Big news! The world's largest shipper officially enters the freight forwarding industry!

Walmart, the world's largest retail giant, announced a few days ago that it would launch Walmart's cross-border logistics service in order to optimize the supply chain, improve logistics efficiency and reduce operating costs.

Walmart launched Walmart Cross Border to provide shipping solutions for merchants on its Walmart.com platform. This move shows Walmart's expansion ambitions in the logistics field and its emphasis on cost control.

It is reported that the service is operated by WMSC Logistics Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walmart, which has the non-carrier non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) qualification approved by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) of the United States.

This move means that the world's largest cargo owner has officially entered the freight forwarding industry and launched the shipping container collection business.

The largest shipper enters the freight forwarding industry

Recently, Scott Humanek, a Walmart official, revealed on social media: About two weeks ago, Walmart made some key improvements to the WCB B2B shipping solution, which allows sellers on the Walmart market to directly ship goods made in China to Walmart's US distribution center network through Walmart's cross-border shipping solution.

Scott Humanek said: "Our pilot has exceeded our expectations in terms of feedback and volume, and we are happy to let the world know that WCB is ready to help all WFS e-commerce sellers grow their businesses on the Walmart platform." It is reported that in order to undertake its new international freight forwarding business, Walmart has established a wholly-owned subsidiary-WMSC Logistics Services, LLC. (WMSC Logistics) Walmart Logistics. According to the official introduction, WMSC Logistics (Walmart Logistics) is a non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) and international freight forwarding company approved by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) of the United States, and the freight forwarder FMC OTI license number is 032243NF. WMSC Logistics (Walmart Logistics) claims to help Walmart unlock international transportation solutions for global suppliers, market sellers and other businesses, and continue to focus on helping customers: save money and freight! According to Walmart's official website, Walmart Cross Border (WCB) provides port-to-door full container shipping services from China to the United States. Currently, the receiving ports that have been opened in China include Shanghai, Ningbo and Shenzhen Yantian, the three largest container ports in China.

Walmart Cross Border provides merchants with full container load (FCL) transportation services from container yards to destination warehouses. Sellers only need to deliver the goods to the designated yard, and Walmart will be responsible for subsequent warehousing, distribution and other links.

The introduction shows that in order to import goods through Walmart's Walmart Cross Border (WCB), the following four conditions must be met:

•  Become a Walmart Fulfillment Service (WFS) seller

•  Purchase or manufacture products in China

•  Ship goods from Shanghai, Ningbo or Shenzhen Yantian Port

In the early stage, only full container load service FCL was provided

Walmart said that under normal market conditions, it is estimated that it usually takes 27-38 days from the time the goods are ready to be shipped to the time the goods arrive in the United States for sale. This estimate includes 14 days of advance booking, 19 days of port-to-port transportation, 5 days at the terminal, 2 days of warehouse unpacking, and finally 5 days of transfer to WFS's shipping warehouse.

Walmart's launch of its own freight forwarding service has enabled Walmart to increase the speed of goods transportation on its platform, reduce transportation costs, and provide sellers on the Walmart platform with a more convenient, efficient and economical shipping solution.

It is worth noting that Walmart claims that its freight forwarder WMSC Logistics not only provides full container shipping services, but also provides more logistics-specific services.

【Walmart Logistics Featured Services】

• High-quality U.S. customs clearance services provided by Walmart’s preferred customs brokers

• Full container shipping services covering standard and oversized items

• 20-foot, 40-foot and 45-foot high-cube services, freight rates can be subject to Walmart’s cross-border negotiated rate arrangement (NRA)*

• Seller Center provides registration, quotation, booking and tracking functions

• Dedicated time zone support for English and Mandarin

Benchmarking Amazon, increasing logistics investment

As the world's largest retailer and the largest shipper in the eyes of all shipping companies, Walmart has begun to increase its entry into online retail in recent years, aiming at Amazon, the world's largest cross-border e-commerce platform.

As a logistics service for cross-border e-commerce platforms, Walmart has recruited Scott Humanek, former vice president of Amazon Logistics and former head of customs declaration and ocean booking management at Flexport. It can be said that the goal is clear and the dispatch is precise, that is, to copy the experience of Amazon Logistics and Flexport in freight forwarding logistics and delivery fulfillment, and quickly build its own Walmart logistics and services.

It is reported that Walmart initially launched WFS for sellers in 2022, aiming to increase revenue through existing e-commerce infrastructure. Since then, the platform has added inventory-focused products. WFS provides warehousing, picking, packaging, two-day delivery, returns and customer service, and will eventually expand to next-day delivery.

The sellers' marketplace is part of Walmart's larger strategy to expand its service scope and go beyond traditional retailers. For example, earlier this year, Walmart began selling its artificial intelligence optimization technology, which is designed to reduce logistics costs. Walmart is already using this technology to reduce its own transportation costs and emissions.

In addition, the global retail giant has also been developing its local delivery service platform called gollocal, which can now handle large and bulky items and fulfill orders.

As Walmart's cross-border services continue to improve and promote, more and more sellers may choose the logistics solutions provided by Walmart, thereby reducing their dependence on traditional freight forwarding companies, resulting in a reduction in the market share of traditional freight forwarding companies.

However, the industry believes that although Walmart's freight forwarding service has its strong brand endorsement and has attracted much attention since its launch, its market acceptance and scale still need to be further improved. Compared with some mature freight forwarding companies, Walmart's visibility and influence in the freight forwarding field still need to be strengthened.

Source: Foreign Shipping