Walmart Creating Global Tech Hub in Toronto
Walmart Inc. is making Toronto one of a pair of new global tech hubs, with plans to hire hundreds of workers at the two sites. The retail giant says it chose Canada’s largest city and Atlanta, Ga. as hubs because of their growing tech sector presence and their broad and diverse local talent pools.
“We are excited to join the vibrant and diverse tech communities in Toronto and Atlanta,” said Suresh Kumar, chief technology officer and chief development officer at Walmart. “Work from these new hubs will impact millions of lives and transform the future of retail.”
The initial hiring phase in Toronto will include 45 full-time roles in software development, technical program management and product management. Initial hiring in Atlanta is expected to include 140 new full-time roles. Walmart says deploying the latest technology is part of a $3.5 billion investment for Canada announced in 2020 to make the online and in-store experience simpler, faster and more convenient for its customers. The company also says that the development of this technology hub will keep homegrown tech talent in Canada.
The expansion is part of Walmart Global Tech’s plan to hire more than 5,000 employees globally this fiscal year. The addition of Toronto and Atlanta will increase the number of Walmart Global Tech hubs to 16, including Seattle and Chennai, India that launched last year. The number of global tech employees increased 26% last year to 20,000.
“Canada has a dynamic and world leading tech community powered by talented people and innovation that is recognized on a global scale,” stated Nicolai Salcedo, chief technology and data officer of Walmart Canada in a news release. Walmart’s 2020 decision to spend $3.5 billion in Canada over five years came as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated e-commerce trends and altered the way people shopped.
Canadians are more familiar with online shopping than they were in 2019, and retailers are expanding their offerings through capsule collections, resale agreements and other initiatives. The aim of Walmart’s Toronto tech hub investment is to keep up with these changes and boost the company’s presence in Canada, the company said. The investment also includes the renovation of 150 stores.
Walmart Canada Investing $118 Million to Build New Fulfillment Centre in Calgary Area
Walmart Canada is investing more than $118 million to build a new high-tech sortable fulfillment centre in Rocky View County, Alberta, located just outside of Calgary. The investment is part of the retailer’s plan to expand, revolutionize and transform its best-in-class supply chain network while increasing its e-commerce capabilities to better serve Walmart customers. It is part of Walmart Canada’s $3.5 billion investment to make the online and in-store shopping experience simpler, faster and more convenient for Walmart customers as the retailer plans to invest for continued growth in Alberta and across Canada.
The sortable fulfillment centre, to be located at 10 Lowes Rd., will be approximately 430,000 square feet in size, serving as a delivery hub for millions of customer orders in Western Canada. It is slated to open in September 2022. Walmart customers will see better product availability and quicker service whether they choose to shop in-store or online at Walmart.ca, where millions of products are available for purchase at Walmart Canada’s everyday low prices.
The modern facility will be powered by cutting-edge logistics technology to achieve productivity with less physical effort. For the first time at Walmart Canada, innovative robotic technology from GreyOrange will be used at the fulfillment centre. This platform will speed up order fulfillment by using an advanced operating system that will help associates store, pick and sort items by using smart and flexible storage abilities to manage a large and wide variety of inventory. The result is an order fulfillment process that is quicker, easier and more efficient.
Facts about the new Alberta fulfillment centre:
- Capable of shipping 20 million items annually from the facility to Walmart customers.
- Capable of storing 500,000 items to fulfil direct to home and in-store pickup orders.
- Designed to optimize packaging, minimize waste and reduce transportation costs.
- Creates more than 325 new jobs at Walmart, plus construction and engineering jobs.
Walmart is proud to work with approximately 2,100 Canadian suppliers every day. This helps boost Canada’s economy and provides new opportunities for Canadians.
Source: Globe and Mail
Source: The Star
Source: Walmart Canada
Source: CTV News
