Leading supermarket chain, Woolworths has announced it will launch a Pop-Up Delivery Hub to help cope with more than 5,000 weekly delivery windows.

The facility will open on a 7,000 sqm site in Melbourne as the company doubles online capacity to meet soaring demand as it expects to make tens of thousands of extra weekly deliveries of its online customers as of this week.

Woolworths team members will hand pick online orders for customers from one of its 850 supermarkets across Australia before passing onto its last mile delivery partners Sherpa and Drive Yello couriers for next day delivery.

These orders are capped at 40 items.

Sherpa and Drive Yello have signed up more than 5,000 new delivery drivers onto their on-demand platforms to help meet the fast increasing demand for online groceries.

Together with recent increases out of the existing home delivery network, Woolworths has now doubled its online capacity over the past month.

WooliesX Managing Director Amanda Bardwell said the company was seeing a big increase in demand for home delivery as more customers sought to limit their outings in the community.

“While our first priority remains the most vulnerable in the community, we can now serve many more of our regular online customers, including Delivery Unlimited subscribers, as well," she said.

“We’ve worked hard behind the scenes to find innovative ways to provide much-needed additional delivery capacity across Australia.

"In partnership with Sherpa and Drive Yello, we now have a highly flexible and scalable way to meet the needs of many more of our online customers in the weeks and months ahead.”

Woolworths’ Melbourne Pop-Up Delivery Hub has been setup in Notting Hill will hold a curated range of popular online products and provide employment to more than 400 Melburnians.

The Hub won’t be open to walk-up shoppers.

“Our Pop-Up Delivery Hub in Notting Hill is designed to complement the incredible work our online teams have been doing for our Priority Assistance customers in Victoria," said Bardwell.

"We’ll keep a close eye on customer feedback to see if there is value in standing up more sites like this across Australia.”

The announcement follows news last week that Woolworths has partnered with Australian food services supplier PFD to support the temporary fulfillment of orders to its B2B customers.

Under the agreement it will provide business customers with access to PFD’s current product range and stock, and its order fulfilment and last-mile solutions through Woolworths’ website.

In March, Woolworths introduced an $80 Basics Box of meals, snacks and essential items to simplify online ordering for customers in need. These boxes - which can be ordered by customers directly or on behalf of someone in need - are packed by DHL and delivered by Australia Post within two to five business days.