Walmart Expands Warehousing Automation Partnership with Symbotic, Commits Approximately $6 Billion
Walmart and Symbotic announced an expansion of their commercial agreement to deploy additional automation capabilities at 25 regional distribution centers in the United States. The agreement includes an initial investment of approximately $6 billion and covers multi-year work across multiple locations. Symbotic's solution is supported by its proprietary software, using AI to schedule and optimize the flow of millions of cases of goods per day. The partnership also supports further opportunities across Walmart's global supply chain network. Walmart said these investments are aimed at improving service, expanding capacity, simplifying employees' work, and reducing costs.
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The agreement covers 25 regional distribution centers and includes an initial investment of approximately $6 billion, illustrating the scale of warehousing automation deployment in retail supply chains.
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Symbotic, a developer of AI-enabled robotics technology for the supply chain, and Walmart have announced an expanded commercial agreement to bring further automation capabilities to 25 US regional distribution centers, while supporting additional opportunities across Walmart’s global supply chain network.
Symbotic continues to invest in innovations that use AI to improve supply chain performance. Under the expanded agreement, Symbotic will bring additional capabilities to Walmart’s US distribution network.
This agreement also supports the continued growth of Walmart’s supply chain capabilities globally, helping deliver greater value for customers in markets around the world.
The agreement includes an initial commitment of approximately $6 billion in spend, covering work over several years across multiple locations.
Rick Cohen, chairman and CEO of Symbotic, says: “Our partnership with Walmart started with a single product over a decade ago, and now we offer a full end-to-end solution to help power Walmart’s growth across its supply chain for years to come.
“This expanded agreement reflects the strength of that collaboration – a partnership defined by trust and shared ambition.”
Symbotic’s integrated solution has been developed through relentless innovation, and today includes a BreakPack each-picking solution and the SymMicro micro-fulfillment solution for e-commerce.
All Symbotic solutions are underpinned by its proprietary software, which harnesses AI to orchestrate and optimize the movement of millions of cases, every day.
Rob Montgomery, executive vice president for Walmart US supply chain operations, says: “At Walmart, we’re focused on bringing more items to more customers and members, faster than ever.
“Our investments in the physical and digital supply chain help us serve them however they choose to shop, whether in stores, at the curbside or at home.
“Our work with Symbotic over the years, including this expanded agreement, helps us improve service, grow capacity, simplify work for our associates and lower costs.”
Through its expanded work with Symbotic, Walmart plans to bring additional automation capabilities to its regional distribution center network, supporting e-commerce upstream inventory management, increasing storage capacity and improving how products move through the supply chain.
These capabilities will help Walmart offer customers a broader assortment, improve speed and provide more reliable replenishment across its network.