While it continues to expand its distribution system, Walmart has opened a 1.1 million-square-foot Next Generation fulfillment center in Joliet, IL.
With the ability to handle millions of items at a time, Walmart Next Generation FCs employ technology to facilitate storage, picking, packing and shipping of items that appear on Walmart.com. The new facility will fulfill products from Walmart’s own inventory as well as marketplace items shipped by Walmart Fulfillment Services for third-party sellers.
The Joliet FC is the first to open of the four Nex-Gen FCs announced earlier this year. Each features a new patent-pending process powered by a combination of people, robotics and machine learning. The process involved will set a precedent in fulfillment speed by streamlining a manual 12-step process to five steps. Once completed, the four new state-of-the-art FCs will be able to provide 75% of the U.S. population with next- or two-day shipping, the company noted.
“As the first-of-its-kind for Walmart, our newly opened facility introduces an array of opportunities to our associates, including brand new tech-focused jobs. There’s never been a more exciting time to join Walmart Supply Chain,” said James Bright, general manager, Walmart Fulfillment Center FC3040, in announcing the opening.
