Walmart opens latest next-gen fulfillment center

Walmart continues expanding its high-tech supply chain infrastructure.

The discount giant is opening a 1.5 million-square-foot fulfillment center 15 miles south of Dallas in Lancaster, Texas on Tuesday, Oct. 17. This next-generation facility is designed to enable Walmart to fulfill more orders, more quickly.

Walmart’s next gen fulfillment center model – a closer look

Walmart is opening at least five state-of-the-art fulfillment centers dedicated to e-commerce during the next three years, including the Lancaster hub and a facility scheduled to open in Stockton, Calif. in 2026. The first location opened in summer 2022 in Joliet, Ill., servicing customers across Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.

Along with a recently opened facility in McCordsville, Ind., a hub is also slated to open in Greencastle, Penn..

The high-tech order fulfillment system, developed in partnership with intelligent automation technology provider Knapp, operates following five steps:

• 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 is strategically locating these fulfillment centers to pair most effectively with its 4,700 stores and 210 distribution centers to get orders to customers fast and efficiently.

Walmart previously said it initially planned four centers alone could provide 75% of the U.S. population with next- or two-day shipping on millions of items. Combined with its traditional fulfillment centers, the retailer said it would be able to reach 95% of the U.S. population with next- or two-day shipping and could also offer same-day delivery to 80% of the U.S. population using its stores.

The Lancaster fulfillment center will employ more than 1,000 Walmart associates, including tech-focused jobs. Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS), a fee-based program providing services including storing, picking, packing and shipping, along with the handling of returns and customer service, will also leverage the space to fulfill third-party Walmart Marketplace items.  

“Walmart is paving the way for good jobs and great careers in the Dallas region with the Lancaster fulfillment center. These tech-powered jobs will drive the future of Walmart’s continued promise of speedy shipping and delivery for customers in the south-central U.S. just in time for the holidays,” said Karisa Sprague, senior VP, fulfillment network operations for Walmart U.S. “Our next generation fulfillment centers are the perfect example of how we are a people-led, tech-powered retailer.”

Headquartered in Bentonville, Ark., Walmart Inc. operates more than 10,500 stores and numerous e-commerce websites in 20 countries.