Walmart in Canada updates trucker tech
Walmart Inc.'s Canadian unit is adopting a blockchain network to manage the freight and payment operations of its third-party fleet. Walmart Canada and partner DLT Labs Inc. said in a joint news release that all Walmart Canada's third-party carriers are scheduled to be using the network by Feb. 1.
DLT Labs' supply chain tracker platform will integrate all the supply chain and logistics data between Walmart Canada and its third-party truck fleet, the release stated. The system will be accessible through a web portal and a mobile app.
The network will use distributed ledger technology to track deliveries, verify transactions and automate payments between Walmart Canada and its carriers, which deliver inventory to more than 400 stores across the country each year. The carriers supplement Walmart Canada's own fleet of 180 tractors and 2,000 trailers.
John Bayliss, senior vice president of logistics and supply chain for Walmart Canada, said in the release that the company's carrier partners create a huge volume of transaction data. The new technology will save money, improve efficiency and help reduce the company's environmental footprint, he said.
-- Serenah McKay
Walmart sets redo for U.S. food aisles
NEW YORK -- Walmart Inc., wary of Amazon.com Inc.'s encroachment into the grocery space, is revamping the produce department in its U.S. stores.
The nation's biggest grocer will widen aisles, make fruit and vegetable bins more visible and consolidate organic items in one spot, it said in a blog post Wednesday. The renovations, dubbed "Produce 2.0," will be in 800 Supercenters by the end of January and in about 3,000 stores, including smaller format Neighborhood Markets, by the end of the summer.
The changes follow improvements Walmart said it has made to the quality and assortment of its produce.
"We knew we were not meeting customers' expectations for quality, so we went to work on that a few years ago," Charles Redfield, Walmart's executive vice president in charge of the U.S. food unit, said in an interview. "Now that we're comfortable with that, we're ready to change the look and feel of the department."
-- Bloomberg News
Arkansas Index loses 2.88, ends at 466.88
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Wednesday at 466.88, down 2.88.
"Equities closed lower following the unanimous passage by the U.S. Senate of a bill in support of Hong Kong protesters that is seen as reducing the probability of a trade agreement with China this year," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 11/21/2019