Walmart Fulfilment Services: What You Need to Know

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) had given the ecommerce giant an edge over its competition - until now.

With Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) launching nation-wide, Walmart Marketplace sellers can now leverage the extensive fulfillment network and experience of this retail goliath, giving their customers a smooth buying experience without the hassle.

What’s the catch, you say? Well, there needn’t be one. From Walmart Fulfillment Services cost to process, eligibility and set up, here’s everything you need to know.

What is Walmart Fulfillment Services?

“With Walmart Fulfillment Services, you can focus on sales while we expertly take care of fast shipping, seamless returns, and customer service. Simply send your inventory to Walmart fulfillment centers, where we will store your products securely and prepare them swiftly for shipping when an order is placed.”

- Walmart

Walmart Fulfillment Services is an optional program for Marketplace sellers who want to outsource the fulfillment side of their business. Sellers can store inventory at Walmart Fulfillment Centers located across the United States, and outsource the picking, packing and shipping of orders to Walmart as well.

Walmart takes care of returns and customer service throughout the order process, giving sellers the chance to benefit from extensive supply chain expertise for a seamless customer experience.

Walmart Fulfillment Service Features

Opting for WFS comes with a number of benefits for sellers:

• Guaranteed 2-day delivery
• Inventory management and reporting tailored to your business
• More control over listing content to boost conversions
• WFS support from dedicated staff
• WFS account management with tailored recommendations for your business growth
• WFS customer service handles inquiries from your customers as well as refunds and returns
• WFS pricing is structured simply with fixed storage fees and fulfillment price based on weight (exclusions apply to apparel and HAZMAT).

Benefits of WFS vs. FBA

How do the advantages of using Walmart Fulfillment Services compare to those of Fulfillment by Amazon? These are they key differentiators that make WFS stand out:

• Quick shipping - for a minimum purchase of $35, customers can get free 2-day shipping.
• TwoDay Tags - these are given to listings that use WFS and are eligible for the free 2-day shipping option which boosts their ranking and increases chances of winning the Buy Box.
• Leverage Walmart’s physical presence - 90% of Americans live within 15 minutes of a Walmart store, so enabling customers to come to the stores for returns or customer service makes buying and selling with Walmart extra convenient, and attractive.
• Dedicated inventory - whether you have similar stock to another seller or not, yours is kept separate by default. This minimizes potential mistakes or mislabeling due to commingling.

By contrast, the main selling point for Fulfillment By Amazon is its multiple options. Having been around longer, FBA has earned the trust of its customers and has grown its suite of offerings. FBA can fulfil orders from Amazon and elsewhere, and offers initiatives for specific sellers like “ Small & Light”.

When deciding whether to opt for WFS or not, it’s important to take the time to consider which offering will benefit both you and your customers the most.

How does Walmart Fulfillment Services work?

You will see the option to apply for WFS in your Walmart Seller Center interface. After approval, you will need to set up your account in the WFS portal and convert all your listings to “Fulfilled by Walmart”. You will then need to send your inventory to Walmart’s Fulfillment Centers ready to be stored, picked, packed and shipped for you.

Returns or refunds? These are all handled for you as part of the WFS program structure.

Walmart Fulfillment Services Fees

Walmart Fulfillment Services pricing is relatively straight forward. Storage fees are fixed monthly amounts, and fulfillment cost comes down to item weight with exclusions to some apparel and HAZMAT items.

But that’s it! No other subscription or ongoing costs are required to get involved.

Walmart Fulfillment Service Eligibility & Set Up

There are certain criteria that sellers need to meet in order to benefit from using Walmart Fulfillment Services:

• Must ship products to Walmart Fulfillment Center locations within the US.
• Products cannot be perishable or regulated.
• Products must weigh 30lb or less.
• Items cannot exceed dimensions 25” x 20” x 14”.

If you’re already a Walmart Marketplace Seller, you can opt into WFS via your Seller Center login. If you are not yet using the Walmart ecommerce platform, you can find out more about WFS and becoming a seller here.

Automate your Walmart accounting with A2X

As an online seller, the more work you can delegate, automate or outsource, the more time you’ll have available to spend on higher value tasks. If you’ve been in the ecommerce game for a while then you’ll no doubt be familiar with the challenges of accounting for the transactions that make up each payout.

A2X takes the hassle out of accounting by connecting your selling platforms such as Walmart to your cloud accounting system and automating the process of recording the right information in your books.

Click here to find out more about A2X for Walmart or check out the video below for a quick overview of how it works.