We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Walmart installs tracking tablets in the 9,000 tractors of its private fleet

Walmart installs tracking tablets in the 9,000 tractors of its private fleet

Technology from Daimler-backed Platform Science notifies store employees as each freight delivery nears its dropoff point.

walmart 90.jpeg
June 20, 2022
Ben Ames
No Comments

Retail giant Walmart has installed a computer tablet in every vehicle of its private fleet, saying the telematics-linked device delivers “near real-time visibility” for store deliveries, better shelf stocking for customers, and improved technology for its drivers.

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based store chain designed the units in collaboration with telematics infrastructure and transportation technology provider Platform Science. Each tablet is integrated with NTransit, a driver workflow application developed by Walmart’s product and technology teams.

San Diego-based Platform Science is backed by Daimler Truck AG, as well as venture investors. In 2020, the startup said it had partnered with tractor-trailer manufacturer Daimler Trucks North America to add on-vehicle fleet management software to its trucks.

Terms of the newest deal were not disclosed. But Walmart says it operates 210 distribution centers, providing delivery to its 10,500 stores through a transportation fleet of 9,000 tractors, 80,000 trailers and more than 12,000 drivers.

According to Scott Donahue, Walmart’s vice president for innovation and automation product, the tablet initiative provides near real-time visibility of where its assets are within the fleet, ensuring that freight arrives on time and in the correct location. That data lets stores anticipate load arrival times and plan their labor levels around truck deliveries.

 It works by linking trucks to stores through automated notices. As each truck driver approaches a store destination, the tablets use geolocation technology to send push notifications to store associates’ handheld devices, allowing them to plan for a quick unload and turnaround, Walmart said. And from the driver’s point of view, that approach supports a frictionless workflow, removing manual tasks so drivers can spend more time driving the truck and less time waiting at fulfillment centers or store deliveries.

Walmart says the approach benefits drivers, too, by coordinating their scheduling and navigation, letting drivers hit the road to their next destination without keying it in. “Like any job, unplanned activities sometimes require the driver to do more than steer the truck. Our new system creates accountability by allowing drivers to communicate what they accomplished on the road. That way, they are compensated for any miles and non-driving activities beyond what was initially planned,” the company said.

Trucking Fleet Management, Transportation
KEYWORDS Platform Science Walmart
  • Related Articles

    Hub to install tracking systems on most of its U.S. container fleet by year's end

    the rise of the not-so-private fleet

    Walmart to install Symbotic robots in 25 of its 42 regional DCs

Benames
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.

Recent Articles by Ben Ames

Norfolk Southern train derailment sparks blaze in Ohio

Industry calls on Congress to deliver bipartisan supply chain legislation

Energy prices to stay high in the near term, SGS Maine Pointe says

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Schneider welcomes first battery-electric truck

  • Fred Smith is not worried about Amazon

  • RJW LOGISTICS GROUP EXPANDS RETAIL LOGISTICS OPERATION TO DALLAS

  • Maersk deploys indoor drones for warehouse inventory counts

  • Outlook 2023: What’s in store for logistics/supply chain?

Now Playing on DCV-TV

5afe63a5 7125 4318 b851 1e5738df1c91

Patterson Fan Co. | HVLS V-Series Ceiling Fan | Staging Area Air Movement

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
The Patterson V-Series is a high-volume, low-speed industrial ceiling fan that is designed to circulate a lot of air at a very low speed. These fans, ranging in diameters of 8’ all the way to 24’, are perfect for large, open spaces such as staging and shipping areas. One 24’ fan can generate a cooling effect of 6 –...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • The five best applications for robotic lift trucks in warehouse environments

  • Fulfillment Facility Improved Efficiencies by 4x

  • 3PLs: Complete Orders Faster with Flexible Automation

  • Reusable Packaging for the New Wave of Supply Chain Automation

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2023. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing