Walmart upgrades regional distribution centers with high-tech automation

Walmart is installing high-tech automation in regional distribution centers in Buckeye, Ariz., and Searcy, Ark.

The investment is part of Walmart’s broader initiative to renovate all its 42 regional distribution centers. Once finished, the centers in Arizona and Arkansas will be able to ship nearly double the number of cases compared to a traditional regional distribution center while evolving manual jobs into those that offer new skills in robotics and tech, the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer said in a press release.

Both projects will be completed in phases over several years. The retailer has not said how much the upgrades will cost. 

The new tech will use a combination of people, robotics, and large storage systems to increase the speed at which the retailer sends merchandise to stores.

Walmart currently operates three distribution centers in Arizona and eight in Arkansas.

“The addition of robotics, automation, and AI-powered software systems to [these facilities] represents a significant investment in our associates and our community,” Walmart said in a statement. “It will enable us to offer new career opportunities while revolutionizing [the] operation and fundamentally change the way we distribute products to stores.”

In July, Walmart announced it was adding four highly automated perishable distribution centers around the country and installing automated tech at five others.

The upgraded technology, which includes an automated storage system nearly 80 feet tall in a temperature-controlled environment, will help build pallets that are engineered to optimize store-level merchandising efficiency and minimize product damage.

Four of Walmart’s traditional perishables distribution centers, located in Minnesota, North Carolina, Indiana, and Tennessee, will have 500,000 square feet of automation per site.