In an aim to increase speed and convenience for its customers, Walmart is scaling up the number of stores that also will serve as local fulfillment centers, adding dozens of locations with many more to come. Walmart piloted its first local fulfillment center in Salem, N.H., in late 2019.
“It’s no secret our customers love the speed and convenience of pickup and delivery,” wrote Tom Ward, SVP of Customer Product, Walmart U.S. on the company’s corporate website. “These local fulfillment centers help unlock our ability to expand even faster to meet their needs today, while also setting a new foundation to serve them in the future.”
Walmart plans to build these local fulfillment centers with various technology partners — including Alert Innovation, Dematic and Fabric — and testing different orientations and add-on innovations to understand what works best in different environments. In some locations the fulfillment center will require building an addition to the store, while others will sit inside the existing store footprint. Additionally, in some stores Walmart will be adding automated pickup points that allow customers and delivery drivers to drive up, scan a code, grab their order and go.
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