Walmart has announced the launch of a delivery service for other companies. The delivery network is called GoLocal and will carry goods from other local and national retailers to consumers. The company said that the services will offer ‘competitive pricing’ to everyone in the United States. The world’s largest big-box store chain said that it is hopeful of starting delivery by the end of this year. The company also emphasized that the delivery fleet would have newer technologies. Self-driving vehicles and drones would be widely used. Innovative delivery partners like Cruise and Waymo and Nuro are likely to be part of the delivery system. For drone delivery, Walmart is likely to join hands with DroneUP, a company in which Walmart has already invested over the last year. Others who may join the delivery system are Zipline and FlyTrex.
Merchants who will sign up to avail GoLocal facilities will use the platform of the retail giant to deliver products made through their own websites. Tom Ward, senior vice-president of Last-Mile Delivery at Walmart US, said that GoLocal will pick up merchandise from the location of retailers and will deliver it to the address of consumers. “This initiative is to connect customers to both local and national businesses with the help of capabilities we as Walmart have,” Ward was quoted as saying in a media report. The company emphasized that the delivery would be a white-label service. This means that no deliveries would be made by Walmart-branded vehicles. The delivery services will be handled by a combination of gig workers, associates, and if required even by other delivery companies. At present, the retailer has partnered with FedEx for the online packages. However, there are no words from the company on whether the delivery company would be used for GoLocal. The move comes people are shifting focus on online order and retailers are desperately looking for new streams of revenue. The coronavirus pandemic forced people to stay indoors and follow norms of social distancing. It is during this period when they have no option but order products online. Now more and more people are shifting toward ordering goods online and they expect quick delivery.
The new business would increase the competition in the market which already has several big players. Walmart would have direct competition with online retailer Amazon. The fulfillment service of Amazon is currently being used to deliver goods ordered from other websites. Earlier in May, Amazon had invited sellers to join its pilot project under which it would package their products in unbranded boxes for deliveries. Amazon also provides its warehouse for storing third-party merchandise. Walmart too has been doing this. Walmart said that merchants who will use GoLocal services will be able to prominently highlight their brands to their customers. Moreover, delivery vehicles used by Walmart for delivering products might arrive with a merchant’s logo on them. Explaining this, Ward said GoLocal services would be customized for every merchant irrespective of their sizes and categories. “This will help merchants to focus on doing what they do best. They can depend on us for delivery speed and efficiency,” Ward said. Meanwhile, sales of Walmart’s e-commerce in the United States have more than doubled in the past two years. The company said earlier this year that it was targeting USD 14 billion in capital investments in the fiscal year 2022. It said that some of this amount would be used for supply chain and improvements in automation. According to a forecast of the company, global eCommerce sales are likely to reach USD 100 billion in the next couple of years.
