Distribution Facility Capacity

Updated 2 months ago ​by Merch Transformation Change Management

Distribution facility capacity is the number of units a distribution facility can ship in a given day for Walmart.com orders. Suppliers must accurately set capacity to ensure on-time shipping and on-time delivery. Walmart uses your distribution facility capacity to manage order flow and ensure customer-promised delivery dates are met. When capacity fills to the daily capacity limit, orders (units) will move to the following day. 

You can view the capacity for your facilities from within Supplier One. Click Account at the top right corner of your window and select Supplier profile. Then, select Logistics and expand Facility Information. Select the facility you wish to view by clicking on it and scrolling to the Capacity section.

Set Capacity

Capacity per distribution facility is set in an internal Walmart system. Walmart will work with the supplier to ensure an accurate capacity is set for each distribution facility. Daily capacity is set for all working days, in units, for each distribution facility. 

Because capacity is set in an internal Walmart system, it is important that you work with Partner Support to ensure your capacity is correct. If you have questions about your capacity or need support, please create a case with Partner Support by selecting Orders & Settings > Operational Settings > Capacity. If you want to update your Distribution Facility capacity, please submit a completed DSV Capacity Template when you create your case. 

How Capacity Affects Suppliers

Inaccurate capacity may result in lost sales or late shipments. If the capacity is set too low, that facility may not receive the number of orders they are capable of fulfilling, resulting in lost sales. If the capacity is set too high, that facility may not be able to process and ship all orders received by the expected ship date (ESD), which may result in chargebacks

Each order you receive from Walmart is assigned an expected ship date. This is the date the order is expected to ship from your facility (picked up by the carrier on this date). Orders must be shipped by the expected ship date to prevent late shipment and chargebacks. For more details, please review Operational Expectations - On Time Shipping.

Important: If your facility receives orders at maximum capacity for 20 consecutive days, your items will appear to be out of stock for at least 24 hours to allow you time to catch up with shipping. If you can increase capacity within that timeframe, your items will remain available for Walmart.com customers. To increase capacity, please fill out the Capacity Template and create a case with Partner Support by selecting Orders & Settings > Operational Settings > Capacity.

Capacity Example

Capacity ensures the number of orders (units) sent to a distribution facility each day does not exceed the capacity set for that day. When number of units reach the capacity set for that day, the overage will then be assigned into future dates.

For example: 

DSV Facility 1 has a capacity of 500. On Monday, 975 orders are placed on Walmart.com for that facility. Walmart assigns 500 units to be fulfilled on Monday, with the remaining 475 units to be processed on Tuesday. Facilities should ship all overflow orders before processing and shipping any units received on Tuesday.


How did we do?