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Diving certificate:
- Walmart will soon allow third-party sellers to use its supply chain to fulfill orders and handle returns from all e-commerce sites through a new program, it said in an announcement Tuesday.
- According to a Walmart guide to the offer, the Multichannel Solutions program will be available to all sellers on U.S. marketplaces starting September 10.
- Sellers using the service can choose between express delivery, which takes two business days, and standard delivery, which takes three to five days. Walmart says these delivery speeds cannot be guaranteed between October 1 and December 31, or during sales events and other circumstances.
Diving insight:
Walmart Multichannel Solutions expands the range of supply chain services the retailer already offers its sellers, which range from ocean freight service from China to the US to local delivery options. The program also increases Walmart’s competition with Amazon, which provides a range of its own supply chain services to its sellers.
Walmart is positioning multichannel solutions as a more cost-effective way to fulfill orders from multiple e-commerce marketplaces compared to alternatives. Tuesday’s announcement highlighted “reliable shipping and competitive pricing that is, on average, 15% lower than competitors” based on average fulfillment costs per item.
However, Multichannel Solutions has some limitations as it prepares for launch. Products must meet existing Walmart Fulfillment Services requirements, and items in multiple boxes will not be allowed at launch, the program’s website says. Additionally, sellers must ship orders to one of 11 Walmart locations in eight states, and shipments can only be delivered to U.S. addresses.
The announcement of the multichannel solutions was one of several fulfillment-related initiatives highlighted at Walmart’s Marketplace Seller Summit this week.
The company is also launching Walmart LocalFinds, which enables pickup and delivery directly from sellers’ stores to local customers. The service will launch in Atlanta and Dallas this fall, with more cities to follow. 1-800-Flowers.com is the first nationwide seller to participate.
In addition, Walmart allows its sellers to use its full-truckload carrier network. Sellers who use the Preferred Carrier program can ship either a few items or a full truckload at special rates, Walmart said.
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