Dive Brief:
- Walmart has opened a 492,000-square-foot high-tech integration center in Minooka, Illinois, near Chicago, according to an April 30 Press release.
- The facility consolidates general less-than-truckload shipments from suppliers into truckload shipments, which are then sent to one of Walmart’s 42 regional distribution centers.
- Meanwhile, the hub’s technology aims to benefit shippers through improved purchase order fulfillment, shorter delivery times and overall faster delivery to customers.
Dive Insight:
Walmart is clearly among the “sophisticated shippers” that some LTL carrier executives recently argued have moved freight into the less price-disciplined truck market in a prolonged freight downturn.
Walmart’s new, high-tech consolidation centers are part of the retailer’s larger push for to modernize its supply chain, a representative told Supply Chain Dive in an email. Efforts include; automated milk processing plants, autonomous forklifts and other facilities.
“The Minooka facility will provide even more opportunities for small and medium-sized suppliers in the region who do not ship nationally, the ability to supply products to all 4,700 Walmart stores,” Mike Gray, the retailer’s SVP, said in the release. .
The Illinois facility is Walmart’s third high-tech integration center — the first to open Colton, California, in 2019. Before that year, all Walmart consolidation centers operate with manual processes.
Efforts are aimed at evolving manual tasks with automation and robotics to improve efficiency.
“By deploying data, software and advanced technology, Walmart is accelerating its transformation both digitally and physically, enabling a more agile and connected omnichannel fulfillment network,” the spokesperson said.
For example, the software instantly scans and counts products from suppliers as they arrive at the facility and then automatically updates the systems. Walmart explained earlier that this process allows it to react more quickly to any issues when filling orders.
“Our focus is on what works best to meet our customers’ needs at all times. Our consolidation centers give us the flexibility to serve customers via TL and/or LTL,” the spokesperson said. “Based on customer demand and supplier capabilities, we can switch between TL and LTL seamlessly.”
Colin Campbell, senior reporter for Trucking Dive, contributed to this article.
This story was republished by our sister publication, Supply Chain Dive. Register here.