ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Walmart officials and local and state dignitaries attended a sneak preview event of Walmart’s new eCommerce fulfillment center in Atlanta, Ga. The new facility is dedicated to filling online orders and is the latest addition to the next-generation fulfillment network Walmart is building to support its rapidly growing eCommerce business.
The 1.2 million sq. ft. facility in Union City, just south of Atlanta, is the third large-scale eCommerce fulfillment center to open in the U.S. in as many months, and features state-of-the-art automation and warehousing systems. When fully operational, the facility will create nearly 400 full-time jobs in Fulton County. The new large scale centers, including the Atlanta facility, will join existing, smaller eCommerce fulfillment centers, store distribution centers, 4,500 Walmart stores and the company’s world-class transportation fleet to ship online orders fast and efficiently to customers around the country.
“We are excited about what this center provides for our Georgia customers and are grateful to Fulton County for welcoming us to do so,” said Neal Maguire, general manager of the Atlanta fulfillment center. “This center will not only provide jobs and economic development for the community, but it will allow us to fulfill the needs of our customers in a more convenient and efficient fashion.”
New Center, New Jobs for Fulton County
“Georgia’s economic environment, highly skilled workforce and innovative technology scene make Fulton County a qualified location for the new eCommerce center,” commented Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal. “In choosing this location for a new facility, Walmart is creating jobs and demonstrating that Georgia is a promising home for the new frontier of technology in business.”
“This is wonderful news for South Fulton and I am grateful that Walmart decided to locate its newest eCommerce center -- and the nearly 400 jobs it creates -- at this location,” said U. S. Representative David Scott, from Georgia's 13th congressional district. “Additionally, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have been wonderful corporate citizens and the $300,000 in grants provided today to local organizations are prime examples of their commitment to this community.”
Giving Back to Georgia
The sneak preview event included presentations of $350,000 in grants from Walmart and the Walmart Foundation to four local community groups. The Americas Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia Inc., Senior Citizens Services of Metropolitan Atlanta Inc., CSRA Business League Inc. and Feeding the Valley Inc. each received contributions to assist with their goals of helping those in need. These contributions were made possible through the Walmart Foundation’s Georgia’s State Giving Program (SGP), which supports organizations that create opportunities so people can live better.
Additionally, Walmart continues to fight hunger both in Georgia and across the country. As part of Walmart’s and the Walmart Foundation’s $2 billion commitment to fight hunger through 2015, Walmart stores in Georgia donated approximately 26.4 million pounds of food in fiscal year 2015, or the equivalent of over 22 million meals. Additionally, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation gave more than $50.5 million in cash and in-kind contributions throughout the state of Georgia.
New Centers Provide Fast Deliveries at Lower Cost
This new facility is part of a network — Walmart distribution centers, existing eCommerce facilities, 4,500 Walmart stores and a world-class transportation fleet — that ships packages faster and more efficiently, while offering customers more choices for how they receive online orders.
“We’re rapidly enhancing our fulfillment capabilities to give customers more choices and fast shipping, while keeping our costs down so we can continue to lower our prices,” said Neil Ashe, chief executive officer of Walmart Global eCommerce. “Whether shipping to home or picking up at a store, our digital and physical fulfillment assets come together and let customers choose the most convenient way to receive their online orders.”
About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, we serve nearly 260 million customers who visit our 11,508 stores under 65 banners in 28 countries and eCommerce websites in 11 countries. With fiscal year 2015 revenue of $486 billion, Walmart employs more than 2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart. Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com.
About Philanthropy at Walmart
By using our strengths to help others, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation create opportunities for people to live better every day. We have stores in 28 countries, employing more than 2.2 million associates and doing business with thousands of suppliers who, in turn, employ millions of people. We are helping people live better by accelerating upward job mobility and economic development for the retail workforce; addressing hunger and making healthier, more sustainably-grown food a reality; and building strong communities where we operate and inspiring our associates to give back. Whether it is helping to lead the fight against hunger in the United States with $2 billion in cash and in-kind donations or supporting Women’s Economic Empowerment through a series of grants totaling $10 million to the Women in Factories training program in Bangladesh, China, India and Central America, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are not only working to tackle key social issues, we are also collaborating with others to inspire solutions for long-lasting systemic change. To learn more about Walmart’s giving, visit www.foundation.walmart.com.
