Walmart unveiled a massive high-tech consolidation center in Minooka — its third one in the country — that will speed up product deliveries and employ 700 people.
James White, general manager of Walmart’s Minooka center, said it’s a “significant milestone” in Walmart’s history, during a grand opening on Tuesday.
He said the facility will simplify the supply chain process, ultimately getting products on the shelves faster and making it easier to serve customers.
The 492,000-square-foot facility at 201 S. McLinden Road started operating about 60 days ago and is equipped with automated technology. It’s Walmart’s third consolidation center. The first site in Colton, California, opened in 2019, and the second location opened in 2022 in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
“This grand opening represents what we are as a company,” said Mike Gray, Walmart’s senior vice president of ambient operations. “Walmart has a long … legacy of excellence in supply chain, and we continue to change and innovate for the supply chain to be more efficient.”
The Minooka site currently employs 450 associates but will have 700 workers once operations are fully ramped up, according to Walmart.
White said about 80% of the employees are from Joliet, which, like Minooka, straddles Will and Kendall counties. There’s also a small portion of employees from Indiana.
Walmart is still hiring for additional roles, including freight handler and quality assurance manager, as the center continues to grow its operations.
Consolidation centers receive general merchandise from suppliers in smaller truck loads and combine them into larger truck loads. The products are then shipped to one of Walmart’s 42 regional distribution centers and sorted before reaching a retail store.
The process helps simplify the distribution process, White said, and cut costs, which translates into lower prices for consumers. It’s also part of Walmart’s ongoing effort to modernize its supply chain through greater use of data and advanced technology.
White said opening the center in Minooka made sense because it’s within the greater Chicago area and close to a pocket of Walmart suppliers. For example, home decor products manufacturer Harbortown Industries in Lake Forest and Handi-foil, a manufacturer of recyclable aluminum products based in Wheeling, are two of Walmart’s suppliers.
“It’s a much faster, efficient way to serve customers,” White said.
Gray said it also gives small-scale suppliers, who don’t ship nationwide, an opportunity to distribute their product to all of Walmart’s 4,700 stores.
In 2027, Walmart plans to open a 1.2 million-square-foot perishable distribution center in Belvidere.
Based in Bentonville, Arkansas, Walmart currently operates seven distribution centers and 184 retail stores in Illinois, employing more than 57,800 associates.
