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BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart opened a high-tech market fulfillment center at a store here Monday in support of its strategy of leveraging physical stores to fulfill online orders.
The new facility, which opened in Store 100 at 406 S Walton Blvd. in Bentonville, Ark., on Monday, is powered by a proprietary storage and retrieval system called Alphabot. Walmart says it believes that it can transform fulfillment through digitization and the end-to-end connection of its store and supply chain assets. In the process, the company expects to boost customer satisfaction and create opportunities for its associates.
“This new order fulfillment system is truly game changing,” said Ryan Simpson, the store manager at Store 100. “Not only does it enhance the customer experience through quicker, more accurate online order fulfillment, it also provides us the runway to continue growing our business now and in the future.”
Walmart says the market fulfillment centers will significantly increase the number of orders the store is able to fulfill in a day, promising faster fulfillment with fewer substitutions. Walmart+ members have even more to look forward to with free unlimited delivery. It also improves the in-store shopping experience by freeing up associates to help customers who are shopping in-store.
In addition to improving the customer and member experience, the market fulfillment centers will also benefit associates, according to Walmart. The centers will give store associates more time to focus on what’s important, including serving customers and supporting each other. And the Alphabot system will also create new leadership jobs in the stores, including the new MFC Lead position, as well as opportunities to learn and teach new tech-forward skills.
“I love the MFC,” said Gilbert Giron, an MFC digital team lead at Walmart. “The dedicated space allows us to concentrate on picking items for our online customers “I feel confident that the items our associates are looking for are going to be there when a customer wants them. That makes me feel good, because I know our team is providing our customers with great service.”
Walmart says the new MFC reflects Walmart’s strategic use of technology to transform its stores, while also opening doors to new ladders of opportunity that make Walmart a place where good jobs can turn into great careers.
“We’re innovating toward an even better shopping experience every day, and on every platform,” said Prathibha Rajashekar, senior vice president of Innovation and Automation at Walmart. “To help our customers and associates live better, we’re using technology to help them save time. That leads to improved experiences for everyone, no matter how they shop – and moves our entire business forward in the process.”
Walmart says it is supporting its communities in other ways as well.
The leadership team at Store 100 celebrated the opening of the MFC with a donation of $15,000 distributed among Bentonville High School, Bentonville West High School and Bentonville Schools Ignite Professional Studies Program. Their hope? Progress toward technological and educational development.
The market fulfillment center in Bentonville, Ark.. is the first in the state. It’s the second nationwide. The first was a proof of concept located at Store #2142 in Salem, N.H. Walmart plans to continue opening MFCs in select stores in the coming years.
