The Iconic unveils Sydney fulfilment centre upgrade

One of Australia's leading fashion e-retailers The Iconic has completed an 8,000sqm fulfilment centre expansion that will lift its inventory capacity by 1.55 million units.

The retailer's Yennora 2 upgrade in South West Sydney now gives it an overall capacity of more than 3.75 million units, with an additional 20km of shelving making it capable of satisfying 50,000 customers a day.

The Iconic's Fulfilment Centre space now spans a 28,000sqm footprint with 46,000sqm of fulfilment space, making it one of the largest mezzanines and pick towers in the Southern Hemisphere

This compares to 43,000sqm at Amazon Australia's fulfilment centre in Moorebank, Sydney which lies 15km south of The Iconic's facility. 

"I couldn't think of a better way to welcome 2020 than by announcing the expansion of our Yennora Fulfilment Centre," says The Iconic chief executive officer Erica Berchtold (pictured right).

"This expansion has been an incredible two year process and I'm so proud of our team and partners for building the best retail operations centre across Australia and New Zealand.

The company introduced automation to its Yennora Fulfilment Centre in early 2018, making it one of the pioneers in Australia for integrating ASRS (Automated Storage and Retrieval System) and tray sorter technology.

The Iconic claims automated picking and sorting solution has increased fulfilment capacity by 40 per cent, allowing orders to be fulfilled in as little as 10 minutes.

Amidst negative publicity around the treatment of workers on the automated premises of Amazon's South Dandenong warehouse in Victoria, where staff told the ABC they felt "dehumanised" in a workplace built around a culture of fear, The Iconic has emphasised positive benefits to using automation in Yennora.

The company says these benefits include ergonomically designed workstations improving the employee experience, and the offering of improved career paths with more technically challenging roles.

"Our investment into our Yennora 2 and ASRS expansion means we now have the largest Fulfilment Centre [in online fashion retail] in the country with an inventory and fulfilment capacity set to support our growing and future customer demand," says The Iconic chief operating officer Anna Lee (pictured left).

"Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, and we're thrilled to start 2020 with an unrivalled brand and product assortment, and industry-leading on-time delivery offering both now and into the future."

The company has also taken steps to improve the sustainability of its operations, with complete nstallation of LED lighting in the FC, 100 per cent recyclable shipping packaging, a transition to green providers for all energy needs, and plans to install warehouse solar next year which will be fully operational in 2022.

In addition, 70% of The Iconic's private label poly bags are made from recycled plastic, and it offers a zero or low emission delivery option to customers.

The mezzanine and pick tower were designed by SSI Schaefer.

"We are excited and proud to have been involved in the expansion of The Iconic's Fulfilment Centre including construction of the largest mezzanine and pick tower we have built in this region," says SSI Schaefer general manager sales and engineering Brett Thirup.

"We worked closely with The Iconic team, through the specification, design and build stages of the project, to ensure that collectively we delivered a solution that met The Iconic's ongoing business requirements."

Business News Australia