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NEW DELHI: As US retail giant Walmart tries to diversify its supply chain and reduce its reliance on markets like China, it is leaning on India, one of its key growth markets and wants to tap into new suppliers in the country.
The company which is chasing a target of sourcing $10 billion worth of goods from India annually by 2027 would also need new suppliers to meet the same.To that end, the retailer is hosting its first growth summit in India, the only market to hold such an event outside of the US, Chile and Mexico, underlining the company’s growing focus on the country where CEO Doug McMillon said manufacturing capacities are broadening and scaling.
The India opportunity extends far beyond working with export suppliers; the company is also open to partnering with local startups building supply chain solutions. “Other than the US, India is the only market where we have set a sourcing objective and that’s because we see so many opportunities. This growth summit is our next step as we pursue that opportunity and not just with export suppliers but also with innovative companies and startups that have supply chain solutions. India has some of the brightest minds in innovation and we want to explore potential solutions that challenge us to improve and to make our value chain even more effective,” McMillon said in a video message. Walmart said that it has already sourced products worth $30 billion from India over the past 20 years.
As it attempts to make an aggressive pitch to scores of Indian suppliers, Walmart has flown in more than 100 of its associates across marketplace, sourcing and merchant teams from markets like the US and Canada to the summit being held in Delhi. “From a category perspective, I think it is pretty limitless in terms of opportunities around what we can get in India and I think there’s an opportunity for exponential growth as we continue to find right suppliers and partners,” Andrea Albright, executive vice-president, sourcing at Walmart told TOI in an interview. Apart from apparel and home, which have historically been strong categories for the retailer in terms of local sourcing, the company is looking to expand its sourcing footprint to areas like health & wellness, consumables and food.
The company which is chasing a target of sourcing $10 billion worth of goods from India annually by 2027 would also need new suppliers to meet the same.To that end, the retailer is hosting its first growth summit in India, the only market to hold such an event outside of the US, Chile and Mexico, underlining the company’s growing focus on the country where CEO Doug McMillon said manufacturing capacities are broadening and scaling.
The India opportunity extends far beyond working with export suppliers; the company is also open to partnering with local startups building supply chain solutions. “Other than the US, India is the only market where we have set a sourcing objective and that’s because we see so many opportunities. This growth summit is our next step as we pursue that opportunity and not just with export suppliers but also with innovative companies and startups that have supply chain solutions. India has some of the brightest minds in innovation and we want to explore potential solutions that challenge us to improve and to make our value chain even more effective,” McMillon said in a video message. Walmart said that it has already sourced products worth $30 billion from India over the past 20 years.
As it attempts to make an aggressive pitch to scores of Indian suppliers, Walmart has flown in more than 100 of its associates across marketplace, sourcing and merchant teams from markets like the US and Canada to the summit being held in Delhi. “From a category perspective, I think it is pretty limitless in terms of opportunities around what we can get in India and I think there’s an opportunity for exponential growth as we continue to find right suppliers and partners,” Andrea Albright, executive vice-president, sourcing at Walmart told TOI in an interview. Apart from apparel and home, which have historically been strong categories for the retailer in terms of local sourcing, the company is looking to expand its sourcing footprint to areas like health & wellness, consumables and food.
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