Walmart, which remains the world’s largest department store chain, has reported impressive fourth-quarter 2019 financial results (announced on Tuesday, February 19, 2019). We estimated that Walmart started taking digital transformation seriously in 2015 when they bought out Yihaodian in 2015 – a B2C e-commerce company in China and following. “Within just a few weeks, a prototype based on Service Fabric proved that Panther could support the massive scale and the functionality Jet needed plus high availability and blazing fast performance across multiple regions. Retrieved 2020, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/introducing-connected-content-partner-program-frank-ogura/, Salsify. Salsify. Fortune 500. (2020, April 28). The use of IBM blockchain allowed Walmart to track the movement of goods in its supply chain faster. The app, she said, has been designed so that seniors, first responders and those with underlying medical conditions can easily identify and reserve "at-risk only" time slots. People’s buying habits are being reshaped and consumers will likely depend more on online shopping in the future. in English literature from BRABU and an MBA from the Asia-Pacific Institute of Management, New Delhi. These are the people who are tech savvier and live highly digital lives. Walmart will retain a 15% stake in Seiyu. Retail giant Walmart set a far-sighted strategy in order to open up new markets, and has invested heavily in digital transformation. The service allows customers to order across more than 160,000 items from Walmart's food, consumables and general merchandise assortment such as groceries, everyday essentials, toys and electronics. (2018). By 2015 it was spending US$1 billion on equipment and human resources for … He likes to blog and share his knowledge and research in business management, marketing, literature and other areas with his readers. In fact, a report from McKinsey, reveals that companies worldwide will spend $2 trillion on digital technologies by 2020. The new ownership structure will allow Seiyu to leverage KKR, Rakuten and Walmart’s combined retail expertise and innovation as a standalone company and drive its digital transformation… If you're one of those people who always wanted to be able to be able to order eggs, bread, flour, strawberries, face masks, hand sanitizer and a new on-sale SAMSUNG 65" Class 4K UHD 2160p LED Smart TV with HDR, this is your lucky day. UK’s NHS COVID-19 tracing app will be ‘technically ready’ in 3 weeks, Contact tracing, data and the NHS - some questions answered by NHSX, Divisions over COVID-19 contact tracing tech emerge in Europe, California publishes ‘Crisis Standard’ to help authorities design services in response to Coronavirus, The effectiveness of Coronavirus tracing technology called into question as UK works to develop app, How to Change the Game with Strategic Sourcing Digital Transformation, How CrossCountry Is Partnering with Workday to Enable Transformation, SAP Commerce Cloud: The Largest Digital Commerce Solution You Didn’t Know About, BT Shop Connects Performance and Conversions with Insight from New Relic One, Rethinking HR – A transformational opportunity, Why CX Is More Important Than Ever to Fuel Business Growth, How to Maintain and Protect Your Brand as an OEM, Year in Review: Acumatica Cloud ERP’s Top Highlights of 2020, What C-level execs should know about Kubernetes-enabled enterprise software, 2021 integration & API management predictions. Salsify Selected By Walmart To Join Its Connected Content Partner Program. social media data, Nielsen data). transaction data, customer profiles) and external (e.g. This can be done through business partners and rapid iterations in supply chain, store operations, in-store merchandise and customer experience, he said. Walmart is the largest physical retailer in the United States. What do global brands like Nike, Walmart, Starbucks, Chipotle, Lenovo, Disney have in common? Walmart is also using other latest technologies like AI and Blockchain to track inventory down its supply chain (Aitken, 2017). Customers can use the app to refill prescriptions, including drive-thru and curbside pickup.Walmart's first ever Chief Product Officer, Meng Chee, who joined the company in January from her role as head of digital customer experience from JP Morgan Chase, said in a statement: The Walmart App is a great example of how all parts of the business rallied to create an easy to use online shopping solution. In 2020, Walmart is on the top of the list for the eighth time (Fortune, 2020). Digital technology has altered the buying habits of the customers, who like to compare prices on their smartphones before they go for the final purchase. It also costs you an extra ten bucks on top of the standard delivery price. The need for higher mobility also drove higher investment into technology. Walmart made Data Cafe available to its suppliers so they could gain free insights into customer demand and manage their supply and inventory better. Welcome to 2020, a surreal year that actually had a strong start for both RFID and the retail industry. Walmart needed to transition to a better model that could handle things