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Diarmuid McArdle
Case study of Coles’ first Automated Distribution Centre – The largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere
Coles' first Automated Distribution Centre (ADC) using global leading Witron technology is the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.
This is the first of two Witron facilities to open in Australia and comes after Coles Group’s biggest investment into technology in the company’s 109-year history. More than one billion dollars is being invested - with the second ADC opening in Kemps Creek, NSW in 2024.
The ADCs are designed to create safer and more sustainable outcomes for team members and suppliers, and better on-shelf availability for customers. The ADCs can process twice the number of cases and hold twice the number of pallets compared to Coles current DCs. The ADCs enable Coles to half the current total footprint, leading to a more productive and sustainable business model.
When operating at full capacity, the site can process up to 4 million cases per week, the equivalent of 32 million units sold in stores. Over the course of a year, this is around 1.6 billion sales units. The state-of-the-art facility in Redbank will service 219 Coles supermarkets in Queensland and Northern New South Wales. Over 90 percent of the cases processed in these automated distribution centres will be processed fully by automation or ergonomically. This improves safety for team members as it eliminates almost 18 million kilograms of manual handling in the supply chain each week once the ADC is running close to full capacity.
About Diarmuid
Diarmuid is the Head of Automation Programs for Coles Group. He leads the design and delivery of automation, including the two new Coles Automated Distribution Centres (located in Redbank in Queensland, and Kemps Creek in New South Wales, in partnership with global automation expert, Witron.
Prior to joining Coles Group in 2004 Diarmuid held leadership roles with United Kingdom retailers Sainsburys and Littlewoods Home Shopping Group, implementing large scale automation programs across multiple facilities.
Since 2017 Diarmuid has worked with Witron on all aspects of the planning, design, installation, commissioning and delivery of the strategically important ADCs, which form the largest single technology investment in the history of Coles.