Walgreens opens Washington micro-fulfillment center

An article from The automated facility is set to support 196 Walgreens stores across the region by streamlining prescription fulfillment. Published July 30, 2026 A Walgreens located in Manhattan Beach, California. Walgreens last year resumed its efforts to open micro-fulfillment centers after pausing the initiative in 2023. Courtesy of Walgreens This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback . Walgreens opened a micro-fulfillment center in Kent, Washington, on July 22 in an effort to boost prescription processing, a spokesperson for the company told Supply Chain Dive in an email. The facility is equipped with robotic technology and will process millions of prescriptions weekly, with 7 million prescriptions to be processed a year, the spokesperson said, adding that the site will support nearly 196 stores, including 122 in Washington. The combination of technology and expertise from Walgreens’ pharmacy team helps strengthen the company’s ability to support patients across the Washington region, Jon Joplin, chief technology and operations officer of automated fulfillment, told Supply Chain Dive in an email. Overall, the synergy creates opportunities for Walgreens’ team members and helps pharmacists to be able to spend more time focused on patient care, he said. The Kent facility is part of Walgreens’ efforts to grow and leverage micro-fulfillment centers after pausing the effort in 2023 . During the pause, the company reviewed its strategy because the “experience at the last mile was not what we wanted it to be,” former CEO Tim Wentworth said in a Q1 2025 earnings call . However, last spring, Walgreens rekindled its micro-fulfillment initiative by opening a facility in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. The company said it has realized improvement in shipped volumes and prescriptions filled per month from such facilities. Walgreens now has a total of 14 micro-fulfillment centers, including the Kent site, according to the company's jobs website . Amid the renewed focus on micro-fulfillment centers, the pharmacy retailer is making additional adjustments to its network, announcing in February it planned to close a distribution center in Houston. Editor's Note: This story has been updated with emailed comments from Walgreens executive Jon Joplin.