Walmart has officially announced the opening of its fifth next-generation fulfillment center, choosing Stockton, California, as the site for its latest massive logistics hub. Spanning a sprawling 900,000 square feet, the new facility is designed to significantly boost the retail giant’s storage capacity while accelerating order fulfillment speeds for customers across California and the broader West Coast.

The move underscores Walmart’s ongoing commitment to modernizing its supply chain through advanced automation and strategic infrastructure investments. Currently ranked No. 2 in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 1000 Database—which tracks North America’s largest online retailers by annual ecommerce sales—Walmart continues to aggressively scale its digital and physical infrastructure. Furthermore, the retailer holds the No. 37 spot in Digital Commerce 360’s AI Commerce Rankings, reflecting its deepening integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies across its operations.

What Distinguishes Walmart’s New Fulfillment Center in Stockton

At the heart of Walmart’s new Stockton fulfillment center is a sophisticated, automated high-density storage and retrieval system. Unlike traditional warehouses where human workers must travel vast distances across the facility floor to locate and pick items, this next-generation system brings products directly to the associates.

According to Walmart, this automated workflow condenses an otherwise complex 12-step fulfillment process down to just five simplified steps. By removing the physical burden of walking the facility floor and searching for inventory, the technology leaves associates with more time to focus on higher-value tasks within the operation.

The integration of automation in Stockton aligns with a broader corporate shift. Walmart now processes more than half of its total ecommerce fulfillment volume through automated facilities, a milestone the company recently shared with investors alongside its fiscal second-quarter earnings results. Additionally, approximately 3,100 of Walmart’s U.S. retail stores utilize automated freight handling to varying capacities.

When combined with Walmart’s broader, nationwide fulfillment network, these next-generation facilities allow the company to reach an impressive 95% of the U.S. population with next-day or two-day shipping options.

"We’re bringing together associates with advanced technology and automation to create a safer, more efficient operation that can fulfill more orders and get products to customers faster," said Karisa Sprague, senior vice president of fulfillment operations at Walmart U.S., in a written statement. "This facility is an important investment in the Central Valley and a critical part of how we’re building the next generation of Walmart’s fulfillment network across the West Coast."

Fast Delivery’s Importance for Walmart

Delivery speed has emerged as a central pillar of Walmart’s broader ecommerce strategy over recent quarters, serving as a primary driver of customer acquisition and retention.

During the first fiscal quarter, Walmart U.S. online sales experienced a robust 26% growth rate. Executives have repeatedly pointed to delivery speed as a key catalyst for growth across global markets. Thanks to its densely woven network of stores and distribution hubs, Walmart can now reach approximately 60% of the U.S. population with delivery in 30 minutes or less—a rapid-delivery capability that has been successfully expanded to 38 major U.S. markets.

Concurrently, store-fulfilled delivery has more than doubled over the past two years. Data from the retailer shows that more than 36% of those store-fulfilled orders are now delivered to customers’ doorsteps in under three hours.

"Speed matters, and we have a significant competitive advantage," Walmart CEO and president John Furner told investors during an earnings call in August.

How Walmart Fulfillment Services Will Use the Center

Crucially, the Stockton facility is not designed exclusively to support Walmart’s first-party ecommerce business. The massive distribution hub will also serve Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS), the company’s end-to-end third-party fulfillment offering tailored for marketplace sellers.

By integrating WFS capabilities into the Stockton center, third-party merchants selling their goods on Walmart.com will gain access to the same advanced automation and rapid regional shipping networks utilized by Walmart’s own inventory. This makes the new facility directly relevant to the rapidly growing base of brands, manufacturers, and independent distributors that rely on the Walmart Marketplace to reach consumers.

The expansion of WFS comes on the heels of explosive growth for the program. Units shipped via same-day or next-day delivery through Walmart Fulfillment Services grew by nearly 150% during the first fiscal quarter, according to figures shared by Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey. By opening high-capacity facilities like the one in Stockton, Walmart aims to sustain that momentum and attract even more third-party sellers looking for reliable, high-speed logistics support in key geographic regions.