Walmart is bringing robots to two Ontario distribution sites

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Grocery giant Walmart will grow its use of robots by bringing the technology to two Ontario warehouses.

According to The Canadian Press, the action will take place over the next five years at distribution centres located in Mississauga and Cornwall.

This won’t be the company’s first go at robots; Walmart also uses them in a Calgary warehouse to decrease the time it takes to unload products from trailers by 90 percent. It also employs robots to move pallets full of products onto conveyor belts, as well as label products.

“We’re super excited about what we’ve done in Calgary and we’re super excited to scale that and get it into our other sites,” Matt Kelly, the vice president of supply chain at Walmart Canada, told the publication.

Despite the increased use, the executive says robots have not replaced human workers, who are needed for oversight and safety.

“What we want our associates to focus on is the problem solving and the critical thinking elements that are always there to run a good, safe supply chain,” Kelly told The Canadian Press. 

According to a Stats Canada study released in 2020, companies investing in robots increased the number of people they employed. The results, which looked at figures between 1996 and 2017, saw employment increase by 15 percent on average.

Walmart isn’t the only grocer to use robots. Sobeys has been using the technology in a Vaughn, Ontario facility. Other companies, such as Amazon, also utilize robots.

According to The Canadian Press, Walmart will bring more robots to assist with operations in Ontario in the future.

“We are always looking for the technologies in the supply chain that will allow our associates to ensure that product is on the shelf at the right time in the right quantities in the right place,” Kelly said.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: The Canadian Press 

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