staff report
On December 4, Walmart unveiled its newest Market Fulfillment Center (MFC) at the Katy Supercenter, located at 25108 Market Place Drive in Katy, near Katy Mills Mall. This high-tech center is the first fulfillment center to open in Texas, and he is one of five fulfillment centers in the United States. His second Texas store will open in Wichita Falls in late December.
Store manager Robert Smith said MFC, which opened in October, has pivoted a bit from its original concept. The original plan called for more automation. Smith said the company has since learned that there are some functions that humans can perform better than the company’s fleet of advanced robots. This realization adds approximately 15 full-time employees to a large warehouse adjacent to an existing brick-and-mortar Walmart store. Anna Meady, a 12-year Walmart veteran, has been hired as a “store manager” for the fulfillment center, working closely with Mr. Smith and his team.
MFC inventory is done manually by Walmart employees. The robot then transports the inventory to a designated location within the warehouse. There is a dedicated area for refrigerated items. Processing orders involves a mix of manual and automated processes. Robots can pull most items from their assigned locations in the warehouse. However, some items, such as produce, meat, and household chemicals, will be handled by Walmart employees rather than robots. Employees also handle large items that cannot fit into the robot carts, such as large-screen TVs and bicycles. Employees use this system to begin preparing orders for customer pickup approximately two hours in advance.
Smith said online grocery shopping has increased rapidly and has continued to grow since the pandemic began. Walmart currently leverages its stores to fulfill more than 50% of its digital orders and leverages its regional delivery network to get items to customers faster and at a lower cost, according to a preliminary press release from the company. According to a press release, Walmart’s MFC network leverages advanced robotics technology to help employees manage large volumes of online orders and minimize delivery times, resulting in fewer out-of-stock items. It says it will reduce the number of products and substitutes and improve the experience for Walmart shoppers.
As part of its continued commitment to supply chain innovation and improvement, Walmart began its MFC journey in 2019 with a successful proof-of-concept store in Salem, New Mexico. Since then, Walmart plans to continue opening Market fulfillment centers in Arkansas, Nebraska, and select stores across the United States in the coming years.
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walmart,
katie mills mall,
Store Manager Robert Smith
25108 Market Place Drive in Katy