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Walmart to build first fulfillment center in Mississippi

E-commerce facility joins two others announced last month

Russell Redman

January 20, 2022

3 Min Read
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The 1 million-square-foot fulfillment center in Olive Branch, Miss., will process online orders for the Memphis, Tenn., metropolitan statistical area.Walmart

For the third time in just over a month, Walmart has unveiled plans for a new e-commerce fulfillment center, this time in Olive Branch, Miss.

Walmart said Thursday that it aims to build a 1 million-square-foot fulfillment center at 10480 Marina Dr. in Olive Branch — part of the Memphis, Tenn., metropolitan statistical area (MSA) — and open the facility this spring. The center will be used to store millions of items ordered via Walmart.com to be picked, packed and shipped directly to customers as soon as the next day, according to the company.

In mid-December, Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart announced plans to construct a 1 million-square-foot fulfillment center in Salt Lake City, a week after unveiling a project for a 925,000-square-foot automated fulfillment center in Lebanon, Tenn. The Salt Lake City facility is slated to go into operation in this summer, followed by the Lebanon facility opening in the fall.

The Olive Branch location marks Walmart’s first fulfillment center in Mississippi, where retailer operates three distribution centers and 86 stores, with a workforce of more than 25,000 associates. The new facility will create about 250 full-time jobs across the Memphis MSA. Walmart said. In Tennessee, the company has three distribution centers, 150 stores and over 42,000 employees.

Related:Walmart’s latest fulfillment center earmarked for Salt Lake City

“Walmart is proud to welcome its newest fulfillment center to the city of Olive Branch as we continue to grow our national supply chain network and eCommerce capabilities in the mid-South,” Steve Miller, senior vice president of supply chain operations for Walmart U.S., said in a statement. “The new facility will store millions of items from Walmart’s everyday low-priced merchandise, which will be ready to be shipped directly to customers with the great speed that they expect.”  

Both the Olive Branch and Salt Lake City fulfillment centers won’t be automated. Walmart noted that its distribution centers focus on receiving, storing and distributing products to stores, whereas fulfillment centers handle e-commerce orders.

U.S. online sales for Walmart rose 8% year over year and 87% on a two-year basis through the end of its fiscal 2022 third quarter. The company said fulfillment centers have become a pillar of its plan to ramp up supply chain capacity to fuel omnichannel growth.

Much of that effort will involve the use of automation to support escalating demand, improve the customer experience and boost productivity, according to Walmart. In July, the company unveiled plans to automate 25 of its 42 regional distribution centers (RDCs) with robotics and other automation technology.

Related:Walmart to open automated fulfillment center in Tennessee

In October, Walmart also said it aims to build a high-tech distribution center for fresh and frozen food in Lyman, S.C., which will be the retailer’s biggest grocery DC to date. The more than 720,000-square-foot facility is expected to open in 2024. Then in November, Walmart announced a project to erect two high-tech DCs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including a 1.5 million-square-foot automated fulfillment center due to open in 2023 and a 730,000-square-foot automated grocery DC to open in 2024. Walmart said the facilities, in Lancaster, Texas, will be among the largest automated fulfillment and distribution centers in its network.

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About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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