Sponsored By

Walmart targets Dallas-Fort Worth for new high-tech supply facilities

Automated fulfillment center and grocery distribution center to open in 2023-24

Russell Redman

November 9, 2021

2 Min Read
Walmart DC-forklift-US.jpg
As part of its omnichannel transformation, Walmart is bringing automation to more of its distribution and e-commerce fulfillment centers to boost capacity, speed and accuracy.Walmart

Nearly two weeks after announcing plans for a new high-tech distribution center in South Carolina, Walmart aims to build two more in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The project in Lancaster, Texas, includes a 1.5 million-square-foot automated fulfillment center slated to open in 2023 and a 730,000-square-foot automated grocery DC due to open in 2024, Walmart said Tuesday. The Bentonville, Ark.-based retail giant noted that the facilities will be among the biggest automated fulfillment and distribution centers in its network.

Once in operation, the automated facilities will move more than two times the volume of a traditional fulfillment and grocery distribution center, as well as improve the accuracy, quality and speed of the fulfillment and distribution of products, according to Walmart.

“Walmart is excited to welcome two new high-tech facilities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to our expanding supply chain network,” Joe Metzger executive vice president of supply chain operations for Walmart U.S., said in a statement. “These high-tech facilities will include game-changing innovations that are radically disrupting the supply chain, getting products onto store shelves and items shipped to our customers even faster, while saving time for our associates.”

Related:Walmart plans new high-tech perishables distribution center in South Carolina

Overall, Walmart operates 19 DCs and 593 stores and employs more than 171,000 associates in Texas. The planned Lancaster facilities will create about 1,000 full-time jobs across the region, with 40% of the openings being technical positions requiring STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) skills, Walmart reported.

“We are making a significant investment in this region because of the inclusive, diverse and qualified pipeline of local talent that reflect Walmart’s values,” commented Karissa Sprague, senior vice president of supply chain human resources at Walmart U.S. “Our investment in technologies and high-tech facilities today pave the way for jobs of the future that are supported by automation and will allow opportunities for an up-skilled workforce.”

Last month, Walmart unveils plans to construct a 720,000-square-foot, high-tech distribution center for fresh and frozen food in Lyman, S.C., which will be the retailer’s largest grocery DC to date. Expected to open in 2024, the facility will move twice as much grocery product — including perishables such as produce, eggs, dairy, flowers and frozen goods — in supplying area stores via a combination of manual labor and automation, robotics and machine learning technology, the company said.

Related:Walmart kicks off automation of 25 regional distribution centers

In midsummer, Walmart had announced plans to automate 25 of its 42 regional distribution centers (RDCs) with robotics and other automation technology from Wilmington, Mass.-based Symbotic. The scalable system uses a fleet of robots and proprietary software to improve throughput and expand warehouse capacity, cutting the time it takes to unload, sort and stock freight at Walmart stores, the companies said. The partnership with Symbotic also builds on supply chain advances achieved through automation deployments at Walmart’s high-tech consolidation center in Colton, Calif., and its high-tech DC for fresh and frozen groceries in Shafter, Calif.

Read more about:

Walmart

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

Stay up-to-date on the latest food retail news and trends
Subscribe to free eNewsletters from Supermarket News

You May Also Like