Walmart plans to increase supply chain automation, with 23 U.S. distribution centers being retrofitted. About 60% of U.S. stores receive freight from automated centers, and half of e-commerce fulfillment centers are automated, reducing shipping costs. Walmart aims to improve inventory management and labor efficiency through technology.

Inventory globally increased by 2.6% in Q4, aided by automation, with improved in-store inventory visibility. Over 1 million U.S. associates use handheld devices and computer vision for inventory tracking. Stores now serve as key nodes in Walmart’s supply chain, enabling faster delivery speeds, with 35% of store-fulfilled orders delivered in under three hours.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Supply chain spending set to ‘peak’ next 2 years, CEO says