Amazon uses high levels of automation

It appears that global online shopping giant Amazon has signed a lease on a large purpose-built warehouse at the Goodman Group's Oakdale Industrial Estate at Sydney's Eastern Creek.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Amazon has confirmed that it is to start operating in Australia, with local fulfillment centres around the country.

The newspaper could not get confirmation of the lease from estate agents said to be working with the retailer, but other agents were certain the deal had been concluded.

If the speculation is correct, Amazon will move into Oakdale South, near to DHL's facilities on the other part of the estate, Oakdale Central.

While Amazon's arrival will create thousands of jobs, it will also be of huge interest to materials handling vendors and logistics systems integrators.

However, a large slice of Amazon's equipment order will probably be filled in-house, with the giant tipped to deploy Kiva robots in Australia. By late last year, the company already had 30,000 robots at work in 13 fulfillment centres and hinted that it would use them more widely.

Amazon acquired Kiva Systems in 2012 and last year renamed it Amazon Robotics. It is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon.