Walmart CEO: ‘Associates are the secret to our success’

Walmart is no stranger to innovation.



However, when defining the secret to the company’s success, Walmart’s chief executive Doug McMillon said he doesn't have to look far. He just has to look within the company’s proverbial four walls.



A blog on Walmart’s website shared highlights of the retail giant’s Walmart’s 47th Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, held Friday, June 2. During the event, McMillon said Walmart has “started to invent the future of shopping again.”



How so? It is not secret that the company is leveraging technology to empower associates and improve the customer experience. These efforts will help “build a new Walmart,” according to McMillon, who addressed more than 14,000 associates worldwide from the Bud Walton Arena at the University of Arkansas, in Fayetteville, Arkansas.



The chain also continues to embark on new tests designed to provide cus-tomers with the best prices and merchandise possible. For example, the company just launched a three-store trial that uses store associates to de-liver online orders after they finish their shift.



Other tests that empower and benefit customers include digital endless-aisle shopping in stores, automated pickup towers in stores for online or-ders, pickup stations in store parking lots, robotics and image analytics to scan aisles for item availability and shelf presentation, and machine learn-ing and more advanced algorithms in pricing systems. However, none of these efforts would be possible without the company’s biggest asset: its workforce.



“The secret to our success will always be our people,” he said. “I think we should recognize that we’ll be able to learn, grow and change together. More than ever, Walmart will be a ladder of opportunity.”



McMillon highlighted Walmart’s commitment to make technology in-vestments not only for the good of its shoppers, but also to train and equip workers with the tools and skills they need. Building off of this point, he added that the retailer is creating jobs in new areas, including data scientists, machine-learning engineers and mobile app developers.



The statement comes on the heels of a new report that called out Walmart for unlawfully punishing workers for medical absences. The report, from work and family legal firm About Better Balances, is based on conversa-tions with Walmart employees as well as survey results of over 1,000 cur-rent and former Walmart workers who have struggled due to Walmart’s absence control program. Among the practices in question are policies that refuse to consider doctors’ notes and giving disciplinary points for disability-related absences, the report stated.



Regardless, McMillon was bullish on the company’s gratitude toward its employees. Specifically, he remained optimistic about the future of work and technology, and encouraged the company’s associates to continue be-ing “lifelong learners.”



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