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Tag: Tom Ward

  • Walmart Expanding InHome Delivery to 30 Million Homes

    Walmart Expanding InHome Delivery to 30 Million Homes

    Walmart is expanding its home delivery service to some 30 million US homes, and is hiring 3,000 drivers to accomplish its goal.

    Walmart has been aggressively building out its InHome delivery service, especially in the face of the pandemic and shoppers reluctant to be in crowded stores. The service was previously available to 6 million US homes, but the company is planning to expand that to 30 million in 2022.

    As part of its expansions, Walmart is hiring an additional 3,000 drivers, and building out a fleet of EVs to facilitate deliveries.

    “We’ve been operating InHome in select markets over the last two years and have found it is a perfect solution for customers who want to live their lives without worrying about making it to the store or being home to accept a delivery,” said Tom Ward, senior vice president, last mile at Walmart U.S. “Identifying ways to help our customers save time and money is our purpose, and nothing showcases that better than InHome delivery, which is why we’re excited to bring the convenience of InHome to even more customers in 2022.”

    Unlike some other delivery services, Walmart has built InHome around the ultimate convenience. Associates will deliver a customer’s groceries, even putting them in their kitchen or garage refrigerator. Access is granted via a one-time code in the InHome app, in combination with smart home locks and technology. This allows the driver access for the delivery, and only the delivery.

    Walmart ensures these associates are highly trained and trustworthy, even using virtual reality to help round out their training.

    “This new role is yet another example of how technology is enabling us to offer new career opportunities that just didn’t exist a few years ago,” said Julie Murphy, executive vice president and chief people officer, Walmart U.S. “Expanding our number of InHome associates is a testament to the trust and confidence we have in them and their continuous commitment to delight our customers. There’s a path for everyone to build a career here at Walmart, and this position is further proof of that.”

  • Walmart Expanding Autonomous Delivery Truck Trial in Arkansas

    Walmart Expanding Autonomous Delivery Truck Trial in Arkansas

    Walmart is taking the next step toward autonomous deliveries, expanding its pilot program involving Gatik’s autonomous trucks.

    Autonomous delivery is one of the next big steps in retail, with Amazon, Walmart and others experimenting with drones and delivery bots. Walmart appears to be teaming up with Gatik, a startup that is developing autonomous delivery trucks.

    According to Business Insider, Walmart says the Gatik pilot program has already logged 70,000 miles in “autonomous mode” with a safety driver present. The company now plans to expand its trial, testing the trucks without a safety driver.

    “This achievement marks a new milestone that signifies the first ever driverless operation carried out on the supply chain middle mile for both Gatik and Walmart,” Tom Ward, Walmart senior vice president of customer product, said in a statement.

    “We’ll be working with Gatik to monitor and gather new data to help us stay on the leading edge of driverless autonomous vehicles,” Ward continued

  • Walmart Launching Delivery as a Service

    Walmart Launching Delivery as a Service

    Walmart is launching Walmart GoLocal, its delivery as a service aimed at helping businesses deliver to their customers.

    Walmart already has a delivery service for its own customers, but the company sees an opportunity to help other companies do the same. The company has launched Walmart GoLocal to address the delivery needs of a variety of companies.

    “In an era where customers have come to expect speed and reliability, it’s more important than ever for businesses to work with a service provider that understands a merchant’s needs,” said John Furner, president and CEO, Walmart U.S. “Walmart has spent years building and scaling commerce capabilities that support our network of more than 4,700 stores and we look forward to helping other businesses have access to the same reliable, quality and low-cost services.”

    “We’ve worked hard to develop a reliable last mile delivery program for our customers,” said Tom Ward, senior vice president, last mile, Walmart U.S. “Now, we’re pleased to be able to use these capabilities to serve another set of customers, local merchants. Be it delivering goods from a local bakery to auto supplies from a national retailer, we’ve designed Walmart GoLocal to be customizable for merchants of all sizes and categories so they can focus on doing what they do best, leaving delivery speed and efficiency to us.”

    Walmart is often accused of killing off small businesses, but this latest service will certainly help.

  • Lookout Amazon: Walmart Using Stores to Speed Up Online Shipping

    Lookout Amazon: Walmart Using Stores to Speed Up Online Shipping

    Walmart is taking aim at one of Amazon’s biggest benefits, fast shipping, by using its stores to speed up delivery.

    Amazon Prime is one of the biggest advantages Amazon has, providing free two-day shipping on many products. Many of its competitors have struggled to match its ability to get products in customers’ hands so quickly.

    Walmart is preparing to just do that, however, with plans to use its stores to speed up delivery for online shoppers. The company’s decision comes amid one of the most unique holiday seasons, as many shoppers turn to online shopping as a result of COVID-19.

    The overall experience should be relatively seamless for most customers, while shipping times may be reduced to as little as same day.

    “While our customers won’t see a change in the app or a new service they need to select, they will notice that they aren’t finding themselves checking for shipping updates or sweating arrival times of gifts,” writes Tom Ward, Senior Vice President, Customer Product. “They simply notice their orders are arriving super-fast, even the same day, and maybe in a Walmart bag from a store rather than a Walmart box from Walmart.com.”

  • Walmart Partners With Zipline For Drone Delivery

    Walmart Partners With Zipline For Drone Delivery

    Walmart has partnered with Zipline to deliver health-related products directly to customers. “We are teaming up with Zipline to launch a first-of-its-kind drone delivery operation in the U.S.,” says Tom Ward, Senior Vice President of Customer Product at Walmart. “The new service will make on-demand deliveries of select health and wellness products with the potential to expand to general merchandise.”

    Walmart will begin testing drone delivery early next year near their Arkansas headquarters. Zipline specializes in delivering medical supplies and other critical products for businesses via its unique drone technology. So far the company has made 58,436 commercial deliveries so far.

    “Zipline will operate from a Walmart store and can service a 50-mile radius, which is about the size of the state of Connecticut,” said Ward. “And, not only does their launch and release system allow for quick on-demand delivery in under an hour, but it also eliminates carbon emissions, which lines up perfectly with our sustainability goals. The operation will likely begin early next year, and, if successful, we’ll look to expand.”

    “As we continue to build upon the foundation of innovation laid for us by Mr. Sam, we’ll never stop looking into and learning about what the next best technology is and how we can use it to better serve our customers now and into the future.”

    Zipline Explains How Their Drones Work