Synnex's new logistics centre, located in Lidcombe, Sydney.
Synnex has unveiled its $45 million logistics centre which utilises the distributor’s own automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) for accelerated and more accurate decision making for itself, vendors, and resellers.
The 10,600 sqm facility was opened on Wednesday by visiting Synnex and Mitac Group chairman, Dr Matthew Miau, and Federal Minister for Communications, Malcolm Turnbull. It is located in Lidcombe, a growing commercial and industrial hub in Western Sydney.
IN PICTURES: Synnex's $45m automated logistics centre launched by Turnbull and Dr Miau
Also in attendance was Synnex Australia CEO, Kee Ong, Auburn City Mayor, Hicham Zraika, NSW Minister for Finance and Services, Dominic Perrottet, and Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Australia representative, Katharine Chang, alongside more than 200 vendors and business partners.
The centre is fully-automated, meaning every item is registered, analysed, and shipped by the ASRS, which is backed by custom enterprise resource planning (ERP) and business intelligence (BI) software.
Turnbull branded Synnex’s presence in Lidcombe as “the future of distribution and logistics.”
He said, “We fail to remember that the progress in logistics, in the actual handling and delivering of materials, is just as revolutionary… as the digital revolution.”
Speaking with ARN at the launch, Dr Miau said, “In distribution we value three things: visibility, velocity, and value. The three V philosophy is very important, but it all boils down to an understanding of a lot of data.”
“The heart of a business operation is the ERP system, but to understand all that data, you need good BI,” he said.
“With our system we have on-time, correct data in front of us to make good business decisions and judgements, and then we add a lot of value to this analysis. That’s what keeps us ahead of competitors.”
“We can share this information with resellers; they will be moving faster and making wiser decisions.”
Dr Miau said that the processing will increase throughput; the facility will ship more than 10,000 items each day.
Growing distribution by growing economy
The logistics centre is expected to have a profound impact on Synnex’s Australian business which was valued at $1.6 billion, prior to the facility’s launch.
While the potential impact cannot yet be quantified, Synnex is supporting the centre by increasing headcount by more than 100, adding to its 400 existing employees in Australia. New staff will be spread across the full spectrum of roles, from logistics management to sales and marketing.
Mayor Zraika said the centre “brings a great economic benefit for NSW, Western Sydney, and our local area.”
He also said it represented one of the largest investments by a Taiwanese company in this country, and was pleased the distributor would be accessing the vibrant, youthful and skilled local ICT talent.
According to Perrottet, the opening reflected the changing nature of the NSW ICT economy. He said 40 per cent of all ICT business in the country were based in NSW, with six per cent of all workers in the state working in the IT industry.
