On Monday, Walmart announced it would change its fulfillment center operations by converting one center to its growing Walmart Fulfilment Services (WFS).
The company said it would be converting one of its Atlanta FCs to be a dedicated facility for its WFS business, providing more support to its third-party sellers and allowing them to take advantage of Walmart’s supply chain capabilities for delivery to their customers. The conversion will require updates to meet WFS operational requirements and enhanced training, processes, equipment, and building infrastructure. The company said it hopes to have the conversion done by early fall.
Karisa Sprague, senior vice president of Fulfilment Center Operations with Walmart U.S., said the WFS business is growing and that the conversion would help expand its network of “next generation FCs” over the next three years. The WFS network would help new and existing Marketplace sellers grow their businesses as well, she said.
Walmart recently opened its first next generation fulfillment site in Joliet, Ill., that uses a “unique combination of people, robotics, and machine learning” to set a new standard for fulfillment while creating a positive work environment for associates. More planned FCs will have the capacity to provide 75 percent of the U.S. population with next-day or two-day shipping on millions of items, the company said.