Since launching in 2021, the robotic facilities have saved Walgreens $500 million|Mike Mozart|CC BY 2.0

Walgreens is scaling up its robot-powered micro-fulfillment centers to increase efficiency and give pharmacists more time for patients.

It wants to have all 11 facilities serve 5,000+ stores by the end of the year, which would mean 16 million prescriptions monthly.

Since launching in 2021, the robotic facilities have saved Walgreens $500 million. The automated centers served 4,800 stores in February and 4,300 in October 2023.

The move comes as Walgreens prepares to go private in a $10 billion deal with Sycamore Partners.

With pharmacy walkouts, competition from CVS and Amazon, and shrinking margins, Walgreens hopes automation can lighten the load on staff and boost services like vaccinations, which are up 40% in automated stores, notes Kayla Heffington, VP of the pharmacy operating model.