Walmart Relaxes Deadlines For Some Deliveries Amid Driver Crunch

Walmart Inc. has relaxed deadlines for some supplier deliveries just months after tightening them, easing pressure on manufacturers who are already grappling with a driver shortage.

The world’s largest retailer will now let shipments of food, household goods and health and beauty products arrive at regional distribution centers one day early, according to a memo from Chief Merchandising Officer Steve Bratspies obtained by Bloomberg News. Under rules instituted just last year, deliveries that came the day before they were due had been subject to fines, as they could create overstocks.

Walmart’s more generous stance comes as suppliers like General Mills Inc. and Hershey Co. grapple with a transportation shortage and new driving regulations that have sent shipping costs spiraling. Walmart handles the shipping for many of its suppliers through its own trucking fleet and other transport providers, and it rolled out the tighter delivery windows in August to reduce out-of-stock items and boost sales. Now, with deliveries at risk of coming late to its 4,700 U.S. stores, Walmart is easing up.

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