BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Walmart Inc. (NYSE: NYSE:WMT), known for its expansive retail operations, has announced the release of its in-house developed AI-powered logistics technology, Route Optimization, to other businesses as a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution. This move, revealed today by the retail giant, is aimed at enhancing the efficiency of supply chains across various industries by optimizing the so-called middle mile.
Route Optimization is designed to assist businesses in improving the delivery of products to stores, a critical component in maintaining stock levels that meet customer demand. The technology allows for the automation of route mapping, taking into account multiple factors such as time, location, and store delivery windows. It also facilitates more efficient packing of trailers, considering both space maximization and the preservation of temperature-sensitive items.
Walmart's decision to offer this technology to other businesses stems from its own success in reducing emissions and improving inventory availability. By leveraging Route Optimization, Walmart has reportedly eliminated 30 million unnecessary miles, avoiding 94 million pounds of CO2 emissions, and bypassed 110,000 inefficient paths. These achievements contributed to Walmart winning the Franz Edelman Award in 2023 for deploying this technology at scale.
The service also includes strategic planning of inventory pickups on return trips, ensuring trailers are not traveling empty, and providing operations management teams with valuable insights on trailer usage, trip times, and distances traveled without cargo.
This initiative marks Walmart's second foray into offering turnkey, white-label solutions to other companies, following Store Assist, another SaaS technology that supports local fulfillment operations.
Walmart's move to share its proprietary technology underscores the company's broader strategy to position itself as a leader not only in retail but also in supply chain innovation. The information for this release is based on a press release statement from Walmart.
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