Retail giant Walmart Corp. is opening up its last-mile delivery channel to commercial clients, announcing Wednesday that it will provide same-day and next-day delivery service for building goods vendor The Home Depot.
The move comes even as most online retailers scramble for ways to get their products to consumers, due to factors like an e-commerce boom, freight capacity crunch, driver shortage, and volume caps by traditional carriers like UPS Inc. and FedEx Corp.
Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart had launched its GoLocal business in August, saying it was a move to commercialize its delivery platform, beginning with “delivery as a service,” in order to build alternative revenue streams and profit pools. Home Depot now becomes the first customer of that initiative, which delivers packages under a “white label” deal, meaning that consumers will not see Walmart’s branding on any delivery vans or the packages that hit their doorstep.
According to Walmart, the GoLocal move was a natural extension of its work in building up commerce capabilities to support its own network of more than 4,700 stores, as well as creating its in-house delivery function for customers.
Walmart will now offer that delivery service on a commercial basis in select markets in the coming weeks, with plans to expand to multiple markets across the country by the end of the year. The GoLocal business includes delivery on a range of items, including those with large size and complex requirements, as well as the flexibility to meet delivery timelines such as express, same-day, and next-day delivery.
Home Depot will use the new service for products “that easily fit in a car”—such as tools, fasteners, and paint—offering the delivery option to e-commerce users during the online checkout process.
“We’re honored to work with The Home Depot in our shared goal of making fast and reliable local delivery available in every community we serve, including rural and suburban areas, where we both have a strong retail presence,” John Furner, president and CEO of Walmart U.S., said in a release. “We’re excited to welcome The Home Depot as Walmart GoLocal’s first retail client and look forward to helping power their local delivery efforts.”
