Mydin Mohamed Holdings Bhd is taking a major leap toward the future of retail logistics with the development of its highly automated national distribution centre (MDC) in Elmina, Selangor. The project marks a strategic shift in how Malaysia’s largest homegrown hypermarket chain manages workforce, efficiency, and supply chain resilience.
Managing director Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin announced that the new centre will run on 70 percent automation, significantly cutting the need for foreign labour. Once operational, the Elmina MDC will require just 132 employees, a sharp decrease from the 350 workers currently operating the Shah Alam distribution hub.
“Our Shah Alam distribution centre, managed mainly by foreign workers, handles around 1,800 pallets daily. With the new MDC, automation will redefine what we can accomplish with a much leaner team,” Ameer Ali said at the Groundbreaking Ceremony today.
A core component of this transformation is the Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS). The technology is designed to free employees from repetitive manual tasks and allow them to focus on higher-value roles, all while enhancing consistency and efficiency across operations.
Once completed, the new MDC will be capable of handling an impressive 10,200 pallets per day – more than a fivefold increase from the current distribution capacity.
The RM447 million facility spans 7.6 hectares and is being developed in partnership with Sime Darby Property Bhd. The project is scheduled to be completed by the third quarter of 2027, and will serve as the national logistics backbone for Mydin’s growing network of outlets, projected to exceed 110 stores nationwide.
Sime Darby Property group managing director Datuk Seri Azmir Merican said the development represents a significant push for Malaysia’s logistics sector toward greater automation and digitalisation. He added that the facility is expected to deliver a 240 percent boost in throughput, a 36 percent improvement in pallet storage efficiency, and over 50 percent reduction in dependency on manual labour.
