Walmart’s sheer size and strength in the world of mass retail has dominated over the last several decades. When Sam Walton launched his Every Day Low Prices strategy, he likely wasn’t foreseeing the success his stores have gained over the years and continue to gain. With his heirs now being some of the richest individuals in the world, the company continues to optimize at the margins ensuring Walmart’s reign continues.
Management at Walmart is some of the best in the world. Doug McMillon took the helm as CEO in 2014 and has a seat on the board. He stays plugged into the daily happenings at the retail behemoth. One area that needed his time and attention was how to better manage his millions of retail workers, which led to a revamp of Walmart’s software for scheduling, tracking and analyzing its millions of workers around the globe.
The company engaged with JDA Software’s consulting team to configure and implement JDA Workforce Management as the new system of record. Recently it announced the roll-out with the system being deployed to more than 1.1 million of its associates across 4,600 stores. The new system comes with advanced scheduling that supports flexible, labor demand-based scheduling, as well as the Walmart “core hours” program, where associates have a core hours schedule. The goal is to provide associates with more consistent scheduling so they have the ability to better plan their lives around work.
“Our goal has always been to exceed customers’ expectations when they shop and having our associates in the right place at the right time is the cornerstone to enabling that seamless experience every time,” said Rory Graham, Senior Director Workforce Management, Walmart. “Our collaboration with JDA has been an important part of implementing our new scheduling system for associates, which is helping provide predictable and flexible scheduling options.”
“We are undeniably proud to support Walmart - one of the biggest, most advanced retail trailblazers in the industry – a company that is always paving the way for retail supply chain transformation,” said Girish Rishi, chief executive officer, JDA. “Walmart has put a stake in the ground with an advanced workforce scheduling system that expertly adapts to store – and associate – needs, and we look forward to supporting their journey in the years to come.”
JDA Software was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Its 5,000 employees across the globe power 4,000 of the world’s leading companies including 75 of the top 100 retailers, 77 of the top 100 consumer goods companies, and 8 of the top 10 global 3PLs.
