than 1500 gigawatt hours of energy. Arnott’s has installed four 40-foot batteries in the adjacent baking factory and once the two are linked, it will generate up to 22 per cent of the Huntingwood site’s energy needs.
Arnott’s Group CEO George Zoghbi said it was fitting for the biggest warehouse to sit beside its biggest manufacturing site, making its Huntingwood plant a world class food manufacturing operation from the very beginning of mixing ingredients to completed products being shipped to customers.
“It is an exciting day and not just because we have a new warehouse. It is an exciting day because it is a demonstration of our commitment to manufacturing, building capital in Australia and specifically Western Sydney.
“It is exciting because dreams that we’ve had about where we want to take this business, how we want to continue to grow and delight consumers, and creating delicious moments every day are coming into reality. Every organisation has a dream, but few manage to turn them into reality. We are very pleased to be one of the companies that is able to do so,” Zoghbi said.
Inside the ADC, the original building has been repurposed for Arnott’s chocolate products. One automatic storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) is set to 27C for the Supergloss process, which gives Tim Tams their glossy appearance and extends shelf life. It can hold up to 2000 pallets.
After 24 hours, the product is moved to the chilled AS/RS, set at 18-22C, for another 24 hours and are then ready for customer orders. This system has the capacity for more than 5800 pallets.
Both of these AS/RS systems are fed by the sortation transfer vehicle (STV).
Vicars likens the STVs - there are 12 of them - to a metro rail.
Michael Jee, executive GM Sales & Marketing for Daifuku Oceania, says the STV is the backbone on the entire system, connecting all parts of the warehouse via a single rail loop, capable of handling more than 300 pallets an hour.
“The solutions within the facility are designed to streamline the process from manufacturing through to delivery, with automation meaning products are inducted, stored, monitored, and prepared for delivery with minimal human intervention.
“This one- touch philosophy means that both products and orders are managed and prepared faster, improving delivery times to store and providing an unparalleled level of visibility and productivity,” Jee said.
A prime example of this is the palletising operation, which now has a 200 pallet per hour capability, a tenfold increase from what it was.
Meanwhile, cartons of biscuits come to the ADC over an airbridge, where picker robots by Robotic Automation at the goods to person station (GTP) sort the boxes onto different pallets. They also pick in sequence based on orders and layer appropriately, so product doesn’t get crushed.
Outbound orders arrive in sequence and move into the robotic palletising area, down two elevators to the warehouse floor for wrapping. Pallets are identified, stretch wrapped and barcoded before moving to either AS/RS bay.
The show pony of the build however, is the 35-metre-high fully automated bay, which can hold 22,000 pallets.
Vicars said, “This project is a significant investment to modernise our network and ensure we have the systems and processes in place to support our growth, remain competitive and continue to make our iconic products in Australia with ingredients sourced predominantly from Australian suppliers.
“Its success is largely a testament to the working relationships we have with both our automation partner, Daifuku, and logistics partner, Linfox,” Vicars said.
The day-to-day operations of the site are managed in conjunction with logistics giant, Linfox, as part of a 15-year national agreement with The Arnott’s Group.
as part of a 15-year national agreement between the two.
