Walmart announces plan to open up new Penn.-based fulfillment center

In another move focused on taking steps to continue to expand its ongoing e-commerce growth and support its supply chain network, global retail giantWalmartsaid earlier this week it will build a new southern Pennsylvania-based fulfillment center.

The new 1.8 million square-foot (MSF) facility, which is expected to be open this Spring, will be based in Shippensburg, Penn. at 2281 United Drive, with Walmart saying it is expected to bring up to 600 full-time jobs.

Walmart officials said that the Shippensburg facility is part of a broader initiative to add more capacity into its supply chain, with an eye on more growth, as it continues to grow its supply chain footprint nationwide, noting that in the fourth quarter of Fiscal Year 2022, Walmart cited 70% growth over the last two years.

“We are proud to open a new state-of-the-art fulfillment center in Shippensburg, which will be instrumental in providing our customers with increased access and faster shipping on millions of every-day low priced items,” said Steve Miller, SVP Supply Chain Operations, Walmart U.S., in a statement. “In addition to faster shipping, our investment in Shippensburg will bring a positive impact to the community by bringing even more employment opportunities to a growing local economy.”

“The state-of-the-art fulfillment center will provide customers in the surrounding areas with increased access and faster shipping on millions of everyday, low-priced items as well as bring employment opportunities and help grow the local economy,” a Walmart spokesperson toldLM.

As for the types of positions the Shippensburg fulfillment center will bring, the spokesperson said Walmart is hiring a variety of full-time positions within the 600 new full-time jobs, ranging from warehouse associates to leadership positions such as Assistant GM and HR Manager. And he added that candidates can search for open positions and complete applications online at careers.walmart.com.

What’s more the spokesperson said there are various competitive benefits of this new fulfillment center, from a Walmart perspective.

Every new facility added to Walmart’s Supply Chain Network allows us to continue increasing shipping speed while helping our customers save money and live better,” he said. “Walmart fulfillment centers are focused on storing millions of items that are picked, packed and shipped directly to customers as soon as next-day.”

Walmart has a significant presence in Pennsylvania, with seven distribution centers, 160 retail stores and employs more than 60,000 associates in the state. And In FYE 21, stores, clubs and the Walmart Foundation gave $28.4 million in cash and in-kind donations to local Pennsylvania organizations, it added.

Texas expansion:Walmart also announced this week that it plans to build a new distribution center in Baytown, TX, also as part of its ongoing effort to expand its e-commerce business.

Walmart said this facility will add an additional 1,000,000+ square-feet of space to the multiple-building Baytown campus, bringing total square-footage to more than 5,000,000. It added that the facility is set to this Fall and will create approximately 300 full-time, permanent jobs across the Houston, TX region.

Walmart operates 19 distribution centers, 593 retail stores and employs 185,000+ associates in the state of Texas. In FYE 21, stores, clubs and the Walmart Foundation gave $129.2 million in cash and in-kind donations to local Texas organizations.