There are already 31 Walmart fulfillment centers dedicated to ecommerce, and 4,700 stores located within 10 miles of 90% of the U.S. population, giving them the ability to fulfill online orders at exceptional speed. They’re not stopping there however and have announced plans to build four next generation Walmart fulfillment centers over the next three years, with the first opening this summer in Joliet, Illinois.
These FCs will be the first of their kind for Walmart, using the powerful combination of people, robotics, and machine learning to set an entirely new precedent for us on the speed of fulfillment while continuing to create a positive work environment for our associates.
– David Guggina, Senior Vice President of Innovation and Automation, Walmart US
Walmart partnered with Knapp to develop an automated, high-density storage system that streamlines a manual, twelve-step process into just five steps. They say that the benefits of this technology are wide-ranging and include: more comfort for associates, double the storage capacity and double the number of customer orders Walmart fulfillment centers are able to fulfill in a day.
Walmart fulfillment centers can serve UK retailers
What should tweak your interest is that four new next generation FCs could provide 75% of the US population with next- or two-day shipping on millions of items, including Marketplace items shipped by Walmart Fulfillment Services. Combined with their traditional FCs, Walmart can reach 95% of the US population with next- or two-day shipping, and by making use of the expansive reach of stores, they can offer same-day delivery to 80% of the US population.
Walmart are actively recruiting UK retailers to sell on their marketplace and if you’re interested the Walmart UK Global Seller Summit is taking place in London this Friday – You’ve just got time to register to find out how Walmart can propel your business in the US and get your products in front of hundreds of millions of potential US consumers.