Walmart unveils first-of-its-type automation system in 'next-gen' fulfillment center
Walmart is debuting a “first-of-its-kind'“ supply chain automation system in its new high-tech fulfillment center in Joliet, Ill.
Located in Joliet, Ill., and described as the "first-of-its-kind" for Walmart, the 1.1 million-square.-feet, high-tech facility is the first of four state-of-the-art fulfillment centers dedicated to e-commerce that Walmart plans to open during the next three years.
High-tech meets Walmart tradition as the retail giant takes delivering to their customers to the next level’. On Wednesday, Walmart officially opens its new, next-generation fulfillment center in Joliet. The first-of-its-kind facility spans nearly 1.1 million square feet and uses automation to pack and ship online orders more efficiently. Spanning nearly 1.1 M square feet the new high-tech facility will begin operations ahead of the holiday season, bringing next- or two-day shipping to customers across Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. The new state-of-the-art facility will fulfill Marketplace items shipped by Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS), Walmart’s end-to-end fulfillment service for third-party eCommerce sellers. The southwest suburban facility has 300 million cubic feet of storage.
The next generation plan came as Walmart goes head-to-head with Amazon, meaning the idea to build fulfillment centers is right on time. Walmart warehouse workers used to walk 10 or miles a day to pick items off shelves and carry them back to a packaging area.
“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 III, general manager, Fulfillment Center FC3040. “I look forward to seeing the positive impact this team of associates and the Joliet facility will have on not only the Northeast Illinois community and economy, but also for Walmart customers across the Midwest.”
The new system streamlines a formerly manual, 12-step fulfillment process into the 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.
First-of-its-Kind Automation for Walmart
The new Joliet fulfillment center will be the first of four next-gen FCs, announced earlier this year, that will feature a new patent-pending process powered by the combination of people, robotics and machine learning. This process will set a new precedent in fulfillment speed by streamlining a manual twelve-step process to just five steps. Once completed, the four new state-of-the-art FCs for Walmart could provide 75 percent of the U.S. population with next- or two-day shipping.
“This new facility capitalizes on the way consumers are shopping today by ensuring products get to homes faster, all while providing good jobs to local families,” said State Rep. Larry Walsh Jr., “While this fulfillment center will have an impact across the Midwest, the impact felt locally will be greatest due to the commitment made to our local community and the jobs being created for workers here in our region.”
"This facility gives us the ability to reach the majority with two-day shipping, which speeds up your ability to get your items quickly, which is the ultimate the customer wants at all time," said Walmart Joliet Fulfillment Center General Manager James Bright. "Orders will come out of the automated storage and retrieval system where items are put into shipping boxes which are made to order, so there's less waste and customers aren't stuck with a big box for a small item.
"A lot of the manual labor has been reduced tremendously," Bright said. "I think it's a great opportunity."
“Customers continue to expect faster delivery times and we are excited to be able to meet those needs with these new high-tech facilities,” said Karisa Sprague, SVP Fulfillment Network Operations, Walmart U.S., “The addition of the Joliet next generation FC, paired with our 31 dedicated eCommerce fulfillment centers, will allow Walmart to fulfill online orders for Walmart.com and Walmart+ customers with greater shipping speed in the mid-west region. And, with the holidays around the corner, we’re excited to provide a more seamless experience for our customers.”