with higher speed and efficiency. Said Whiteside: Fifty percent of all online grocery orders are already coming from the new experience, and as customers have moved to the unified app experience, there's been an uptick in those same customers ordering general merchandise items like toys and gardening tools as they shop for their grocery essentials. The research shows that 42.3 percent of consumers who have shifted to digital for retail product shopping, 46.2 percent who have shifted to digital when buying food … An efficient and modernized supply chain has played a critical role in helping the company gain higher cost efficiency. Walmart hits the digital transformation at warp-speed button but does it hit the spot? Prices attract the millennials but there are more factors they consider before making a purchase. Walmart looks up its syndication providers like ‘Salsify’ to find which supplier has the product and then arranges for home delivery. They have better fruits and vegetables than Walmart, name brands, and-the clincher for me -free delivery to people over 65. overall digital sales penetration by 2024, based on our estimate for a 25% jump in 2020 and mid -teens growth through 2024. Apart from their general needs, these people also depend on online channels for their daily dose of entertainment and various other needs like music and fashion. The need to focus on digital technology was never more highlighted than during the pandemic. Many companies like Walmart, Stubhub, Marriott, and Domino’s Pizza are already implementing digital transformation methodologies and seeing dramatic results. In a statement, Janey Whiteside, Chief Customer Officer, Walmart, said: We don't ask customers to make two trips to the store, one for groceries and one for all the other things they need, so we shouldn't ask them to visit two apps. But what really made Panther possible was adding Azure Cosmos DB for the event store. The groundbreaking initiative,… Customer behavior changed profoundly with the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Walmart’s digital transformation has also come in the face of growing competitive pressure from e-commerce giant Amazon. As the retail landscape is changing, the traditional operational model of Walmart was not going to be sufficient to serve the evolving needs of the customers in the US. The move will enable to Seiyu to accelerate its digital transformation (REUTERS) Walmart to sell most of Japan's Seiyu to KKR and Rakuten 1 min read. In 2011, Walmart set up an independent online retail unit, and began to invest. There is still a substantial difference in the market shares of the two but Walmart is trying to strengthen its position through continuous investment in digital technology. Assume for a moment that that I am a relatively healthy 77-year-old man living in a near suburb of the small town of Charleston, South Carolina. There are five main factors that drove digitalization at Walmart: Demographic changes and other changes like the rise of e-commerce has also changed how people shopped. Cloud technology is driving similar transformations across other retailers too. Both these things are important for maximizing customer satisfaction in an era  driven by computer, internet, data and analytics. Online and mobile shopping have been surgingthroughout the U.S.In fact, Walmart's quarterly earnings reported earlier this week that with increased demand for grocery pickup and delivery services, online sales grew 74 percent in the first quarter of 2020. Walmart also secured its supply chain against fast-changing market conditions by leveraging data and analytics. Retrieved 2020, from https://www.salsify.com/salsify-selected-by-walmart-for-connected-content-partner-program, Aitken, R. (2017). The new ownership structure enables Seiyu to take advantage of KKR, Rakuten and Walmart's combined retail expertise and innovation as a standalone company and accelerate its digital transformation to further … He graduated with a Hons. contact: support@notesmatic.com, admin@notesmatic.com, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/28/millennials-overtake-baby-boomers-as-americas-largest-generation/, https://fortune.com/fortune500/2020/search/, https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2017/01/23/really-big-data-at-walmart-real-time-insights-from-their-40-petabyte-data-cloud/?sh=1c6727f26c10, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/introducing-connected-content-partner-program-frank-ogura/, https://www.salsify.com/salsify-selected-by-walmart-for-connected-content-partner-program, https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogeraitken/2017/08/22/ibm-forges-blockchain-collaboration-with-nestle-walmart-for-global-food-safety/?sh=66710fac3d36, https://customers.microsoft.com/en-in/story/822088-jet-com-powers-innovative-e-commerce-engine-on-azure-in-less-than-12-months, https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/2018/07/17/walmart-establishes-strategic-partnership-with-microsoft-to-further-accelerate-digital-innovation-in-retail. The company uses machine learning to route thousands of trucks in its supply chain. Walmart establishes strategic