MHD COVER STORY
CATCH FLEXES WITH KÖRBER SUPPLY CHAIN Catch Group has strengthened its partnership with Körber Supply Chain and will roll out the largest deployment of AMRs in ANZ at its new distribution centre in Sydney. MHD finds out more.
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s an early adopter of flexible and mobile automation, Catch partnered with Körber Supply Chain, the leading international technology group, to deploy more than 100 autonomous mobile robots at its Victorian distribution centre (DC) last year. After seeing significant growth throughout 2020, Catch will grow its logistics network by building a new fulfilment centre in Moorebank, south-west Sydney. The 45,000 sqm facility will be Catch’s first DC outside of Victoria and is the third DC in Australia for the leading online retailer. According
to Richard Whetton, Head of Fulfilment at Catch, this investment is essential to Catch being able to meet growing consumer demand throughout the nation. “Over the past 12 months, the needle has moved. Customers expect their goods much faster than they did before and we simply cannot compete by having all of our product in Melbourne. We need to be closer to the customer and this new facility in Sydney is our first step on this journey,” Richard says. As the site is a Brownfield site, the Körber automation solution was a perfect fit for the retailer as it is modular and can be moved if needed.
The facility will be Catch’s first DC outside of Victoria and is the third DC in Australia for the leading online retailer. 10 | MHD OCTOBER 2021
“We’re going heavy with our commitment to AMR,” Richard adds. “At our new site in Moorebank, we will roll out 368 of the same robots that we have been utilising in Melbourne. For us, this solution really is the bestin-class worldwide and helps us to service our customers as quickly and efficiently as possible.” “This large-scale mobile automation commitment from Catch really is a testament to how the market is changing and how leading retailers are starting to look at automation,” Nishan Wijemanne, Managing Director APAC at Körber Supply Chain says. “We’re starting to see a real shift
