Synnex Australia has revealed further details about its plans to replace its existing Sydney warehouse with a state-of-the-art logistics centre nearby.
CEO Kee Ong first revealed the plans during an exclusive interview with CRN last year, and today outlined the full extent of the new investment, including what it means for the company's plans to improve service and expand its market share in Australia.
As part of a $34 million,12-month reconstruction, Synnex's current facility in Lidcombe will be relocated to a new site - bought in 2010 for an undisclosed sum - only metres away on the corner of Parramatta Rd and Burnie Avenue.
Running on a combination of Oracle ERP software as well as in-house designed systems, Ong boasted the new warehouse would be completely automated.
An electronic sorter would manage the company’s 10,000 per day box moving and shipments, alongside automated picking for bulky stock in the facility’s five storey-high towers, automated labelling and dispatch, as well as back-end automation for customer transactions.
Ong admitted the cost of new facility was very high but said company had thoroughly outgrown the old one.
"Our current facility cannot cater for our future growth,” he told CRN.
Key to managing this growth was reining in the high costs of operating in Australia.
“The initial cost of the warehouse is extremely high, but in 20 to 30 years time it will be cheaper to run,” Ong said. “We’ll invest a lot more in an automated approach to improve productivity internally.”
Synnex said 80 staff from the old warehouse would move across to the new facility alongside an additional 100 new workers.
The new Lidcombe facility is the first automated Synnex warehouse in Australia and the fourth in the Asia Pacific region. Synnex currently counts three other warehouses in Australia across Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
Ong said the company would look at introducing an automated system in its Melbourne warehouse pending the success of its Sydney operation.
Synnex recently signed a partnership with Toshiba in Australia for its full range of IT products spanning netbooks, tablets, all-in-one computers, data projectors, storage and accessories.
It also reuinted with peripherals vendor Logitech in February after a year-long separation, due to "differences between the two companies".
Ong said Synnex was on the verge of signing two new vendor partnerships with companies in the mobility space but declined to comment further.
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