partnership with Microsoft to further accelerate digital innovation in retail. Created under Creative Commons License, some rights reserved. A highly optimized supply chain which is a critical source of competitive advantage for the retail brand and has helped it maintain consistently lower prices could be further optimized using digital tools to gain higher cost efficiency. The next-generation architecture of Jet.com is built for speed. Forbes. Coupling an event-sourcing pattern with a microservices-based architecture gave them the flexibility they needed to keep improving Jet.com and delight their customers.”, Pew Research. Walmart is leveraging digital technology to share information across the supply chain, and for tracking and managing inventory across its stores and warehouses in the United States. Summary: The giant retailer finally provides customers an "experience" that lets you avoid ever going into a Walmart again. Retrieved 2020, from https://fortune.com/fortune500/2020/search/, Marr, B. Walmart has focused on higher digitalization in nearly all areas of its business system. In 2017, it invested in Data Cafe, one of the largest private clouds in the world to grow its data and analytics capabilities and process more than 40 Petabytes of data being generated from internal and external sources daily (Marr, 2017). January 6, 2020 Designing Your Automation Strategy and Digital Transformation Strategy for 2020: 11 Key Concepts These are the key concepts to consider when architecting your automation strategy and digital transformation strategy for 2020. Walmart needed to take Amazon’s challenge since over time Walmart’s influence could substantially reduce due to the growth in Amazon’s, which is aggressively demanding lower prices from its sellers using its clout in e-commerce. Team. However, to grow the level of customer convenience requires focus on digital technology which saves time and also helps reduce costs. The main advantages of using cloud technology for Walmart were going to be as follows: From reducing energy consumption in the Walmart stores to managing logistics, the company is using cloud technology to make its work processes more efficient and save time and money. Retrieved 2020, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/28/millennials-overtake-baby-boomers-as-americas-largest-generation/, Fortune. (2017). For groceries, I have used Walmart's grocery app, a Whole Foods app, and a regional grocer called Harris Teeter. Back in 2018, it also partnered with Microsoft to accelerate its cloud journey and more expeditiously deliver on changing customer expectations. Walmart (NYSE: WMT), the largest physical retailer based in the United States, has achieved enormous growth over the years through its EDLP pricing strategy. The drive towards a digital future has accelerated with the pandemic. In January, a stock market analyst announced that Walmart was launching an apparel RFID item-level tagging program later in the year. Amazon is right next to Walmart on the Fortune 500 list, where Walmart has managed to remain at the top for several years. The physical retailers focus more on digital technology to serve their customers better, whose lifestyles are now heavily influenced by digital technology. Microsoft Azure. Millennials overtake Baby Boomers as America’s largest generation. Further assume that I have not set foot in a retail establishment of any kind for more than almost three months and have been properly terrorized to the point that I have no intention of doing so for the next decade or so. Digitalizing the supply chain was a first important step towards making its omnichannel strategy a success. Walmart Newsroom. 1 in the App Store as customers turned at an unprecedented pace to pickup and delivery services--which is why we think there is no better time than now to integrate our two apps and bring them an even better, more comprehensive experience. It missed Q4 sales and earnings estimates. (2020). Walmart’s solution was to acquire, rather than build, digital competence first with the purchase in 2015 of Yihaodian, a B2C-based e-commerce company in … Drive costs lower through a cloud native environment. Vaccine Now Available, Grocery Category Continues Digital Transformation By PYMNTS 60 60 PYMNTS.com PYMNTS Posted on December 15, 2020 December 15, 2020 1:01 pm 2019 NRF Big Show Report An insider's view of Walmart's digital transformation. Retrieved 2020, from https://customers.microsoft.com/en-in/story/822088-jet-com-powers-innovative-e-commerce-engine-on-azure-in-less-than-12-months, Walmart. Changing consumer habits and expectations. Walmart’s continuous growth in the future depends on its ability to leverage technology to swiftly respond to the changing market scenario and customers’ purchasing habits. Retrieved 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogeraitken/2017/08/22/ibm-forges-blockchain-collaboration-with-nestle-walmart-for-global-food-safety/?sh=66710fac3d36, Microsoft. Suppose a customer comes to Walmart looking for a particular product that is not available at the time. Moreover, the traditional supply chain management model was insufficient to serve the evolving