Fullfillment Centers in Greater Melbourne
Preface
My mentor, with 40 years in U.S. warehousing, once said, “The industry used to be simple—everything was routine—and universal: whether in Vietnam or the U.S., it was always ‘safety first, everything else follows.’ That is, until e-commerce became a thing.”
The Covid-19 pandemic further nurtured online shopping habits, made uncertainty the norm, and accelerated the adoption of automation and robotics to take over human roles inside the warehouse.
As someone with warehousing experience in Vietnam, new to Melbourne post-Covid, and hooked on online shopping, this project is my attempt to explore the Australian warehousing industry and understand how the pandemic has reshaped it.
Terminology
1. Fulfillment Center
Fulfillment centers are specialised warehouses that store finished products and prepare, pack, and ship customer orders - typically for e-commerce - either directly to consumers or to retail stores.
2. Key Characteristics of Fulfillment Centers
Strategic location: Often near transport hubs and densely populated areas to ensure fast, efficient delivery to end customers.
High scalability: Designed to handle large, fluctuating volumes of small-parcel, multi-item orders shipped to geographically dispersed destinations. Advanced technology and automation are often required to maintain speed and accuracy.
3. Two Main Types of Fulfillment Centers
3PL (Third-Party Logistics):
Operated by logistics providers, offering warehousing and order fulfillment services to multiple companies — ideal for small e-commerce businesses without in-house logistics capabilities.In-House:
Managed by the product-selling company itself, typically used by large retailers or brands with high order volumes and their own delivery team for better control over operations.