Walmart Inc has entered into a long-term technical collaboration agreement with Microsoft Corporation which is being defined as a strategic partnership. The deal will see Microsoft taking care of many of Walmart’s initiatives at transforming its retail business into one based completely on technology and the use of Cloud computing. Walmart expects to provide a better ecosystem for both its vendors and associates around the world and the millions of customers it has.
Most ecommerce companies have started deploying technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning to handle mundane tasks within their back-office operations. This ensures better and smoother processing of orders and payments and also in pushing the packages through the warehouse for deliveries. Human errors get eliminated and the overall experience for the customer, in a highly competitive market, is made superior.
There is a quote from the CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella as well, welcoming the partnership with Walmart and committing the tech-giant’s complete involvement in fulfilling Walmart’s and its customer’s expectations. From their side, Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365 will be the products predominantly deployed on this Walmart partnership program.
There are three distinct areas being identified where this new arrangement will focus and deliver the results. These are: ushering in a digital transformation, becoming more innovative and bringing about a change in the way Walmart is working now, in many fundamental ways.
The full utilization of Microsoft’s Azure suite over the partnership period of five years will make sure that many of the existing applications on Walmart’s site would be shifted to the Cloud. This will offer more efficient service to the customers while checking out, after they have concluded the shopping.
With Walmart’s expansion to global levels (including its acquisition of India’s Flipkart), there are areas which need seamless integration and the technologies Microsoft will bring to the table under this partnership will be deployed towards achieving these goals.
Walmart has said all these will result in saving time and costs for their customers. On the work culture front too, Walmart’s employees worldwide will be exposed to the latest tools in changing their style and speed of functioning and they will receive the necessary training and orientation to shift to these new technologies.