How Do You Get Your Products Into Walmart:

Walmart:  Walmart is the largest discount department and warehouse chain.  It also owns Sam's Club.  It operates 8,500 stores in 15 countries under 55 different names.  It is headquartered in Bentonville, AR. 

Products Categories:

Their product categories include: books, health, electronics, movies, photo center, home, gift shop, apparel, shoes, accessories, auto, home improvement, furniture, funeral, party & occasions, patio & garden, toys, office supplies, sports, fitness & outdoors, pharmacy, baby products, jewelry, beauty, video games, grocery, household essentials, etc.

 

Vendor Program:

Walmart has five supplier categories: 

- National Product Suppliers
- Local Product Suppliers
- Service and Non-Resale Suppliers
- Direct Import & Global Suppliers
- Walmart Get On The Shelf Contest

 

National Product Suppliers Program:

The National product Suppliers program are for  businesses large and small that provide Walmart  with products that they stock and sell in their stores throughout the country.  To become a National Product Supplier you have to do the following:

1.  Complete the Online Product Submission form.  Once yor Online Product Submission form is approved, Walmart will send you an email with the link to continue to Step 2 to complete the Supplier Questionnaire.  To complete this form you will be ask to provide the following pieces of information:
        
         o Basic Company information
         o GTIN/UPC Membership Number (Barcode)
         o Product Information
         o A picture of your product (must be 512kb or less in size) 

2.  Complete the Supplier Questionnaire.  Once you receive the email with the link for Supplier Questionnaire it means that you've been approved to complete the 2nd step in the process.  At this stage you will be required to pay the a fee of $125.00 (U.S. based company).  If your Supplier Questionnaire is approved you will receive an email invitation to move to step 3.  You must be prepared to provide the following information to complete this step.

         o Tax ID
         o GTIN/UPC Membership Number
         o DUN & Bradstreet Number
         o Company Information
         o Ethnic Origin:  you may qualify for their diversity program
         o Conmpany Contacts
         o Company Manufacturing:  how is the product being manufactured
         o Company Accounts:  other retailers that you have accounts with
         o Company Promotions:  how do you plan to promote your product(s)
         o Company References
         o Sales information 

3.  Complete the Supplier Agreement.  Once you've received the email invitation with the link to complete step 3 walmart recommends that you contact communicate with them to discuss the terms of the agreement before completing the agreement.  You will need to provide the following information to complete this step.

       o Certificate of Insurance
       o Tax ID
       o Dun & Bradstreet Number

Once your Supplier Agreement is approved, Walmart will send you an email with instructions to setup the full Rail Link access, complete the Link Agreement and access to additional resources.

 

Local Product Suppliers Program:  

The Local Product Suppliers program gives local businesses the opportunity to get their products into local Walmart stores by contacting local store managers.  This program takes 2-3 weeks to get approved.  There are two ways to approach gaining access to the Local Product Suppliers Program.

The first way is by contacting a local store manager.  Discuss your product with the local managaer.  If the local manager is interested in your product he/she will pass the information on to their supervisors (as well as the Market Manager and Regional Manager).  If your product is approved you will be given a Regional Market Manager's contact information and the store numbers of the stores where they are interested in placing your product. 

The second way to access this program is to complete the Online Product Submission form.  You will be required to provide Regional Manager's name, store numbers and picture of your product (no larger than 512kb or less).

 

Service & Non-Resale Suppliers Program:

The Service & Non-Resale Suppliers program is for companies that want to provide a service to Walmart such as Legal, Facilities Maintenance, Energy Suppliers, Marketing, Logistics, Information Technology, Real Estate, Recruiting, etc.

 

Direct Import & Global Suppliers Program:

This program is designed for companies that want to provide non-food products to Walmart stores worldwide.  To use this program you first have to contact them at gsnwpodt@wal-mart.com, and they will provide you with a contact who will provide instructions on the next step to take.

 

Be sure to read the Walmart’s Standards for Suppliers.  

 
Supplier Diversity:

Walmart also has a Supplier Diversity program that actively seeks minority and veteran owned businesses to become suppliers of Walmart.  If you're a minority business it might be a good idea to participate in this program.




Walmart Get on The Shelf Contest:


Another way to get your products on Walmart's shelves to participate in the "Walmart Get On The Shelf Contest".  This program has participants competing in a Shark Tank style event where competitors pitch to Walmart executives and advance their way to the final three where the winner is chosen. 

The public gets to participate by voting on their favorite candidate and product.  The winner gets the opportunity to sell their product through Walmart.com and the grand chanmpion(s) will receive additional marketing support in addition.

The entrance period is in July.  Public support and judging is in August.  Finalists are announce in September and the winner is chosen in November.

This event was held for the second time in 2013.  Continue to visit the contest website for upcoming contest information.
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