December 2019
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TD Magazine

Walmart Opens Training Academy for Supply Chain

Monday, December 2, 2019

Walmart has been in the news recently, having trained more than 1 million of its store employees from 200 regional academies. Now, the retail giant is opening training centers in its distribution centers, zeroing in on the need for skills training and development in its supply chain.

“The needs of our associates in supply chain are evolving,” Steve Miller, vice president of U.S. supply chain people for Walmart, told The Dallas Morning News. “Skills needed today are different than 15 or 20 years ago.”

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The first training center is at a 1.2-million-square-foot facility north of Dallas in Sanger, Texas. It is a general merchandise warehouse that supplies 140 Walmart and Sam’s Club stores. The facility employs 945 people who are supervised by dozens of merchandise category and function managers, all of whom will go through the training.

The Sanger Academy will train employees from 15 distribution centers in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. The company also plans to set up 10 academies that will each train about 15 distribution centers, similarly to Sanger.

Walmart supervisors go through training in leadership, safety, and supply chain. The academies will add technology-related coursework in the future.

The company has invested in several training and workforce development programs for supply chain and other employees, including in-store training. It also offers employees access to online degrees at partner universities for just $1 per day. Programs include bachelor’s degrees in business administration, supply chain management, logistics management, and operations management.

About the Author

The Association for Talent Development (ATD) is a professional membership organization supporting those who develop the knowledge and skills of employees in organizations around the world. The ATD Staff, along with a worldwide network of volunteers work to empower professionals to develop talent in the workplace.

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