Walmart Pushes Forward in Automation Race

Whether it is at a store, on the curb, or at their homes, Walmart is dedicated to going above and beyond for its consumers and coming up with new methods to serve them. Walmart has been making significant investments in infrastructure and technology throughout its supply chain for many years in an effort to test and determine where it can have the most impact on fulfilling customer orders. Walmart has recently announced technology investments for its regional distribution and cutting-edge fulfillment facilities. A continuation of these initiatives is their market fulfillment centers or MFCs.

With the acquisition of Alert Innovation, Walmart has announced a development in the advancement of its supply chain and MFCs. A robotics automation company called Alert Innovation creates material-handling technology to automate order fulfillment in retail supply chains. Since 2016, Walmart and Alert have collaborated to create technologies specifically for its MFCs.

Further investments in this technology will allow Walmart to use its store footprint – 4,700 stores within 10 miles of 90 percent of the United States population – for fulfillment and storage. Customers will benefit from rapid and convenient order fulfillment through pickup and delivery so they can get the products they want and when they want these products. The associates, who are essential to the system's development, will also enjoy a better experience thanks to this system.

Walmart started testing its first MFC in Salem, New Hampshire, at the end of 2019 using bot technology created by Alert, especially for Walmart. The industry recognizes the bot technology for its fully autonomous bots that store, retrieve, and dispense orders by traveling horizontally, laterally, and vertically across three temperature zones without the use of lifts or conveyors. As a result, the MFC has fewer space restrictions and there is no longer a need to shut down the entire system for bot maintenance.

“Bringing the best of Alert’s technology and capabilities in-house will enable us to reach customers quicker by deploying MFCs with greater speed, providing both an unmatched shopping experience and a competitive advantage in omnichannel fulfillment. This is part of our broader goal to introduce the next generation of fulfillment centers and continue to transform our already world-class supply chain,” said Walmart's Senior Vice President of Innovation and Automation, David Guggina.  

Walmart will be able to advance its MFC strategy and further bolster its strong pool of engineering and technology personnel by bringing Alert Innovation's experience in-house. In the future, Walmart plans to invest in robotics and automation in its stores, distribution centers, and fulfillment centers to modernize its supply chain processes further while bringing exciting new experiences to customers that are exclusive to Walmart.