In a new arrangement, Walmart employees will deliver packages on way home from work.
The battle between the largest retailer in the US, Walmart and ecommerce giant Amazon has just intensified. To beat competition from Amazon’s well-organized logistics, Walmart has offered its employees the option to deliver packages on their way home after work, and receive extra income for it.
This programme is completely voluntary and employees can choose to earn extra income by signing up for it.
Walmart is testing the new system at two stores in New Jersey and one store in Arkansas.
Marc Lore, president and CEO, Walmart US writes on the company website that this option gives employees the opportunity to earn extra bucks by delivering packages while they are on their way home.
It is still not clear if employees will be compensated for gas or get insurance.
Usually, Walmart has trucks which move orders from fulfilment centres to stores for pickup. Now, it can use the same trucks to bring the ship-to-home orders to a store nearer to their final destinations. The associates from that store can sign up and deliver the package to the customer’s home.
This facility could be a game changer for Walmart as it has 4,700 stores across the country with more than 1 million associates at work. The firm has stores located every 10 miles, covering 90 percent of the US population. Because of this extensive coverage, it has associates driving home in all routes and if these associates sign up for delivering the packages, then it can bring a huge change to the firm.
Walmart boasts a robust technology which allows associates to set their preferences. Associates can choose how many packages they want to deliver and decide on the day they make the delivery. Associates can also update their preferences as and when they want.
Walmart says that if this programme works out, it can change the way it operates and can also beat competition from other players like Amazon.