Walmart has made North Texas the home of its next-generation supply chain.
The big box retailer said it is strategically deploying all of its next-gen software and technology to DFW because of the region’s broad socio-economic customer base that spans multiple urban and rural locations, The Dallas Morning News reported.
By selecting DFW as its leading supply chain, the company believes it can harness newly enhanced logistics systems using robotic and artificial intelligence technology to enhance delivery times, product freshness, and more.
“Dallas is a pretty special place for us. It’s really a unique place in the country,” said David Guggina, executive vice president of supply chain operations for Walmart U.S., per the DMN.
“What we found with Dallas is just unique in that you’ve got urban locations, you’ve got rural locations, you’ve got a broad socio-economic base. So this is the location where we have deployed every piece of new hardware and software.”
North Texas has over 150 Walmart and Sam’s Club locations, making the region the premiere retail market. Therefore, DFW made sense when combining the company’s major supply chain enhancements into one geographic area.
Some of the company’s supply chain advancements include a 740,000-square-foot distribution center in Lancaster designed to cool perishable goods, a 1.2-million-square-foot distribution center in Sanger that was overhauled to support artificial intelligence, and an automated 1.5-million-square-foot facility in Lancaster that can double the processing time of the company’s other fulfillment centers — able to ship hundreds of thousands of orders each day.
Thanks to advancements in logistics and AI, Walmart said the company can operate at a lower cost and reinvest those savings back into customer experience, price, and “associated experiences,” said Guggina, per the DMN.
Another significant advancement in the DFW metroplex is Walmart’s new drone delivery services. According to Walmart, the company’s drone delivery program can serve up to 75% of North Texas households, as The Dallas Express reported.
