Walmart opened its first Market Fulfillment Center May 22 at 406 S Walton Blvd. in Bentonville, Arkansas.
The center is built within the store and is powered by a proprietary storage and retrieval system named Alphabot. Walmart believes fulfillment through digitization and connecting its store and supply chain assets end to end will transform fulfillment, customer satisfaction and employee opportunity.
The market fulfillment center in Bentonville, Arkansas, is the first in the state. It’s the second center nationwide, with the first located in Salem, New Hampshire. Walmart plans to continue opening MFCs in select stores in the coming years.
“This new order fulfillment system is truly game changing,” said Ryan Simpson, store manager. “Not only does it enhance the customer experience through quicker, more accurate online order fulfillment, it also provides us the runway to continue growing our business now and in the future.”
According to the company, customers can expect to see the benefits of the MFC almost immediately.
Market fulfillment centers will increase the number of orders the store is able to fulfill in a day, promoting faster fulfillment with lower substitutions. Walmart+ members have more to look forward to with free unlimited delivery. It also improves the in-store shopping experience by freeing up employees to help customers shopping in-store.
In addition to improving the customer and member experience, employees will also notice benefits from the new center. Also, working with the Alphabot system presents new leadership jobs in stores, like the newly created MFC Lead, and opportunities to learn and teach new tech-forward skills.
“I love the MFC. The dedicated space allows us to concentrate on picking items for our online customers,” said Gilbert Giron, an MFC digital team lead. “I feel confident that the items our associates are looking for are going to be there when a customer wants them. That makes me feel good, because I know our team is providing our customers with great service.”
The Walmart leadership team celebrated the opening of the center with a donation of $15,000 distributed among Bentonville High School, Bentonville West High School and Bentonville Schools Ignite Professional Studies Program.
