Walmart opens first market fulfilment center in Arkansas

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
May 23, 2023

Walmart announced on Monday the opening of its first market fulfilment center (MFC) in Arkansas, as the U.S. retail giant ramps up it high-tech fulfilment capabilities across the country.

Located at 406 S Walton Blvd in Bentonville, the MFC is built within the company's Store 100 and is powered by a proprietary storage and retrieval system – named Alphabot. The center is designed to significantly increase the number of orders the store is able to fulfill in a day, promising faster fulfillment with lower substitutions, with Walmart+ members gaining access to free unlimited delivery. 

The technology also improves the in-store shopping experience by freeing up associates to help customers shopping in-store. ​Associates also get more to focus on serving customers and supporting each other. In addition, working with the Alphabot system presents new leadership jobs in stores, like the newly created MFC lead, and opportunities to learn and teach new tech-forward skills.

“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.”

In its most recent trading update this month, sales at Walmart's U.S. stores open at least a year rose 7.4%, excluding fuel, in the first quarter ended April 30, beating expectations of a 5.25% increase.