Walmart associates were joined by local elected officials and community members to celebrate the grand opening of a new 2.2 million square foot fulfilment centre 20 miles northeast of Indianapolis. This next generation facility is Walmart’s largest fulfilment centre to date, and will enable the retailer to fulfil more orders, more quickly.

“Indiana is proud to welcome this next generation Walmart fulfilment centre, which represents a significant investment in our industry and our people,” said Ann Lathrop, chief strategy officer of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. “Walmart has long been a good corporate partner in Indiana, and we’re excited to see their commitment grow in Hancock County.”

The McCordsville fulfilment centre is the second of four next generation facilities that brings the powerful combination of people, technology and machine learning together to achieve faster shipping and delivery, while increasing order fulfilment capacity.

The space is Walmart’s largest fulfilment centre to date and is designed to expand access to the retailer’s next- or two-day shipping. Combined with the rest of Walmart’s fulfilment network, these next generation fulfilment centres will enable the retailer to reach 95 per cent of the US population with the service. Walmart Fulfilment services, Walmart’s end-to-end third-party fulfilment service, will also leverage the space to fulfil marketplace items.?

“The McCordsville grand opening marks a major milestone in our supply chain modernisation journey,” said Karisa Sprague, senior vice president, Fulfilment Network Operations for Walmart US. “With more customers shopping online, we’re leveraging state-of-the-art technology to increase speed of delivery all while creating tech empowered career opportunities for our associates.”

Additional benefits of this game-changing technology include new career pathways – and job comfort – for associates. The McCordsville fulfilment centre will be home to more than 1,000 Walmart associates. The retailer is now hiring for a variety of positions, including tech-focused jobs. Each job brings with it a pathway for opportunity at Walmart.

“I’m pleased that nearly half of the associates in our McCordsville fulfilment centre are continuing their career with us here after having worked in our Plainfield facility,” said Geoffrey Appleby, the general manager of the McCordsville fulfilment centre. “And I’m excited to welcome new team members from the area. Together, we’ll focus on the community and our customers.”

Walmart commemorated the grand opening with donations of $5,000 to two local organizations: Riley Children’s Foundation and Mt. Vernon Education Foundation. The donation reflects Walmart’s commitment to the community. In fiscal year 2022, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation contributed more than $48.8 million in cash and in-kind donations to nonprofit organisations in Indiana. Walmart serves Indiana customers at 127 retail units and online.

The retailer employs over 43,000 associates in Indiana, and supports local business across the state, spending $1.1 billion with Hoosier suppliers in fiscal year 2023 and supporting 33,373 Hoosier supplier jobs.