Walmart Adjusts to Trump's Tariffs Through a Price-Changing Tool
By Matthew Boyle
June 12, 2019, 9:37 AM EDT
App lets vendors submit cost hikes quickly and cite levies
‘Increased tariffs lead to increased prices,’ CFO said in May
Walmart Inc. has updated the information network used daily by its suppliers to let them submit cost increases that are directly attributable to higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.
The retailer introduced the tool, dubbed “Cost Change Scenario,” a year ago and has been rolling it out across product categories, according to internal memos and emails obtained by Bloomberg. The online application, whose existence hasn’t previously been reported, replaces Excel-based forms that vendors had to fill out manually. The new process is quicker and lets vendors choose a reason for the cost hike from a menu that includes tariffs, labor, transportation and raw materials.
The move shows how the world’s largest retailer, which sells billions of dollars of goods made in China annually, is incorporating the reality of tariffs into its day-to-day operations. Walmart emerged relatively unscathed from the first rounds of tariffs on imports from America’s largest trading partner. But that’s changed, with the U.S. bumping levies to 25% on $200 billion of goods including handbags and furniture, then initiating a separate process to tax another $300 billion, including clothing, shoes and electronics.
more:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-12/walmart-adjusts-to-trump-s-tariffs-through-a-price-changing-tool?srnd=premium
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