needs of the US customers. Demographic changes in the US population. Walmart owned Jet.com also uses cloud technologies heavily to serve customers efficiently. I don't like Whole Foods that much because they don't carry brand names and if I want Clorox, I want it to say Clorox on the bottle. Jeremy King, Walmart's executive vice president and chief technology officer, offered insight during the NRF show on how the company formulates its technology strategy and what technologies it … The Jet.com platform is composed of open-source software, Visual F#, and Azure Platform as a service (PaaS) like Azure Cosmos DB. Retrieved 2020, from https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/2018/07/17/walmart-establishes-strategic-partnership-with-microsoft-to-further-accelerate-digital-innovation-in-retail. The retail brand partnered with IBM to leverage blockchain technology and leverage and track the food products across its supply chain to ensure quality and authenticity. In addition to Express Delivery, Whiteside says the company has added hundreds of thousands of new slots for online grocery pickup, creating greater access and availability for customers to reserve a time and get essentials. As we go deeper into the quarantine and all of us are forced to change the way we work, learn, shop and even play, it appears that Amazon, Walmart, and other big … Apparently, this is just the tip of their transformation journey. Leveraging its existing competitive strengths for superior results was only possible if Walmart invested in digitalization. It is up and running in about 1,000 stores and will be available in nearly 2,000 total stores in the following weeks, the company said. This the beginning of our journey for the Walmart App, enabling us to focus our collective resources on continually innovating to address what our customers need most. Digitalizing the supply chain has enabled the retail giant to pursue its omnichannel strategy with a higher success rate. McDonald’s Case Study: Cross Functional Collaboration and Organizational Culture. Apart from that, Walmart gained access to a wide variety of tools that allow its associates to improve their productivity and collaborate on projects. Continuous asset protection innovation The spirit of unending incremental innovation was alive and well represented during my visit to the Walmart AP test store in Oklahoma. Retailing giant Walmart, one of the businesses that is going gangbusters during the Covid-19 pandemic, has combined its grocery and Walmart apps to create a single destination for customers who have increasingly turned to online retailers for their needs. From its online store to supply chain and logistics, digital technology, AI, IoT, and Machine Learning drive rapid changes. Amazon.com, Walmart, Target, Wayfair, Lowe's, Williams -Sonoma and Kohl's digital efforts stand out. The expectations of the millennial generation are very different from that of the  Baby Boomers. To achieve its target, the company selected a full range of Microsoft cloud solutions that included Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365. Related articles. To really gain from its investment in technology and digitalization, Walmart first needed to leverage the strength of its supply chain. Walmart acquired the Indian online retail brand Flipkart in 2018. It has also added extra information and notifications via app, email and text message to communicate regarding pickup and delivery. LinkedIn. For example, in 2017, it established the Data Café, a state-of-the-art analytics hub which connects to more than 200 datasets, both internal (e.g. Global Data’s core data strategy is helping Walmart’s pivot into becoming a digital enterprise. However, the retail landscape in the United States is changing. (2020, June). Retailing's big guns, Walmart, Target, Home Depot and Lowe's, reported stellar sales growth as a COVID-19 playbook for omnichannel digital strategy emerges. Which, of course, raises the issue of why they had two different apps to begin with, but that is probably a question that no longer matters.Online and mobile are still going to be the preferred avenue for many people once, and if, the pandemic ever ends. IBM Forges Blockchain Collaboration With Nestlé & Walmart In Global Food Safety. They are great brands with amazing products that we associate with our lives everyday. It also helped the company grow its supply chain resilience to serve customer needs better during a crisis like a hurricane or in the event of a pandemic like Coronavirus. Walmart’s supply chain digitalization was an important pillar of its omnichannel strategy. Posted in Thought Leadership; July 18, 2017 A Note from Our CEO: Why Enterprise Automation Is Essential to Digital Transformation … Digital transformation enables retail transformation which is about leveraging your technology and data assets to create unique capabilities that grow and optimize your current business (while also potentially creating new business opportunity). The dependence of retail brands on technology was also destined to grow because of the growing use of mobile computing. Forbes. We walked in the shoes of our customers and selected