Walmart announced Monday that it will offer its logistics and delivery services as part of a new business last-mile delivery. Walmart GoLocal is a white-label delivery service that Walmart hopes will be a competitive advantage over Amazon.
Walmart GoLocal is not very detailed, but Walmart says the service will be affordable and will collect feedback from the customers. This is not an unusual arrangement, as both DoorDash and Postmates offer white label solutions that are more or less identical.
Walmart's driver pool is one difference. According to Reuters the Spark delivery service will pull the drivers who deliver for Walmart GoLocal customers. Spark was piloted by Walmart as a kind of Uber for grocery delivery Instacart is another Walmart partner. However, Spark could be made more like an Amazon Flex white label, which opens them up to non-Walmart deliveries (and non food deliveries).
Walmart claims that it can also deliver via drones or autonomous vehicles, depending on the size and location. DroneDJ noted that Walmart's investment in DroneUps 10,000 Federal Aviation Administration pilots will likely help with drone delivery. Another Walmart investment, Cruises self-driving electric vehicles, might also support autonomous vehicle delivery.
GoLocal and Spark and DroneUp are just a few of the many brand names and business investments that Walmart has made to ensure delivery is a top priority before Amazon becomes the standard. Walmart's actions against tech giants such as Amazon and Netflix did not work out. However, Walmart is playing in an area it's familiar with with last-mile delivery.
