Why Walmart Ranks High in Gartner's Global Supply Chain 25
Amid ongoing volatility and a greater demand to meet consumer expectations, Walmart has been making headlines in its innovative supply chain operations.
As online shopping has changed how consumers shop, global retailers are needing to operate faster than before in order to beat out competitors.
Through a series of supply chain updates and modernisations, Walmart has established itself as a leader in retail efficiency, gaining the third spot in Gartner's Supply Chain Top 25.
Walmart's automation
Walmart has been prioritising efficiency in its supply chain operations, working to reduce the timeline for suppliers. Through ongoing investments into automation and technology, the retailer is streamlining its logistics and improving service.
Global supply chains are seeing the gains of digitalisation, through significant cost savings and increased efficiency across the board. Walmart, in particular, has seen the benefit, reporting a US$1tn valuation since it began using automation throughout its operations.
Out of the major global retailers, Walmart was the first to see the market capitalisation, demonstrating its awareness of next-generation technologies and the benefits it can bring.
Due to labour shortages, growing consumer demand and a need to react faster to market shifts, more logistics companies around the world are turning to automation. Distribution centres and warehouses are implementing robotics to meet demand, or AI solutions across manual tasks.
Now, more than 60% of Walmart US stores accept freight from automated distribution centres, and the company is seeing greater productivity across its network as a result. Through its automation, it has seen a 30% reduction in shipping costs, which translates to cost savings for the company and the consumer.
“We’re focused on making our supply chain simpler, faster and more efficient for suppliers, while also keeping products in stock for our customers," explains Mike Gray, SVP of Supply Chain at Walmart US.
Industry recognition
As a result of its embracing of technology, Gartner has recognised Walmart as a leader in supply chain operations – particularly amid the growing macrotrends. Leading organisations are further implementing autonomous workforces, making use of network strategy transformation and extending visibility capabilities across its network.
When describing why Walmart has placed third, Gartner points towards its integration of autonomous operations, citing that more than 50% of ecommerce fulfilment centre volumes at Walmart rely on automated systems.
Walmart has also made improvements to its cold chain logistics, partnering with Wiliot to debut large-scale deployment of ambient IoT technology. Through this partnership, it is aiming to improve pallet visibility and use automated alerts to increase cold chain compliance.
The company has also been using technology to tackle its emissions, working to meet consumer demand for more sustainable operations and build resilience through hitting ESG targets. Walmart's Project Gigaton eliminated one billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from within the value chain. In doing so, it has integrated an electric vehicle fast-charging network and supplier network orchestration.
Walmart's ongoing commitment to automation and innovation is helping reduce complexity amid global turbulence and is ensuring products continue to move every day.
Through this, it is demonstrating resilience and reliance, proving why Gartner named it in its Top 25.
