DHL Supply Chain Australia has invested AU$9 million (€5 million) in automation and warehouse upgrades at its life sciences and healthcare logistics facility in South-West Sydney, New South Wales.
The investment includes the deployment of an Automated Storage and Retrieval System (AS/RS) designed to increase capacity, improve operational efficiency and support growing demand for specialised healthcare logistics services.
The upgrade forms part of DHL Group’s Strategy 2030, which identifies life sciences and healthcare as a key growth sector, and supports the expansion of its DHL Health Logistics network in Australia.
The pharmaceutical-grade facility currently serves more than 40 customers across Australia’s highly regulated healthcare sector, including pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostics companies.
DHL Supply Chain Australia and New Zealand CEO Steve Thompsett said the investment would help the company respond to changing customer requirements.
“We are committed to supporting our life sciences and healthcare customers, whose work is essential to the wellbeing of Australians. At our LSHC facility in South-West Sydney, we are deploying proven automation technology where it delivers tangible operational impact for customers and patients. This enhances our capacity, agility, and responsiveness, enabling us to deliver flexible and scalable solutions that meet evolving customer and market demands.
This investment strengthens our operational excellence and presents new opportunities for our workforce, using technology to complement human expertise with innovation to deliver reliable outcomes for our customers.”
The new automation system, supplied by Hai Robotics, covers more than 3,000 square metres and incorporates 14,700 shelving locations and 14,000 inventory totes managed by 12 autonomous storage and retrieval robots.
It also includes five goods-to-person picking stations, six dedicated decanting and packing stations, and 10 smart dispatch sortation lanes. The system is designed to support the requirements of 20 existing customers.
The broader 36,237-square-metre facility incorporates several sustainability features, including a 1 MWp rooftop solar installation and grid electricity consumption matched through locally purchased renewable energy certificates.
Additional measures include sensor-controlled LED lighting, smart energy metering, energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, rainwater harvesting and water-saving fixtures.
The site also uses cool roofing and rapid-rise roller doors to help minimise energy consumption and reduce energy loss during warehouse operations.
The South-West Sydney upgrade adds to DHL’s healthcare logistics capabilities in Australia and complements its broader network of specialised healthcare facilities and logistics services across the Asia Pacific region.
