BENTONVILLE, AR - It’s no secret. Customers are changing the way they shop. To keep pace, Walmart is evolving alongside them by investing in data, software, and automation—all with the goal of creating a more connected perishable supply chain.

“That’s why we’re adding state-of-the-art tech to our facilities: to enable greater speed and capacity that allows us to serve customers even more reliably. For example, these high-tech DCs [distribution centers] can store double the number of cases and process more than twice the volume of a traditional perishable DC, more than doubling the number of cases processed per hour,” remarked Dave Guggina, Executive Vice President, Supply Chain Operations, Walmart U.S., in a company blog post.

How does this technology work? As cases come in from suppliers, they’re inspected for quality and de-palletized. After that, they are stored in an automated storage system in a temperature-controlled environment. When it’s time to build a store order, the system retrieves the cases from storage to begin building store-ready pallets, which are built by department, making them easier to unload at the store.

Additional ways in which the retailer’s grocery transformation will change include building five new, high-tech perishable distribution centers across the United States; expanding its traditional perishable DCs by adding over 500,000 square feet of automation per site to increase capacity for fresh product; and upgrading current DCs to integrate new tech.

“We remain committed to meeting customer demand, embracing technology, and bringing our people alongside the technology as we transform our supply chain. With our investments in our associates and facilities, I’m confident we’re well-positioned to continue providing customers the items they want, whenever and wherever they want them, for years to come,” added Guggina.

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AndNowUKnow will continue to keep an eye on retail developments, so stay tuned!