Walmart Premiere: ‘First-of-its-kind’ robotic fulfillment technology
Walmart launches its first automated high speed,‘goods-to-person’, shuttle system in Canada.
Local dignitaries and company officials – including Walmart Canada president and CEO Horacio Barbeito – gathered inside the new distribution centre in Cornwall, Ontario (Canada), on Friday morning for a major unveiling and tour, the grand opening of the $20-million investment that has resulted in brand-new warehouse order-fulfillment system and what’s considered the future of supply chain work.
The unveiling all got started with a very local and enthusiastic welcome from Leslie Casselman, the Cornwall regional distribution centre general manager, before a long indoor walk toward the new automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS).
The 40,000 sq. ft. automated space is the first of its kind for Walmart anywhere in the world, and will also come with a growth in the labour force at Walmart’s Cornwall campus. Walmart Logistics says that it plans on hiring 80 more people to add to their over 2,000 workers already in Cornwall.
“We are very please to see Walmart Canada continue to invest in Cornwall,” said Cornwall Mayor Glen Grant in a statement to the media. “This investment in state-of-the-art technology reinforces Walmart’s position as a world leader in the supply-chain sector, and supports the 2,000-plus workforce in Cornwall that work hard every day to bring much needed goods to Canadian families.”
“So how in the world has the new technology come to Cornwall (Canada) first? It’s pretty simple, really – Cornwall is important to Walmart, and the city for decades has been very welcoming to the retail giant.”
The new technology, all part of the company’s supply chain project to provide general merchandise to 136 Walmart stores from Kingston to the Canada’s east coast, the equipment powered by an easy-to-use computer system that helps support workflow, and boosts accuracy and traceability, while improving Walmart’s supply chain, with improved product availability and quicker in-store and online service.
“We have been here for more than 20 years, and Cornwall is for us a major hub. It makes sense for us to upgrade and expand the capacity of this campus”
The new Goods-to-Person system will deliver health and beauty products, apparel, stationery, electronics and more to 136 Walmart stores across Ontario and Canada’s East Coast.
The new goods delivery system is part automated, part manned by employees. Walmart Logistics says that this system is less labour intensive for employees while also being more efficient.
The process if broken down into four phases. The first phase “Decanting” sees items sorted and verified before being divided into boxes and sent down the line. The next station sees the plastic bins be built which are used for storage within the warehouse. The plastic bins are then loaded, checked for any issues, and then sent to the department where they are needed.
Then it was on to the order start station, followed by the clearing station, where each bin is prepared specifically for a particular department at a particular store, the new system called amazing by the associate describing it.
At the shipping station, guests were told 100 totes per hour arrive at the department. Overall, the infrastructure can process 60,000 items in 16 hours.
The new ‘state-of-the-art’ automation software system will also be deployed at two new distribution centres currently under construction, in Surrey, B.C., and Vaughan, Ont., near Toronto.
Cornwall’s Division Manager for Economic Development Bob Peters praised the expansion of Walmart Logisitic’s Cornwall campus.
“Walmart is a special place. It is where families go to get food, medicine and clothes,” he said. “We here in Cornwall are proud to be a part of Walmart’s supply chain. Thank you Walmart for this investment and we look forward to continue working with you in the future.”
Walmart is hiring for 80 positions at the Cornwall distribution centre; the project build itself created over 150 engineering jobs in the city.
