Walmart brings Symbotic automation system to supply chain

Walmart has announced a supply chain automation partnership with Symbotic.

The two will deploy robotics tech at 25 regional Walmart distribution centres, with roll-out set to take several years to complete.

This builds on a 2017 pilot that brought Symbotic’s autonomous robotics platform to Walmart’s Brooksville, Florida distribution centre in a bid to increase freight sorting, stocking and unloading.

Joe Metzger, Executive Vice President of Supply Chain Operations at Walmart U.S, says: “This move will fundamentally alter how products get to stores.”

Product currently arrives at one of the retailer’s regional DCs and is either cross-docked or warehoused until it is needed. The products are moved or stored manually.

“When it’s time for them to go to a store, someone is tasked with packing a 53 foot trailer in a human game of Tetris for transit. When the truck arrives at a store, our associates unload it manually and get the items where they need to be,” Metzger says.

“The technology from Symbotic does things differently. This system uses a complex algorithm to store cases like puzzle pieces using high-speed mobile bots – operating with a precision that speeds the intake process and increases the accuracy of freight being stored for future orders.”

“By using dense modular storage, it also expands building capacity. And by using high-speed palletising robotics to organise and optimise freight, it creates custom store- and aisle-ready pallets, which take the guesswork out of unloading trucks.”

“In short, this is a game changer,” he concludes.