Walmart plans to open a 1.2 million square foot distribution center in Plainfield, Ind. by 2015 that will employ 300 workers. The center will be able to distribute goods to more than 160 million people in two days or less.
“By combining large-scale online fulfillment centers with Walmart’s distribution centers, world-class transportation network and 4,200 stores, we have the ability to get incredibly close to our customers to deliver orders faster and at a lower cost,” said Brent Beabout, senior vice president of supply chain and logistics for Walmart’s global ecommerce division.
Walmart spokesman Ravi Jariwala said when combined with two other dedicated ecommerce distribution centers that came online last fall in Texas and Pennsylvania, the company will be able to deliver goods to the 200 million people living in Texas and east of the Mississippi within two days or less.
Jariwala said ecommerce fulfillment has been a major company focus, with more than 20% of the units ordered on Walmart.com shipped from store, the majority within two days. Walmart also focuses on using stores as fulfillment centers, he said. The company’s 4,200 domestic stores are within five miles of more than two-thirds of the U.S. population.
“Between the distribution centers, in-store pickup of online orders, ship from store and our transportation network, we’ve sped up delivery time by 15% while lowering costs by 22% over the past two years,” Jariwala said.
Walmart plans to start hiring for the new Indiana distribution center in October.