Walmart sets site for next-gen fulfillment center – to open in 2026

Walmart continues expanding its plans for its high-tech supply chain facility model.

The discounter will open what will be its fifth next-generation fulfillment center in Stockton, Calif. in 2026. The new 900,000-square-foot facility, located about 50 miles south of the state capital of Sacramento, will be designed to enable the retailer to fulfill online orders throughout the West Coast with greater speed and efficiency. 

Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS), a fee-based program providing services including storing, picking, packing and shipping, along with the handling of returns and customer service, will also leverage the space to fulfill third-party Walmart Marketplace items.  

The high-tech facility will feature an automated, high-density storage and retrieval system that streamlines a manual, 12-step process down to five steps. It will also offer double the storage capacity and twice the number of customer orders Walmart can fulfill in a day, expanding next- or two-day shipping.

The Stockton fulfillment center will employ more than 1,000 Walmart associates, including tech-focused jobs. 

Walmart’s next gen fulfillment center model – a closer look

Walmart is opening at least five state-of-the-art fulfillment centers dedicated to e-commerce during the next three years. The first location opened in summer 2022 in Joliet, Ill., servicing customers across Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. Along with a recently opened facility in McCordsville, Ind., other facilities will open in Lancaster, Tex. and Greencastle, Penn..

The high-tech order fulfillment system, developed in partnership with intelligent automation technology provider Knapp, operates following five steps:

• Unload: Sellers and suppliers send merchandise in cases to a fulfillment center. As the cases arrive, associates unload the trailers and place cases onto a conveyor belt where they’re routed to receiving.
• Receive: At receiving, an associate breaks the case apart and places the individual items into a tote. The tote is fed into a massive, automated storage system where a shuttle transports it to one of millions of designated locations. The storage system is designed to account for every square-inch, spanning from floor to ceiling in a custom-built structure designed to hold the inventory.
• Pick: When a customer places an online order, the system goes into action, retrieving their items and shuttling the needed totes to an associate at a picking station. According to Walmart, previously associates would have walked up to nine miles per day, picking items from multiple floors of shelving spread out over hundreds of thousands of square feet of space.
• Pack: Simultaneously, a custom box is created to fit the exact measurements of the order. In the pack area, Walmart estimates associates can assemble up to four orders at once and send packages to be shipped in less than 30 minutes after the customer clicks to order.
• Ship: The completed order is then automatically taped, labeled, and routed to its designated zone, where it’s then shipped to its final destination.

The retailer is strategically locating these fulfillment centers to pair most effectively with its 4,700 stores and 210 distribution centers to get orders to customers fast and efficiently.

Walmart previously said it initially planned four centers alone could provide 75% of the U.S. population with next- or two-day shipping on millions of items. Combined with its traditional fulfillment centers, the retailer said it would be able to reach 95% of the U.S. population with next- or two-day shipping and could also offer same-day delivery to 80% of the U.S. population using its stores.

“The announcement of our high-tech fulfillment center in Stockton commemorates yet another significant stride in our omnichannel retail efforts,” said Karisa Sprague, senior VP, fulfillment network operations for Walmart U.S. “In response to increasing customer demand for online shopping, we are implementing technology to enhance delivery speed and accuracy for our customers, all the while creating new and exciting technology-empowered career paths for our associates.”

“The new Stockton facility is another great example of how Walmart is people-led and tech-powered. It’s an investment in technology that will pave the way for good jobs and great careers for our associates,” said Maren Waggoner, senior VP, end-to-end people operations at Walmart U.S. “I look forward to seeing the positive impact this facility will have on the Central Valley community, creating new opportunities to work with cutting edge technology and lasting career growth with Walmart.”