Customer Service

Walmart debuts high-tech market fulfillment center

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May 30, 2023

Walmart has opened its first high-tech market fulfillment center in Arkansas, marking its second in the U.S.

The store is at 406 S. Walton Blvd. in Bentonville and promises to provide faster fulfillment when it comes to online pickup and delivery, according to a press release.

The market fulfillment center is built inside the store and is powered by a storage and retrieval system named Alphabot. The first market fulfillment center was a proof of concept located at Store #2142 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," Ryan Simpson, the store manager at Walmart's innovation center called Store 100, said in the release. "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."

Market fulfillment centers will significantly increase the number of orders the store is able to fulfill in a day, according to the release.

Associates can expect more time to focus on what's important, including serving customers and supporting each other. In addition, 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," Gilbert Giron, an MFC digital team lead at Walmart, said in the release. "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."

"We're innovating toward an even better shopping experience every day, and on every platform," Prathibha Rajashekar, SVP of innovation and automation at Walmart, said in the release. "To help our customers and associates live better, we're using technology to help them save time. That leads to improved experiences for everyone, no matter how they shop — and moves our entire business forward in the process."

The leadership team at Store 100 celebrated the opening of the MFC with a donation of $15,000 distributed among Bentonville High School, Bentonville West High School and Bentonville Schools Ignite Professional Studies Program.