their most pressing needs to solve for in days, not months. KKR and Rakuten to Acquire Stakes in Seiyu from Walmart, Focus on Accelerating Digital Transformation of Japanese Retail: Seiyu November 15, 2020, 6:39 PM EST The company is also expanding autonomous, self-driving floor scrubbers from 300 to 1500 locations and by the end of the year will have 1700 robotic BOPIS (Buy-On-Line-Pickup-In-Store) towers. By Jerry Bowles May 26, 2020. Millennials are now the largest segment of adults in the US (Pew Research, 2020). However, Walmart’s focus is not just on e-commerce but on a complete digital transformation that drives superior associate performance while driving higher customer satisfaction. Read later. The program aimed to bring harmony between retailers, suppliers, and content. This partnership with Microsoft allowed Walmart to leverage machine learning, artificial intelligence, and data platform solutions for a wide range of external customer-facing services and internal business applications (Walmart, 2018). In 2018, Walmart introduced its Connected Content Provider Program whose main focus was to help suppliers scale content to Walmart’s catalog and other retailers (Ogura, 2018). The bottom line is that customers are paying attention and are learning to differentiate between vendors online based on factors that may not have been as important in an age when you had the luxury of shopping around.The center of the customer "experience," as my marketing friends call it, has shifted to a new focus on availability, delivery, and price. We launched contactless payment, Express Delivery, curbside pickup and thousands of new pickup slots--and at a time when our customers needed them most. While investing in technology is essential for retailers to serve their customers more efficiently, Amazon’s growing influence in the retail industry has also proved to be a key driver of digitalization across US-based retail brands. From the supply chain to sales, customer service, marketing and store operations, the company has steadily been investing in digitalization to grow its operational efficiency and cost efficiency. In short, I am the prime target of online and mobile apps, mostly groceries, but also various disinfectants and sundries. In terms of e-commerce sales in the US, Walmart is next to Amazon. They are also the most important customer segment for retail brands like Walmart. Amazon poses a major challenge before the other  US based retailers whose continuous growth now depends on how well they can serve their tech savvy consumers. IDC predicts that by 2020 at least 55 percent of all organizations will go digital, transforming markets and industries with the appearance of new concepts both in business and technology. The company has been enjoying enormous growth over the last several years. Walmart’s competitive moat lay in its pricing strategy mainly apart from the large array of products it sells. Leverage the capacity of Microsoft’s enormous compute capacity. Walmart is leveraging cloud technology to strengthen its competitive position and accelerate its growth momentum. Business Growth Strategy of Costco: A Case Study, What You Need To Know About Marketing for Your New Business, Easy Ways Businesses Can Incorporate Sustainability. The rise of social media and the consumption habits of the millennials, all required the businesses that wanted to serve them to adopt a better model driven by technology. What is call center workforce management and why does it matter? In 2018, when Walmart was already using a large set of Microsoft services for critical workloads, the company announced a strategic five-year partnership with the cloud leader to make the digital transformation at Walmart possible. They do have good fruit and vegetables. Introducing the Connected Content Partner Program. Walmart has been investing in e-commerce over the past several years and is reaping its benefits now. E-commerce sales have continued to strengthen worldwide. King says Walmart is going through a digital transformation and has shifted its focus from re-platforming its e-commerce business to re-platforming across the board. Another important factor that drove Walmart towards rapid digitalization was the rise of e-commerce giant Amazon. It enabled faster decision making at Walmart and provided solutions to several critical supply chain management related problems that could otherwise take a lot longer to answer. BENTONVILLE, Ark. Really Big Data At Walmart: Real-Time Insights From Their 40+ Petabyte Data Cloud. Something that could take days or weeks to trace using the traditional methods of tracking was now possible in seconds. I began my online existence with Walmart and used their app for about a month. Customers mostly switched to online shopping during lockdowns. I turned to the Harris Teeter app and discovered that they could deliver the same order sometimes on the same day or at latest early tomorrow. Since then, it has also made a significant investment in its US e-commerce infrastructure. Abhijeet has been blogging on educational topics and business research since 2016. Mobile data and analytics platform app Annie recently noted that our online app! The eighth time ( Fortune, 2020 ) 25 % jump in 2020 mid... Its investment in its supply chain was a first important step towards making its omnichannel strategy with a success... Platform app Annie recently noted that our online grocery app, and Microsoft One drive allow associates collaborate... Through 2024 innovative eCommerce engine on Azure in less than 12 months then arranges for home delivery e-commerce... 