Introducting Walmart's SupplierOne

Walmart is currently engaged in a trial period for their latest supplier initiative — Walmart SupplierOne. According to documentation, SupplierOne is designed to consolidate certain Retail Link applications, such as Item 360 and NOVA, into a distinct portal.

The End of Retail Link?

In short, probably not. Retail Link is much more than item setup and PO management. Even with the sunsetting of the legacy Decision Support reporting application — to be replace by Luminate in March 2024 — there are still numerous applications within Retail Link that suppliers depend on to manage their Walmart business.

However, coming close on the heels to the end of Decision Support, it does beg the question: What is the goal of yet another portal? It might simply come down to technology. Retail Link is a very old application. Decades old. Suppliers who have been doing business with Walmart for many years can attest to the fact that Decision Support has not changed in literally decades. Sometimes, it is better to start from scratch with a new portal than to try to introduce new technologies into an old platform.

Key Features of SupplierOne

• Items and Inventory - This is the section that essentially does what Item 360 currently does, albeit the interface is much improved.
• Customer Claims and Returns - This section aims to provide deeper insight into the "why" of customer returns. Currently, Decision Support does provide customer return information, though the data is largely limited to quantities and retail value of the returns, not why the customer is returning the product. The addition of the "Return Reason" metric should provide suppliers with a much better insight into how their items are being perceived by the Walmart customer.
• Order Management - Aiming to replace NOVA, the Order Management section will feature similar features with some useful additions. The aim of Order Management is to provide easy visibility to the life of a PO: Past Due, Ship Today, New POs, Cancellation Requested, and Closed Orders.
• Payments and Charges - Setup and PO maintenance do go hand in hand. The piece that is a welcome addition to the life of a PO is the supplier getting paid! The Payments and Charges section aims to provide quick insight into payment status and applicable charges on the POs. Search options include: PO#, DC ID, Date Marked As Shipped, and Amount Paid To Vendor.

What's Next?

In short, who knows what the end game of this new portal is. Will SupplierOne ultimately replace Retail Link entirely? According to Walmart, this isn't the plan "as of now". The new portal would need to expand its features immensely in order to wholly replace Retail Link.

What IS known is this — constant change is here to stay!