Walmart has announced to acquire Alert Innovation, a robotics automation company that develops material-handling technology for automating order fulfillment in retail supply chains.
Walmart has been working with Alert to customize technology for their MFCs since 2016, so further investing in this technology will enable them to leverage their store footprint – 4,700 stores located within 10 miles of 90% of the U.S. population – for storage and fulfillment.
According to David Guggina, Senior Vice President of Innovation and Automation, Walmart U.S, “We are committed to exceeding customers’ expectations and serving them in new ways, whether it’s in a store, curbside or at their homes. For years, we have been making big investments in technology and infrastructure across our supply chain to test and learn where we can make the biggest difference in fulfilling customer orders.”
In recent years, we’ve announced investments in technology for our regional distribution centers and next-generation fulfillment centers. Our market fulfillment centers, or MFCs, are a continuation of these efforts, he added.
This system also enhances the experience for associates, who are integral to helping of making the system.
In late 2019, Walmart began piloting its first MFC in Salem, New Hampshire, using bot technology from Alert specifically built for Walmart, and due to its fully autonomous bots that store, retrieve and dispense orders by moving horizontally, laterally and vertically across three temperature zones without any lifts or conveyors.
Along with that, bringing the best of Alert’s technology and capabilities in-house will enable to reach customers quicker by deploying MFCs with greater speed, providing both an unmatched shopping experience and a competitive advantage in omnichannel fulfillment.
Basically, this is part of their broader goal to introduce the next generation of fulfillment centers and continue to transform our already world-class supply chain.
We are looking forward to welcoming the Alert Innovation team to Walmart and scaling their capabilities. Bringing their expertise to Walmart will help us accelerate our MFC strategy and further strengthen our deep bench of technology and engineering talent, David Guggina quoted.
Also, to modernize supply chain operations through investments in robotics and automation in stores and distribution and fulfillment centers, creating exciting new experiences for customers that are unique to Walmart.
