When Penguin Random House Distribution outgrew its current home of 23 years in Scoresby, the thriving Dandenong South industrial precinct seemed like a logical choice for a new purpose-built site.
After conducting a study on employee’s’ locations relative to work, the team at Penguin Random House Distribution concluded a move 20 minutes down the road wouldn’t be too disruptive. With just under 500 employees nationally and almost 200 of those staff working at the distribution site, it was paramount that the move benefit employees – without disrupting their daily lives.
“It was all about where our people are located and maintaining continuity for our business and employees,” Operations Director Matthew O’Brien said. “We have quite a people-oriented culture, so our focus was first and foremost on our people when considering where to relocate. Of course, we wanted to sustain our business, but we also wanted the new location to be within a reasonable distance of where our employees live and to keep that community connection with them.”
Penguin Random House Distribution oversees the distribution operations for publisher Penguin Random House, as well as being a third-party logistics provider to the publishing industry. With the publishing industry continuing to grow, it was clear that the business needed a bigger home.
While staff were the primary consideration when deciding where to relocate to, Greater Dandenong’s investment in logistics capability and roading was also a drawcard. “The support infrastructure in Greater Dandenong for our business was very strong,” said Matthew. “That also contributed to our decision to relocate to the area.”
In mid-2025, Penguin Random House Distribution will relocate to a purpose-built 38,250m2 warehouse at Rubix Connect in Dandenong South. Location-wise, the estate is hard to beat, being just 2km east of an all-way access point to Frankston-Dandenong Road, which connects to the Eastlink, South Gippsland and Monash Freeways. It’s also a stone’s throw away from Salta’s Inland Port which will connect Nexus Dandenong South directly to the Port of Melbourne – handy for Penguin Random House Distributions’ movement of overseas container freight.
So, what will the move ultimately mean for the business?
For one, its warehouse will be bigger and more environmentally friendly. It will have a Five-Star Green Star rating under the Green Building Council of Australia rating system.
Probably the most exciting change, however, will be the addition of an automated goods-to-person picking system from KNAPP, enabling the company to streamline operations, improve efficiency and ultimately grow to ship more than 50 million books a year across Australia and New Zealand. “Considering we did 34 million last year, that’s a pretty significant growth,” said Matthew.
Matthew anticipates the move will create more jobs in the region, though it’s hard to say how many. “As growth comes, we’ll add permanent roles over the course of the next five or six years,” he said. “Exactly what that looks like, it’s hard to tell, but that’s our intent.”
Excited and eager about the move ahead, Matthew said: “There’s a lot still to do and some weeks it feels quite daunting, but we have a good team here and everybody has been pulling all stops to make it all work really well,” he said. “I think our people are excited to be moving to a modern building with nice amenities – one that’s new and purpose-built. They’re looking forward to a newer, bigger, better working operation to help them continue to share the magic of books.”
If you have a new chapter in your business story, we’d love to hear from you too. Council has a business team dedicated to supporting both new and existing businesses in Greater Dandenong.
Reach out via email at business@cgd.vic.gov.au or visit Council's business webpage to learn about the services available to you.
