Walmart Opens State-Of-The Art Online Fulfillment Center In Florida

Walmart has opened a massive eCommerce fulfillment center in Florida, creating 1,500 jobs and enabling faster shipping to customers or to stores for free pickup.

Chain Store Age reported that the state-of-the-art facility, located in Davenport, is 2.2 million square feet — equivalent to about 20 football fields. It features 33 miles of shelving and dock doors that can withstand wind speeds of up to 120 mph, and will house millions of items dedicated to fulfilling online orders to enable faster shipping directly to customers or to stores for free pickup.

This facility is the sixth addition to the next-generation fulfillment network that Walmart is building to support its eCommerce business and is part of a $450-million investment the retailer is making in Florida in 2017-18.

“This campus is just the latest example of Walmart’s commitment to offering customers fast shipping on items they need every day,” said Nate Faust, senior VP of Walmart’s U.S. eCommerce supply chain. “We’re excited not only about the economic impact our facility has had, and will continue to have, in the community, but also how it will help us empower our customers to shop when and how they want.”

Walmart has seen a boost in its eCommerce sales this year. In the first quarter of 2017, the retailer experienced 63 percent growth in U.S. eCommerce sales, with the majority coming from organic growth in Walmart.com. And since the beginning of the year, Walmart.com has launched a number of new features, including free two-day shipping with no membership fees, an extra discount for picking up orders in stores and the ability to easily reorder online or make store purchases within the Walmart app.