Dive Brief:

• Walmart has installed onboard technology for its private fleet that sends alerts from the vehicles’ locations to store workers’ handheld devices in a move to reduce friction in delivering goods, according to an announcement.
• The retailer developed its NTransit driver workflow application with infrastructure from telematics technology company Platform Science. Walmart completed the tech rollout in April for all of its more than 12,000 drivers, spokesperson Camille Dunn said in an email.
• The change is a bid to increase labor efficiency and get products on the shelves faster, "enabling more accurate inventory counts for both in-store and online shoppers,” Walmart said in a statement.

Dive Insight:

Telematics are helping many fleets improve safety and efficiency, including by tracking driving speed and fuel consumption. Motive and Navistar announced a partnership last month to integrate Navistar’s remote diagnostic platform with Motive’s Automated Operations Platform to give users greater visibility into safety and maintenance issues.

Walmart’s new system aims to provide increased visibility into where assets are within its fleet and when freight is slated to arrive at stores. The onboard technology will send push notifications to store employees’ handheld devices as the truck approaches the location, a bid to reduce manual communication touch points between drivers and stores, according to the announcement.

The changes mean stores can now more effectively plan schedules around truck deliveries, Walmart said. The upgrades pair with the retailer’s move last year to offer Samsung phones to 740,000 of its store workers. The phones include a Walmart app featuring scheduling, a voice-activated personal assistant and a mobile clock-in.