Walmart has established itself as the low-cost place to buy everything from toilet paper to camping stoves, and now container shipping is available for its customers in the e-commerce world.
It will leverage its position as a major container shipper to offer services beyond its traditional retail lane.
Scott Humanek, Walmart’s global inbound programme senior director, announced in a LinkedIn post that the Walmart Cross Border ocean shipping programme has been opened to e-commerce sellers on its fulfilment services platform.
“We couldn’t be more excited to help drive value, convenience, speed and reliability for #OceanTransportation,” he wrote of the service.
“Our pilot exceeded our expectations in terms of feedback and volumes.”
Walmart is the largest retailer in the US with $635bn in annual sales, according to the National Retail Federation, which makes it a major container shipper.
Its ocean shipping service is available to sellers on the Walmart Marketplace e-commerce platform.
They can use the Walmart Cross Border service to move full container loads for goods manufactured in China and bound for the US.
Sellers can move 20-foot, 40-foot and 45-foot boxes from the ports of Yantian, Shanghai or Ningbo to a Walmart fulfilment centre.
The Walmart Marketplace website shows that the ocean services are provided by WMSC Logistics Services, a non-vessel operating common carrier and freight forwarder.
The wholly owned subsidiary of Arksansas-headquartered Walmart applied for its licence from the Federal Maritime Commission in late 2022 as the retail giant worked to move beyond its role as a major big box store chain.
At the time, it listed its president as Fernando Cortes, who is senior vice president of transportation at Walmart, commission records show.
“WMSC Logistics will help Walmart unlock international transportation solutions for suppliers, marketplace sellers and other enterprises globally, with a continued focus on allowing customers to ‘save money, live better’,” the logistics unit says on its LinkedIn page.
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