Walmart, the largest grocery retailer in the United States, announced on Wednesday, July 10th, that it will be opening five fresh food automated distribution centers nationwide to meet the evolving needs of customers, enhance efficiency, and keep up with the growing demand for online orders.
Headquartered in Arkansas, Walmart has already built and tested a high-tech distribution center in Shafter, California, which is the first of the five fresh food automated distribution centers planned by the retail giant. The other four centers will be located in Lancaster near Dallas, Texas, Wellford in South Carolina, Belvidere in Illinois, and Pilesgrove in New Jersey.
According to Walmart, these new distribution centers feature automated storage and retrieval systems that can quickly retrieve items needed for store replenishment and transport them to a staging area for delivery to stores. Robot systems assist in moving and stacking these items, placing fragile items such as eggs on top instead of having workers manually stack them.
Walmart has been modernizing its supply chain to meet current demands as more customers request curbside pickup or home delivery. In the recent quarter, the retailer’s e-commerce business in the U.S. grew by 22%, largely driven by in-store pickup and delivery services.
Dave Guggina, Executive Vice President of Supply Chain Operations at Walmart, said in an interview with CNBC that the automated facilities provide the company with a more accurate understanding of its inventory and enable faster delivery of grocery items to stores.
He stated, “We know what we have, how much we have, and where it is, all in near real-time.”
These high-tech facilities also increase the efficiency of item placement. Guggina mentioned that the storage capacity of each distribution center is double that of a traditional center, and they handle over twice the volume compared to traditional distribution centers.
The executive also noted that workers in Walmart’s traditional distribution centers act like “industrial athletes,” moving hundreds of boxes per hour and walking miles each day. However, in the new facilities, they take on supervisory roles.
In a press release published on Walmart’s website on Wednesday, Guggina stated, “Technology is transitioning physically demanding jobs to operating and maintaining high-tech systems, thereby improving the quality of life for employees.”