Tuesday, 15 May 2018: Woolworths has today announced plans to develop a new multi-million dollar facility that will store and deliver fresh produce, plus some chilled product to its Supermarkets in Victoria.

The new Melbourne Fresh Distribution Centre (MFDC) will be located in Truganina in the western suburbs of Melbourne and be co-located with Woolworths MeatCo.

The custom-designed facility will replace the current operations at Mulgrave Produce and Recycling DC in late 2020.

Paul Graham, Woolworths Chief Supply Chain Officer said; “Our decision to build a new distribution centre forms part of our ambition to create a best in class supply chain network.

“The Melbourne Fresh Distribution Centre is designed to have state-of-the-art refrigeration to ensure the quality and freshness of our produce. It also provides additional capacity to support our growing business in Victoria, which last year included the creation of 2,400 new jobs in the state.

“Co-location with the Woolworths MeatCo and proximity to produce markets will provide us with opportunities to improve how we deliver fresher, faster and more efficiently to our stores in Victoria. This helps us deliver on our fresh food commitment to our customers.”

The Mulgrave Produce DC will continue to operate until the Melbourne Fresh Distribution Centre is open in late 2020. Following this, the Mulgrave site will then be repurposed over a period of months to facilitate and support the Melbourne National Distribution Centre.

Paul Graham added; “Between now and the opening of the Melbourne Fresh Distribution Centre, we will be consulting with individual team members at Mulgrave around potential redeployment opportunities either within Woolworths Group Supply Chain or the wider Woolworths Group.

"Although the move is more than two years away, we understand this is a major change for our team members at Mulgrave and we are committed to supporting everyone through it."