Walmart opens high-tech fulfillment center in Lancaster, Texas

Walmart opened its third “next-generation” fulfillment center Tuesday, this one in Lancaster, Texas, about 15 miles south of Dallas.

The high-tech facilities allow the retail giant to process digital orders significantly more efficiently.

The Lancaster center is 1.5 million square feet and will employ more than 1,000 workers. It is the third of four of the fulfillment centers to open after the retailer announced the initiative last year.

“These tech-powered jobs will drive the future of Walmart’s continued promise of speedy shipping and delivery for customers in the south-central U.S., just in time for the holidays,” Karisa Sprague, SVP of fulfillment network operations for Walmart, said in a statement. “Our next-generation fulfillment centers are the perfect example of how we are a people-led, tech-powered retailer.”

Earlier this month, Walmart announced the addition of a fifth next-gen facility, slated to open in Stockton, California, in 2026.

The retailer, in an email to WGB last week, said the fulfillment centers that have already opened have “performed incredibly well, and we’ve received positive feedback from our associates in the newly created tech-enabled roles.”

The fourth next-generation facility is planned for Pennsylvania.

The centers combine skilled workers with machine-learning technology to increase the speed and number of orders fulfilled, Walmart said, expanding next- and two-day shipping capabilities.

The Lancaster facility, like the others, uses an “automated, high-density storage and retrieval system” that transforms what was formerly a hands-on, 12-step process into a less-laborious, five-step one.

“Associates at the Lancaster facility will work with cutting-edge technology and be a part of how we’re delivering increased shipping speeds for our customers,” Josh Lamping, the center’s general manager, said in a statement.

Walmart earlier this year made a major commitment to automation, saying in April that it expects about two-thirds of its stores to be serviced by automation by the end of fiscal 2026, with more than half of fulfillment center volume passing through automated facilities.