Walmart Automation
The retail giant expects that within three years, 55% of its fulfillment center volume will move through automated facilities, and 65% of its stores will be automated to some extent. Writeup from Wednesday Walmart call with investors. — Daphne Howland
In Brief Summary
- more than 5,300 locations
- In the next five years, nearly 90% of Walmart’s capital expenditures will be in “high return areas like e-commerce, supply chain and store investments,” Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said.
- By 2026 — Walmart said it expects about 65% of its stores will have automation capabilities
Excerpt
Two robots handled an inbound shipment of some 3,400 packages; sensors and robots separated them before they moved to an automated grid. Meanwhile robots were able to build pallets of 130 cases, versus 75 for manually built ones, per Telsey’s note, which also described robots in storage and picking, and autonomous forklifts that loaded and unloaded.
Other Media Coverage
- Walmart betting on robots to cut costs, soon grow the bottom line
- Walmart bets on warehouse robots, dangles profit potential
Video
Robots can confuse customers… ABC News
More Posts
- Walmart doubles down on robots to shift labor costs: “We’re going big”(Opens in a new browser tab)
- Walmart MoneyCenter Overview(Opens in a new browser tab)
- Walmart Automated Fulfillment – Teaming Up With Alphabot Team On Grocery Pickup(Opens in a new browser tab)
- Walmart Blog — Walmart Store Design to Help Customers Better Navigate the Omni-Shopping Experience(Opens in a new browser tab)