Walmart will invest $1.2 billion for building or upgrading more than 10 logistics distribution centers in China, over the next 10 to 20 years. The investment will support the South China Fresh Food Distribution Center, a perishable food distribution center that serves more than 100 Walmart stores in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces.
The South China Fresh Food Distribution Center is a multi-temperature perishable DC that can store and process more than 4,000 kinds of temperature-regulated, refrigerated or frozen goods simultaneously. The center also includes a quality testing laboratory to ensure food safety and quality inspection personnel that check for agricultural pesticide residues.
The Walmart China supply chain also harnesses a mobile digital management platform to help managers mobilize and visualize performance management in a more intuitive manner. The retailer uses a scattered-sorting solution, which provides the flexible distribution that saves approximately 50% of space and improves efficiency by nearly 300%.
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Walmart has been making significant investments in the Chinese grocery industry. In August 2018 the retailer partnered with JD.com to invest $500 million in Dada-JD Daojia, a Chinese grocery delivery company with a service network that includes 200 Walmart stores in 30 cities. Additionally, Walmart has opened a small-format, high-tech supermarket in Shenzhen that lets shoppers pay with their smartphones using the WeChat app.
