Walmart is using a robotic system made by a company called Symbotic to automate its regional distribution centers. Fleets of autonomous robots receive products from suppliers, store them, retrieve them, and build sorted loads ready for stores — work that was previously done largely by human warehouse workers. More than 60% of U.S. Walmart stores now receive at least some of their stock from an automated distribution center.

Walmart has partnered with Symbotic since 2017 and in May 2022 committed to deploying Symbotic's platform across all 42 of its U.S. regional distribution centers. In January 2025, Symbotic acquired Walmart's internal Advanced Systems and Robotics business, and Walmart committed approximately $520 million for Symbotic to build a next-generation system called Accelerated Pickup and Delivery (APD) at 400-plus store locations. Over half of Walmart's e-commerce fulfillment volume already moves through automated systems. The agreement is expected to add more than $5 billion to Symbotic's future order backlog. Symbotic's platform uses an AI-enabled robotics system that navigates warehouse environments without fixed tracks or conveyors.