Walmart opens fifth next-generation fulfillment center
Walmart Inc. continues modernizing its supply chain infrastructure.
The discount giant opened its fifth in a series of planned high-tech, next-generation fulfillment centers on Thursday, Oct. 8. Located in Stockton, Calif, the more than 900,000-square-foot facility is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs and expand the retailer’s ability to provide faster shipping and delivery to customers across California and the West Coast. Walmart first announced that it would open the high-tech facility in Stockton in 2023.
Walmart’s next gen fulfillment center model – a closer look
The first state-of-the-art Walmart fulfillment location opened in summer 2022 in Joliet, Ill., servicing customers across Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. That location was followed by next-generation facilities that opened in McCordsville, Ind., Lancaster, Texas, and Greencastle, Penn.
[READ MORE: Walmart unveils next-gen fulfillment center model]
The new Stockton facility features Walmart’s high-tech order fulfillment system, developed in partnership with intelligent automation technology provider Knapp, which operates following five steps (previously 12 under Walmart’s traditional fulfillment process):
- Unload: Sellers and suppliers send merchandise in cases to a fulfillment center. As the cases arrive, associates unload the trailers and place cases onto a conveyor belt where they’re routed to receiving.
- Receive: At receiving, an associate breaks the case apart and places the individual items into a tote. The tote is fed into a massive, automated storage system where a shuttle transports it to one of millions of designated locations. The storage system is designed to account for every square-inch, spanning from floor to ceiling in a custom-built structure designed to hold the inventory.
- Pick: When a customer places an online order, the system goes into action, retrieving their items and shuttling the needed totes to an associate at a picking station. According to Walmart, previously associates would have walked up to nine miles per day, picking items from multiple floors of shelving spread out over hundreds of thousands of square feet of space.
- Pack: Simultaneously, a custom box is created to fit the exact measurements of the order. In the pack area, Walmart estimates associates can assemble up to four orders at once and send packages to be shipped in less than 30 minutes after the customer clicks to order.
- Ship: The completed order is then automatically taped, labeled, and routed to its designated zone, where it’s then shipped to its final destination.
The retailer says it is strategically locating these fulfillment centers to pair most effectively with its 4,700 stores and 210 distribution centers in the U.S. to get orders to customers fast and efficiently. In August, Walmart announced it would build a new 1.5 million-sq.-ft. automated facility in Georgia.
Combined with the rest of its fulfillment network, Walmart says these next-generation fulfillment centers will enable itsr to reach 95% of the U.S. population with next- or two-day shipping. Walmart Fulfillment Services, the retailer’s end-to-end third-party fulfillment service, will also leverage the space to fulfill third-party marketplace items.
“Stockton represents what we mean when we say Walmart is people-led and tech-powered,” said Karisa Sprague, senior VP, fulfillment operations, Walmart U.S. “We’re bringing together associates with advanced technology and automation to create a safer, more efficient operation that can fulfill more orders and get products to customers faster. This facility is an important investment in the Central Valley and a critical part of how we’re building the next generation of Walmart’s fulfillment network across the West Coast.”
Combined with the rest of Walmart’s fulfillment network, these next-generation fulfillment centers will enable the retailer to reach 95% of the U.S. population with next- or two-day shipping. Walmart Fulfillment Services, Walmart’s end-to-end third-party fulfillment service, will also leverage the space to fulfill third-party Marketplace items.
Headquartered in Bentonville, Ark., Walmart Inc. operates more than 10,900 stores and numerous e-commerce websites in 19 countries.
