Distribution Centers
Walmart's 210 distribution centers are hubs of activity for our business. Our distribution operation is one of the largest in the world servicing stores, clubs and direct delivery to customers. Walmart's transportation has a fleet of 9,000 tractors, 80,000 trailers and more than 11,000 drivers.
- The distribution center network ships general merchandise and dry groceries along with other specialty categories to our consumers daily.
- There are six disaster distribution centers, strategically located across the country and stocked to provide rapid response to struggling communities in the event of a natural disaster.
- Each distribution center is more than 1 million square feet in size and employs 600+ personnel unloading and shipping over 200 trailers daily.
- Every distribution center supports 90 to 100 stores in a 150+ mile radius.
We are continuing to create solutions that gets products on shelves even faster, but also makes warehouse work easier on our associates. Since 2017, we’ve worked with Symbotic to optimize our systems and transform our supply chain. While this technology works to sort, store, retrieve and pack freight onto pallets, it also provides an opportunity to train our associates on how to use this new equipment, developing new skills and preparing them for jobs in the future. We’ve also rolled-out a high-tech consolidation center in Colton, California, that will enable three times more volume to flow through the center. We’re continuing to use technology to transform the way we work and lead our business into the future.
Our Fulfillment Network
For our customers, it’s as easy as a tap on their screen. But what goes on behind the scenes? The short answer: a ton of people power, highly-efficient fulfillment campuses dedicated to e-commerce, a world-class transportation fleet and a touch of magic. With cutting-edge systems and unrivaled scale, we’re able to serve customers quickly and offer more choices for how they’d like to receive their orders — shipped to their homes or picked up at their local stores for free.
- Our newest e-commerce fulfillment centers are capable of shipping and handling millions of items
- Our fulfillment centers are strategically located across the U.S. to give us very quick and highly efficient access to U.S. customers using ground shipping.
- Each fulfillment center is unique and designed with special characteristics based on the area where it’s located. For example, our fulfillment center in Davenport, Florida, has 62 dock doors that can withstand wind speeds of 120 mph due to hurricane risk.
Our Fleet
Walmart is able to move goods to and from distribution centers because we maintain a private fleet of trucks and a skilled staff of truck drivers. We think our team of drivers is the best in the world. They're part of one of the largest and safest fleets, and every year they drive 1.1 billion miles to make millions of deliveries to our stores and clubs. Each driver averages around 100,000 miles annually-that's like driving around the world 4 times!
Together with our truck drivers, we're constantly working to ensure that we're moving merchandise in responsible, sustainable ways. Drivers follow the most efficient routes to their destinations and work to minimize the number of "empty miles" they drive. This way, we use less fuel, we drive fewer miles and we maximize the merchandise we deliver while minimizing our environmental impact.
