Walmart to outfit Loveland distribution center with robotics
LOVELAND — Walmart Inc. plans a major modernization of its regional distribution center in Loveland.
The company is working to install millions of dollars worth of technology at the distribution center to double its capacity with automation and robotic technology.
“Adding robotics, automation and AI-powered software systems to this facility will revolutionize an already impressive operation, fundamentally changing the way we distribute products to stores,” Esmeralda Nelsen, emerging general manager of the facility, said in a news release. “This transformation not only represents a significant investment in our facility, but also in our associates, our community and our future.”
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Walmart reports on its website that the new technology will create “new opportunities for associates and bring faster service to stores.”
The robots take the manual labor out of working at the distribution center, Walmart reports.
“Along with saving time, limiting out-of-stocks and increasing the speed of stocking and unloading, we’ll also have the chance to train associates on how to use the new equipment, creating new skills and preparing them for jobs in the future,” according to Walmart. “And because the technology decreases the need for our associates to handle freight, it removes one of the toughest aspects of supply chain work in material handling.”
Walmart uses 42 distribution centers across the country to deliver products to its more than 100 retail outlets in Colorado, employing more than 30,000 people. The company has been testing this new system at one of its Florida distribution centers since 2022.
According to Walmart, the “system works to sort, store, retrieve and pack freight onto pallets. We’re using automation to revolutionize intake, increase accuracy and change how freight is handled at our regional distribution centers.”
The new technology, according to the release, “uses a combination of people, robotics and massive storage systems to increase the speed at which the retailer sends merchandise to stores.”
The project will be completed in phases over several years, Walmart reports.