Reports are emerging from America that Walmart has prematurely ended a trial which saw store employees deliver online orders on their way home from work.
Initial reactions to this development could be that the retail giant is giving up on the scheme, but in fact it is preparing to run a revised version in a bid to make it work.
Niklas Hedin, CEO of Centiro, thinks it would be missing this point to criticise Walmart for ending this trial.
The delivery management expert insists other retailers should be exploring their last-mile options in a similar way to Walmart.
He said: “Some may see this as a battle lost, but Walmart is determined to win the wider war around last-mile delivery. Although Walmart has halted this trial, its development of the scheme shows it has far from given up on its longer-term mission to seize control of deliveries.
“Retailers are seeing greater pressures on their delivery capabilities than ever before – having to contend with shipping a wider variety of goods to a huge number of different locations. Yet, if customers’ expectations aren’t met, they will simply shop elsewhere in the future.
“By reclaiming some responsibility from carriers, retailers like Walmart can ensure they do not lose control of the last mile; allowing them to create a robust full-circle customer experience, and provide the confidence to know they are in control of their own destiny.”
