By Shukry Rashid
NTUC FairPrice officially unveiled its new FairPrice Hub on 16 September 2015 with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as guest-of-honour. Located adjacent to Joo Koon MRT, the FairPrice Hub also serves as the social enterprise’s new headquarters and houses the new High-Tech Distribution Centre.
NTUC FairPrice Chairman Bobby Chin said: “FairPrice Hub is the culmination of our efforts and a hallmark that connects our past to our present and future. It is a reflection of our history and a tribute to the commitment of our founding members.”
Distribution Centre
The new High-Tech Distribution Centre, which started operations end-2014, features productivity measures like the Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS), together with the Caddy Pick system. It uses robotic technology and autonomous vehicles mounted on a monorail system for warehousing operations. This effectively allows FairPrice to double its storage space.
It is also able to achieve high productivity of 200 cartons per man hour – twice the rate of a conventional distribution centre that uses manual pallet movers.
These technological innovations will help FairPrice to manage increasing consumer demands for the next 20 years.
