Walmart, Salesforce join to support product delivery

Walmart Inc. is partnering with software developer Salesforce Inc. to provide its retailer customers with support for local pickup and delivery.

Under the arrangement, San Francisco-based Salesforce, a provider of customer relationship management tools, will make Walmart Commerce Technologies’ Store Assist local fulfillment app and Walmart GoLocal’s delivery services available through its Salesforce AppExchange, a marketplace in which users can access ready-to-install apps.

Walmart said the arrangement will provide retailers with access to the same scalable technologies that Walmart uses and enable real-time order visibility and reliable local pickup and delivery.

“Retailers are looking for ways to improve cost efficiency while meeting their customers’ needs, no matter where or how they choose to shop,” Harsit Patel, Walmart GoLocal vice president and general manager, said in a statement. “Fulfillment from stores is an effective way to achieve these goals and serve customers quickly and reliably through local delivery.”

The Store Assist app helps retailers leverage their local stores as fulfillment centers by increasing picking accuracy, speed, and efficiency, and is designed to provide a seamless handoff between employees and customers or third-party delivery drivers, Walmart said, noting that Walmart has used the technology that powers Store Assist to fulfill more than 830 million orders across more than 4,700 Walmart stores.

Walmart launched Walmart GoLocal in August 2021 and was on track to reach 5,000 locations by the end of 2022, the company said. Walmart noted that the business is an important part of the company’s overall strategy, which includes diversifying its revenue streams and profit pools.

The arrangement with Salesforce is just the latest move by Walmart to share its technologies and capabilities with more businesses and brands. In July 2021, Walmart announced a partnership with Adobe to integrate its Marketplace online and in-store fulfillment and pickup technologies with Adobe Commerce, a leading e-commerce software solution for merchants and brands.

“We’ve built new capabilities to serve the evolving needs of our own customers, and we have a unique opportunity to use our experience to help other businesses do the same,” John Furner, chief executive officer of Walmart U.S., said in a statement during that announcement. “Commercializing our technologies and capabilities helps us sustainably reinvest back into our customer value proposition.”