Walgreens will open a new microfulfillment center (MFC) in Brooklyn Park, Minn. that will use robotic technology in a central pharmacy environment to streamline the dispensing and shipment of prescriptions to Walgreens stores. The drugstore retailer’s 12 MFCs now support more than 5,000 stores across the country, fulfilling more than 3.5 million prescriptions each week.
The new facility will support nearly 200 Walgreens stores across the Midwest, including 145 in Minnesota alone, and is expected to process approximately 13 million Rxs annually. The MFC also will bring more than 175 jobs to the area.
Walgreens’ high-tech MFC facilities have generated positive results, according to the retailer. The company highlighted that:
- There was a 24% year-over-year increase in shipped volumes from MFCs, with approximately 16 million prescriptions filled per month;
- Approximately 40% of a store’s total prescription volume is managed by MFCs at locations served by these facilities; and
- A recycling program across MFCs recycled 3.7 million pounds of carboard, plastic and toner cartridges in Walgreens FY 2024, which ended Aug. 31, 2024.
“Our pharmacists working in locations supported by our microfulfillment sites are spending less time filling prescriptions and more time on patient care, like providing medication adherence support or administering vaccines — all of which help strengthen the health of our communities and provide a better overall patient experience,” said Kayla Heffington, VP, Pharmacy Operating Model at Walgreens in a statement.
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In March 2025 Walgreens announced a $10 billion acquisition by Sycamore Partners that sent the company private after nearly a century as a public company.
