Walmart and Technology Some Say, they Just don’t Go Together Yet

Walmart is hoping that they do something with technology that will lead to mass customer adoption, increased customer relevance while reducing cost and edifying its relationship with customers according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®

Will self-driving vans for ‘middle-mile’ logistics be the solution? Johnson, does not think so.  There are three ways to make the self-driving platform customer relevant and right now Walmart has not focused on them?

So, here is what they are doing in series of pilot projects involving autonomous vehicles, Walmart is testing a self-driving van to move customer orders between two of its stores on a two-mile route in its hometown of Bentonville, Ark.

It is reported that “Walmart will use robotic vans from tech startup Gatik to help move goods from its Supercenter in Rogers, Ark., to a Neighborhood Market in nearby Bentonville. In March, Arkansas passed legislation allowing for autonomous vehicles to operate in the state. 

Tom Ward, senior vice President, digital operations, Walmart U.S.  stated “With the help of Gatik, we’re making sure we stay on the cutting edge of grocery pickup,” …. “We aim to learn more about the logistics of adding autonomous vehicles into our online grocery ecosystem, operation process changes and more opportunities to incorporate this emerging technology.”

During the test, Gatik will run three of its modified Ford Transit Connect vans up to 10 times a day, seven days a week, during daylight hours and with human safety operators as backup. The tech company’s goal is to help cut human labor in mundane tasks that are not consumer front-facing, such as transportation between stores.

Johnson believe that Walmart continues to play catch-up with Amazon and other retailers when it comes to technology and that too garner customer buy-in the technology touch points need to be customer facing.

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, www.Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or www.twitter.com/grocerant/

Battle for Share of Stomach