Walmart opens 2.2 million-sq-ft distribution centre, largest yet in bid to challenge Amazon in US
Indianapolis-located centre is aimed at Walmart’s growing e-commerce business
At 2.2 million-square-feet, Walmart’s new fulfilment centre in McCordsville, just outside the city of Indianapolis, reinforces the company’s e-commerce ambitions.
It is Walmart’s largest distribution centre and sits within their stated strategy of being able to deliver to 95% of the US population within two days of placing an order.
That strategy has pushed a wave of investment into the company’s e-commerce capacity, with this centre just the second of four, following on from another facility also located in the centre of the country in Joliet, Illinois.
Indeed, Walmart estimated that with these four centres alone, it could serve 75% of the US population.
The McCordsville fulfilment centre will be used to largely serve online purchases, both of Walmart inventory and also for ‘Marketplace’ third-party sellers.
This will be done with a stated facility staff of more than 1,000, but Walmart is keen to emphasise that these fulfilment centres will incorporate more automation and technology than in their existing network. The four facilities utilise an automated storage system developed with logistics technology company Knapp. The storage system can position items in storage following unloading and then pick items automatically, as well as create packaging, reducing the labour required.
These investments underscore the companies ambitions to challenge Amazon in the e-commerce space in the US. That strategy appears to be paying off in terms of pure growth, as Walmart posted 27% growth in US e-commerce sales for Q1 2023, far higher than the company’s total sales growth of 8.2%.
“The McCordsville grand opening marks a major milestone in our supply chain modernization journey,” said Karisa Sprague, senior vice president, Fulfilment Network Operations for Walmart U.S. “With more customers shopping online, we’re leverage state-of-the-art technology to increase speed of delivery all while creating tech-empowered career opportunities for our associates.”