Walmart (WMT) is a giant in the retail space. It is the second-largest retailer on the planet, behind Amazon (AMZN). Walmarttook in $572.75 billion in revenues in 2021, an increase of 2.43% from $559.15 billion in 2020. Its market capitalization as of April 2022 was $421.14 billion.
As a seller of many different products, Walmart has an extensive supply chain that consists of over 100,000 suppliers worldwide. Being a supplier for Walmart can be a profitable and unique relationship.
As of January 2022, Walmart had 10,593 stores in 24 countries and 2.3 million employees around the world. As Walmart continues to grow, its number of suppliers grows as well.
In 2021, Walmart announced that over the next ten years it planned to spend an extra $350 billion on products made, assembled, or grown in the United States. By doing so, it hopes to help rejuvenate America's manufacturing industry and increase jobs. Moreover, it believes that sourcing goods closer to its customers and reducing its carbon footprint can help the environment.
The majority of its suppliers are in the United States. However, the supply chain for Walmart stores is global, with suppliers in the United Kingdom, Canada, China, Mexico, Taiwan, Hong Kong, France, andother countries.
Here are five suppliers that generate portions of their revenues from Walmart.
Key Takeaways
- Walmart is the second largest retailer in the world, following Amazon.
- There are over 100,000 Walmart suppliers across the globe.
- Walmart aims to help rejuvenate America's manufacturing industry by sourcing more products in the U.S.
- Walmart supplier Proctor & Gamble was one of the first to agree to Walmart's radio frequency identification (RFID) tag requirement.
- Walmart supplier Green Dot partnered with Walmart to launch the GoBank checking account.
1. Plug PowerInc.
Plug Power(PLUG) is a leading developer of hydrogen fuel cell technology. Working with companies seeking to reduce emissions, power usage, and operational costs, Plug Power offers solution packages to create hydrogen and fueling infrastructures that rely on fuel cell technology.
Plug Power derives the majority of its business from Walmart and Amazon. The companies use Plug Power's energy cells in their machinery, such as the forklifts in their warehouses.
Walmart was the first large company to work with Plug Power to refine its technology and install it on a mass scale. In 2017, Walmart and PLUG penned a deal providing Plug Power with financing through Walmart to expand its network so that all power deals between the two would be cash flow positive from inception.Plug Power generated revenues of $502million in 2021. As of April 2022, it had a market capitalization of $12.14 billion.
2. Proctor & Gamble
Proctor & Gamble (PG) is a consumer goods company founded in 1837 and headquartered in Cincinnati, OH. It provides consumer packaged goods to Walmart and other countries across the globe. It was one of the first companies to set up an office in Bentonville, AR to improve its contact with Walmart's headquarters.
Proctor & Gamble was also one of the first suppliers to agree to Walmart's radio frequency identification (RFID) tag requirement. The idea behind RFID was to improve the accuracy of supplier deliveries to Walmart and in general, to know exactly where products were in the supply chain.
Proctor & Gamble's revenues in 2021 were $76.11 billion. That was up 7.28% from 2020. As of April 2022, its market capitalization was $385.2 billion.
3. HP Inc.
HP Inc. (HPQ) is a well known company in the information technology sector. Formerly known as the Hewlett-Packard Company, it was founded in 1939 and operates today through three segments: personal systems, printing, and corporate investments. It provides desktop and notebook personal computers, workstations, displays and peripherals, software, printers, and more. Its customers include individuals, small- to medium-sized businesses, and large enterprises in the consumer, government, health, and education sectors.
HP has been a winner of Walmart's Home Entertainment Design Challenge. With the win, Walmart underscored HP's effort, through the redesign of its computer packaging, to reduce its impact on the environment. HP altered the conventional, multi-layered packaging to a more streamlined HP Protect Messenger Bag. The upshot was fuel conservation and a decrease in CO2 emissions.
Hewlett-Packard became HP Inc. in 2015. It is headquartered in Palo Alto, CA. For 2021, its revenue was $63.4 billion. Its market capitalization in April 2022 was $38.58 billion.
4. Green Dot Corporation
Green Dot Corporation (GDOT) is one of the originators of the prepaid debit card designed to serve unbanked and underbanked consumers. In addition to being the largest provider by market capitalization of reloadable prepaid debit cards, Green Dot is the largest processor of tax refund disbursem*nts in the U.S.
Since 2007, Green Dot has partnered with Walmart to offer the MoneyCard program to Walmart customers. In 2014, they launched the GoBank checking account. In 2019, both companies announced that they would partner on launching an accelerator, called Tailfin Labs. The company will assist startups that focus on the retail and tech sector. Green Dot generated $1.43 billion in total revenue in 2021. Its market capitalization was $1.44 billion in April 2022.
5. Primo Water Corporation
North Carolina based Primo Water Corporation (PRMW) is one of the largest providers of refillable, self-service water dispensers, which are used at more than 25,000 retail locations. In addition to being a Walmart supplier, it supplies Lowe's Home Improvement, The Home Depot, Meijer, Kroger, Office Depot, and others. The company generated $2.07 billion in revenue in 2021. Its market capitalization was $2.35 billion as of April 2022.
Where Does Walmart Get Its Products?
Through the suppliers it works with. Walmart has over 100,000 suppliers across the globe that help it secure the products that its customers want and need.
How Does Walmart Work With Suppliers?
Historically, Walmart has worked directly and closely with its suppliers to cut costs and manage its supply chain as efficiently as possible. It believes in having non-adversarial relationships with partners so that both suppliers and Walmart can reach their financial goals.
What Type of Supply Chain Does Walmart Have?
An extremely successful one. Walmart maintains an efficient supply chain by working directly with suppliers to streamline its inventory management as finely as possible. For instance, it started requiring suppliers to use RFID tags in 2005 and recommitted to newer RDIF technology in 2020. It uses other advanced technology throughout its global supply chain and has made sustainability a part of its focus.
