Walmart reveals updated Texas distribution center after its extreme makeover

Walmart on Wednesday said it had completed renovations on a 42-year-old regional distribution center in Palestine, Texas, to transform it into a high-tech distribution center.

The 1.2 million-square-foot facility’s extreme makeover is part of the retail giant’s broader initiative to modernize all 42 of its regional distribution centers with digital technology.

“Adding game-changing automation and AI-powered software systems to this facility will revolutionize an already impressive operation, changing the way we distribute products to stores, and we’re just getting started,” Mike Gray, Walmart’s SVP of supply chain operations, said in a statement.

The technology boosts Walmart’s efficiency in a variety of ways. The revamped regional distribution centers up inventory accuracy and save labor hours by creating store- and aisle-ready pallets, Walmart said. The remodels also increase building capacity and boosts worker safety through automation, while adding new robotics and tech-focused jobs.

“Walmart’s Palestine distribution center has been a pillar of the community for the last 42 years, and we’re excited to transform our building into an industry-leading, high-tech distribution center,” center GM Marty Denney said in a statement.

The facility employs nearly 1,000 workers.

Walmart last year announced plans to install robotic technology from Massachusetts-based Symbotic in its regional distribution centers to “fundamentally alter how products get to stores.”

In June, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer took a 62.2% stake in Symbotic, as it expanded its partnership with the tech company.

Retrofitting all 42 regional distribution centers with Symbotic’s technology is expected to take more than eight years, Walmart said in May.

“The need for accuracy and speed in the supply chain has never been more visible, and we’re confident that now is the time to move even faster by scaling Symbotic’s technology to our entire regional distribution center network,” David Guggina, Walmart’s SVP of innovation and automation, said in a statement at the time. “Using high-speed robotics and intelligent software to organize and optimize inventory, the Symbotic System helps us get products to our customers quickly and seamlessly by revolutionizing how we receive and distribute products to stores.”

UPDATE: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Symbotic.

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