Bentonville / AR. (wama) Walmart Inc. announced the creation of a new line of business – Walmart GoLocal – that extends its expertise in delivering goods to customers to businesses of all sizes. «In an era where customers have come to expect speed and reliability, it’s more important than ever for businesses to work with a service provider that understands a merchant’s needs,» said John Furner, president and CEO, Walmart U.S. «Walmart has spent years building and scaling commerce capabilities that support our network of more than 4,700 stores and we look forward to helping other businesses have access to the same reliable, quality and low-cost services.»
Walmart GoLocal is built on the retailer’s proven ability to execute delivery capabilities at scale with efficiency. In just three years, the retailer launched and scaled delivery and Express delivery for its customers on 160,000+ items from more than 3,000 stores, reaching nearly 70 percent of the U.S. population and growing using its existing delivery network, including drones, autonomous vehicles and market fulfilment centers.
This white-label delivery as a service offering empowers businesses to grow using Walmart’s delivery capabilities and nationwide coverage at competitive pricing. This includes delivery on a range of assortment, including those with size and complex requirements, as well as the flexibility to meet varying timelines. The business will also rapidly expand to offer additional innovative offerings.
«We’ve worked hard to develop a reliable last mile delivery program for our customers,» said Tom Ward, senior vice president, last mile, Walmart U.S. «Now, we’re pleased to be able to use these capabilities to serve another set of customers – local merchants. Be it delivering goods from a local bakery to auto supplies from a national retailer, we’ve designed Walmart GoLocal to be customizable for merchants of all sizes and categories so they can focus on doing what they do best, leaving delivery speed and efficiency to us.»
Walmart GoLocal has already established a number of contractual agreements with national and enterprise retail clients and is currently accepting select new merchant partners at www.walmart.com/GoLocal.
This business is an important part of the company’s overall strategy, which includes diversifying its revenue streams and profit pools with initiatives like Walmart Connect and Walmart Fulfillment Services. Its launch comes weeks after the retailer announced plans to begin offering technologies and capabilities to help other businesses navigate their own digital transformation.
