Dive Brief:
- Walmart credits automation and augmented reality technology with speeding up fulfillment, EVP and CFO John David Rainey said, speaking Tuesday during the company's Q2 FY-2023 earnings call, for the period ending July 29.
- Rainey said an augmented reality technology called VizPick is letting the company accelerate the inventory management process in its U.S stores, letting workers move products from the backroom to the sales floor more efficiently.
- Adoption of the VizPick technology began in 2021 and has now reached 4,500 stores with a 100% adoption rate, the company said in an email. The system allows stores to predict inventory trends and deliver the quantity it projects that each store needs at the time the products are needed.
Dive Insight:
The retail giant has been working in recent years to expand its tech capabilities, both internally and as a provider for third parties.
Internally, the company has previously touted wins in automation technology related to pricing structure. A machine learning model helped improve the timing and pricing of markdowns, which saved the company $30 million, according to Suresh Kumar, EVP, global CTO and chief development officer, speaking during an earnings call last year.
Also last year, the company announced plans to integrate its in-house technology offerings with Adobe’s commerce platform and offer its digital and technology solutions to retailers.
Walmart is not alone in looking to emerging technologies for additional revenue streams or increased productivity. AI adoption is set to rise in the coming years as it becomes a component of more products and services, according to a Gartner report released last week.
