Walmart Inc. plans to open its fifth “next-generation” fulfillment center, this one in Stockton, California, in 2026.
The 900,000-square-foot facility located about 50 miles south of Sacramento will enable the retailer to fulfill online orders throughout the West Coast with greater speed and efficiency, Walmart (NYSE: WMT) said in Thursday’s announcement.
The Stockton fulfillment center also will increase fulfillment capacity for Walmart.com orders, the company said.
The facility will feature an automated, high-density storage and retrieval system that streamlines a manual, 12-step process to just five steps. The new technology will double the storage capacity and process twice the number of customer orders Walmart can fulfill in a day, expanding next- and two-day shipping for Walmart customers, the company said.
“The announcement of our high-tech fulfillment center in Stockton commemorates yet another significant stride in our omni-channel retail efforts,” said Karisa Sprague, senior vice president, fulfillment network operations for Walmart U.S., in a statement. “In response to increasing customer demand for online shopping, we are implementing technology to enhance delivery speed and accuracy” for Walmart customers.
Combined with the rest of Walmart’s fulfillment network, next-generation fulfillment centers, like the Stockton facility, will enable the retailer to reach 95% of the U.S. population with next- or two-day shipping. Walmart Fulfillment Services, Walmart’s end-to-end third-party fulfillment service, will also leverage the space to fulfill third-party Marketplace items.
Walmart expects to hire more than 1,000 employees at the center, it said.
The first location opened in summer 2022 in Joliet, Illinois, servicing customers across Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. Along with a recently opened facility in McCordsville, Indiana, other facilities will open in Lancaster, Texas. and Greencastle, Pennsylvania.