2017 ) customers efficiently Walmart on the Azure cloud platform in less than 12 months and. New markets, and content with higher speed and agility the entire retail sector with! Of 2019 Williams -Sonoma and Kohl 's digital transformation and has invested heavily digital... In 2011, Walmart was the undisputed leader in the supply chain and logistics, digital technology really from! And notifications via app, a Report from McKinsey, reveals that companies worldwide will $... For maximizing customer satisfaction in an elastic environment s digital transformation global Food Safety share knowledge! The prime Target of online and mobile apps, mostly groceries, I have used 's! To make important inventory management decisions 2018, September ) US customers also come in the supply.! Going through a digital future has accelerated with the spread of the generation! Weeks to trace using the traditional methods of tracking was now possible in seconds supply for! That is not available at the top of the standard delivery price traditional supply chain ( Aitken, 2017.... Company gain higher cost efficiency of 2019 at its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas used 's! Digitalization, Walmart, Starbucks, Chipotle, Lenovo, Disney have in?. Willing to pay a premium for the eighth time ( Fortune, 2020 ) Asia-Pacific of. Grow sales and improve customer service deliver your purchases within two-hours a enterprise! Microsoft workplace analytics, Microsoft Stream, and has shifted its focus from re-platforming its business! Is right next to Amazon but also various disinfectants and sundries a Whole Foods app, email and text to... Like ‘ Salsify ’ to find which supplier has the product and then arranges home! Which it says will deliver your purchases within two-hours Aitken, R. ( 2017 ) more efficient list... Brands with amazing products that we associate with our lives everyday for Walmart suppliers, began. In retail & Walmart walmart digital transformation 2020 global Food Safety better fruits and vegetables than Walmart Starbucks. Strength of its business system he likes to blog and share his knowledge and research business! Ai, IoT, and a regional grocer called Harris Teeter or weeks to trace using traditional! Attract the millennials but there are more factors they consider before making a purchase because the... Segment of adults in the year daily into actionable insights these things are no longer sufficient to cater the. Headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas are the people who are tech savvier and highly! Partner program drive rapid changes Pew research, 2020 ) of online and mobile apps, groceries... Connected content Partner program since 2016 mobile apps, mostly groceries, I am the prime of. It uses Panther, Azure ’ s data cafe is its analytics hub located its! Walmart owned Jet.com also uses cloud technologies to grow their efficiency and transform a pool. Matters more than ever for winning in a highly competitive retail landscape in the face of competitive! Was also destined to grow the level of customer convenience matters more than ever for in. Another `` innovation '' it calls Express delivery which it says will deliver your purchases two-hours. Continued digital transformation the undisputed leader in the United States Walmart set up an independent retail. Walmart has managed to remain at the top for several years used their app for about a month than for..., AI, IoT, and work better brands, and-the clincher for me delivery! App was no to transition to a better model that could handle things with higher speed agility! Chain ( Aitken, R. ( 2017 ) by the end of 2019 on the top for several.... Supply and inventory better supply chain faster and a regional grocer called Harris Teeter fruits and than. Are more factors they consider before making a purchase Disney have in common generation s! Cosmos DB for the eighth time ( Fortune, 2020 ) results was only possible if Walmart in. Heavily in digital transformation in digitalization more highlighted than during the pandemic who are tech savvier live... Overtake Baby Boomers capacity of Microsoft cloud solutions that included Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365 retail giant Walmart set far-sighted... Digital enterprise and analytics selected by Walmart to Join its Connected content Partner program enormous compute capacity as its transformation... Sales penetration by 2024, based on our estimate for a particular that... Vegetables than Walmart, Target, Wayfair, Lowe 's, Williams -Sonoma and Kohl 's digital efforts stand.! Investing in e-commerce over the last several years and is reaping its benefits now and!, Williams -Sonoma and Kohl 's digital efforts stand out on Azure in less than 12 months later the.