More than 100 community leaders, local officials and healthcare partners joined Medline in celebrating the company’s latest AutoStore™ installation in Wilmer, Texas, helping the distribution center there to better serve hospitals, healthcare facilities and patients —in the Dallas area and beyond.

Since the facility opened in 2016, operations have grown at the 800,000-square-foot distribution center. Today, the Wilmer facility manages more than $1 billion in medical supplies.

“This distribution center and Medline’s other recent investments in infrastructure, operations and technology reflect our unwavering commitment to making healthcare run better in Texas,” said Steve Miller, Medline executive vice president, supply chain. “We know that our healthcare partners rely on us to provide consistent, timely delivery of vital medical supplies. These robotic upgrades help us to do just that.”

Today, there are 20 AutoStore installations at Medline distribution centers featuring more than 1,700 robots. The cutting-edge automated storage and retrieval system provides goods-to-person, less-than-case picking and other automated solutions.  The installations are part of Medline’s Healthcare Resilience Initiative (HRI), a more than $2 billion investment helping to support the supply chain needs of healthcare providers.

The energy-efficient, LEED-certified Wilmer facility delivers vital medical supplies to local hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, clinics, physician offices, rehabilitation centers, long-term care facilities and patient homes—the full continuum of care—in northern Texas.

A ‘pivotal milestone for Wilmer’

AutoStore and other automation and system upgrades at Wilmer, along with Medline’s MedTrans private transportation fleet—the largest transportation fleet of any healthcare product distributor in the U.S.—helps the company provide 24-hour delivery to 95% of the U.S. The MedTrans fleet out of Wilmer utilizes a dynamic routing system to ensure timely deliveries with reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

“Today marks a pivotal milestone for Wilmer,” said City of Wilmer Mayor Sheila Petta. “As we gather to witness Medline’s state-of-the-art-facility, we celebrate Medline’s dedication to providing innovation and excellence in healthcare. I am proud to have Medline in Wilmer and look forward to the continued partnership between Medline and the City of Wilmer.”

The Wilmer facility supports more than 500 jobs and a payroll of $28 million. During the event, Medline Vice President of Regional Sales Edward Graves lauded Wilmer employees for their service and dedication, and the greater Wilmer community for their support.

“None of this could take place without support and strong leadership within the Wilmer community,” said Graves. “I want to thank Mayor Sheila Petta and all of the public officials here today.”