Walmart announced plans to open its first automated fulfillment center in the state of Tennessee to support the retailer’s growing supply chain network and eCommerce business.
The new 925,000-square-foot facility, located at 1015 Hixson Boulevard in Lebanon, Tennessee, is scheduled to open in fall 2022 and will create up to 300 full-time jobs.
Walmart’s high-tech fulfillment center will include a unique combination of associates, AI software, and automated robots that work together to ship orders to customers even faster said the retailer in a press release.
“We’re thrilled to be bringing a new high-tech fulfillment center to the community of Lebanon,” said David Guggina, senior vice president, automation and innovation at Walmart U.S. “This facility will include game-changing automation technology that’s radically disrupting the supply chain, improving the customer experience and saving time for associates.”
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The high-tech fulfillment center supports an initiative the retailer shared earlier this year to build additional supply chain capacity using automation to stay ahead of demand, improve the customer experience and increase productivity. It will store millions of items to be shipped directly to customers as soon as the next day. Once an online order is placed, a fleet of automated robots navigates a compact storage system to retrieve products and bring them to associates for packing. The order is then shipped directly to the customer with speed.
“Walmart’s fulfillment center in Wilson County will play an important role in our broader supply chain network, focused on fulfilling Walmart.com orders and supporting our promise of free next-day and two-day shipping,” said Steve Miller, senior vice president of supply chain operations, Walmart U.S. “We’re thrilled to be opening our newest fulfillment center in the great state of Tennessee and look forward to a long relationship with the community of Lebanon.”
The fulfillment center is currently hiring full-time positions, including the following leadership positions: General Manager, Human Resource Manager, Maintenance Manager, and Environmental Health and Safety Operations Manager. Full-time jobs qualify for Walmart’s total rewards and benefits plans, including medical, vision, and dental insurance, 401(k) matching, paid time off, a quarterly incentive program, and access to a free college degree.
Candidates can search for open positions and complete applications online at careers.walmart.com.
Walmart operates three distribution centers, 150 retail stores and employs 42,500+ associates in Tennessee. In FYE 21, stores, clubs, and the Walmart Foundation gave $37.5 million in cash and in-kind donations to local Tennessee organizations, said the company.