Thursday, 15 August 2023: Woolworths has revealed plans for its first Customer Fulfilment Centre (CFC) in Western Australia, which will be located in Mirrabooka, Perth North to serve increasing demand for online grocery orders from Perth's growing population.
The CFC will be dedicated to filling online orders for home delivery and Direct to Boot, with its team of personal shoppers hand-picking products from shelves and fridges inside the 7800sqm warehouse, which will be modelled on a large-scale supermarket without customers.
While Woolworths stores will continue to pick and pack online orders, the new CFC will significantly boost the retailers' eCommerce capacity, increasing next day fleet delivery capacity by more than 50%* across the greater Perth metro area, meaning more customers will be able to book an order window that suits them best.
Woolworths Managing Director eComX, Sally Copland said: "We're delighted to announce WA's first Customer Fulfilment Centre, which will help us better meet the needs of Perth's growing population for fast and convenient online groceries.
"Not only will the new centre create more jobs in the area, it will also provide a major capacity boost to our same day delivery and Direct to Boot services."
The $23.8 million development received state planning approval last week, with initial projections forecasting construction to commence by early 2026 and be operational in 2027. The CFC is expected to create approximately 150 new jobs through construction, with more than 400 jobs in the area for personal shoppers, management roles and home delivery drivers upon completion.
While Woolworths' home delivery trucks will carry orders from the site to customers' doorsteps, the development will also include 12 Direct to Boot parking bays for local customer orders to be collected on-the-go.
The unveiling of the new CFC comes as Perth's population continues to grow, with the city forecast to become Australia's third largest city after Sydney and Melbourne by 2050.
The site is located at Alexander Drive, providing good connectivity to Reid Highway, Mitchell Freeway and Tonkin Highway. The addition of the Mirrabook facility will bring Woolworths' total number of CFCs across Australia to eight.
The facility is being built on a greenfield site, which is part of a larger industrial subdivision led by Hesperia. The project is targeting a 5-Star Green Star Rating from the Green Building Council Australia, with a range of sustainability features including zero carbon operating energy, EV charging, sustainable materials, natural lighting and solar panels.
