Walmart opened this Thursday (8) its fifth next-generation order fulfillment center in the United States, in Stockton, California. The facility, with approximately 84,000 square meters, uses an automated system that reduces the traditional order processing steps from 12 to five, expanding the retailer's logistics capacity on the American West Coast.
The complex is expected to generate more than a thousand jobs and was designed to store more goods and process a larger daily volume of orders than a conventional distribution center. The operation combines automation, high-density storage systems and machine learning to organize the movement of products.
The main change is in the way items reach employees. Instead of walking through different areas of the warehouse to locate goods, workers receive the products directly from an automated storage and retrieval system.
As a result, the process now requires seven fewer steps, a reduction of approximately 58% in the number of operational steps. The indicator represents the simplification of the workflow, not an equivalent reduction in the time required to prepare each order.
The technology also reduces repetitive manual tasks and allows employees to be concentrated on picking and preparing orders. According to Walmart, the combination increases fulfillment capacity without depending exclusively on expanding the physical area of the warehouses.
The model is not entirely new. In 2022, the company presented its automated center strategy, developed in partnership with logistics technology company Knapp. At the time, it reported that tests carried out in New Jersey had made it possible to double storage capacity and the number of orders processed daily. Those results were not presented as specific measurements of the new Stockton facility.
Automation will also serve marketplace sellers
The facility will not be intended only for orders sold directly by Walmart. The space will also be used by Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS), the service responsible for storing, preparing and shipping goods from independent marketplace sellers.
In practice, merchants who use the service may have their products processed by the same automated infrastructure that serves the retailer's own operations.
The new facility is also part of the expansion of the company's fast delivery network. According to Walmart, the combination of the automated centers with its other logistics facilities will make it possible to offer one- or two-day shipping to 95% of the American population.
This reach refers to the capacity of the integrated network, not to the individual coverage of the Stockton center. The company did not disclose how many orders the new facility will be able to process daily, nor a specific estimate of reduction in delivery times.
Walmart also reported that it will continue hiring employees, including professionals for technical roles, while it gradually expands the complex's operations.
