Walmart Order Management 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A customer's online order shows 'shipped' but tracking has not updated in 5 days. What is the best course of action?
- Tell the customer to wait longer
- Investigate the tracking number with the carrier, and if lost, initiate a replacement or refund (Correct answer)
- Cancel the order immediately
- Blame the shipping carrier and provide their phone number
Correct answer: Investigate the tracking number with the carrier, and if lost, initiate a replacement or refund
Proactively investigating and resolving shipping issues demonstrates ownership of the customer experience.
Stale tracking often indicates a package scan was missed, or in worse cases, the package is lost. The associate should contact the carrier with the tracking number to determine status. If the package cannot be located within the carrier's service commitment, Walmart should initiate either a replacement shipment or a refund, depending on customer preference. The cost of the lost item is typically recovered from the carrier through claims.
Question 2: What is the purpose of an order management system (OMS) in retail?
- To manage employee schedules
- To orchestrate orders across channels, manage inventory allocation, and route fulfillment to the optimal location (Correct answer)
- To design store layouts
- To process payroll
Correct answer: To orchestrate orders across channels, manage inventory allocation, and route fulfillment to the optimal location
An OMS is the central system that manages the lifecycle of orders from placement through fulfillment and return.
A modern OMS like Walmart's handles: order capture from all channels, real-time inventory visibility across stores and warehouses, intelligent order routing to the optimal fulfillment location, payment processing, shipment tracking, exception handling, and returns. It is the backbone of omnichannel retail, enabling features like ship-from-store, buy online pick up in-store, and same-day delivery.
Question 3: During peak season, the store receives more pickup orders than the team can fulfill on time. What operational adjustment should be made?
- Cancel excess orders
- Extend pickup windows, add temporary staff to the pickup team, and prioritize orders by scheduled time (Correct answer)
- Tell customers to come back tomorrow
- Stop accepting pickup orders
Correct answer: Extend pickup windows, add temporary staff to the pickup team, and prioritize orders by scheduled time
Scaling operations during peaks requires additional resources and smart prioritization rather than reducing service.
Peak demand management requires: adding labor (cross-training store associates to help with pickup), extending staging windows to distribute workload, prioritizing by promised pickup time, and pre-picking orders during off-peak hours. Walmart's system also allows dynamic adjustment of pickup slot availability to prevent overbooking. Communication is key: if delays are unavoidable, proactively notifying customers with updated times reduces frustration.
Question 4: A customer wants to change the delivery address on an order that is already being processed. What factors determine if this is possible?
- It is always possible regardless of order status
- The fulfillment stage: changes are possible before shipping but typically not after the package has been handed to the carrier (Correct answer)
- Address changes are never allowed
- Only managers can approve address changes
Correct answer: The fulfillment stage: changes are possible before shipping but typically not after the package has been handed to the carrier
Order modification depends on fulfillment status. Before handoff to the carrier, changes are possible; after, the package must be intercepted or redirected.
Orders progress through stages: placed, picked, packed, and shipped. Before the carrier picks up the package, Walmart can modify the address in their system. Once in the carrier's network, changes require a package intercept or redirect service (which carriers charge for and cannot always guarantee). The associate should check the order's real-time status, make the change if possible, or explain the options including cancel-and-reorder to the new address.
Question 5: What is 'order splitting' and why does it occur?
- When a customer splits payment between two methods
- When items in a single order are shipped in separate packages from different fulfillment locations (Correct answer)
- When an order is divided between two customers
- When an order is split into installment payments
Correct answer: When items in a single order are shipped in separate packages from different fulfillment locations
Order splitting ships items from the optimal location for each, which may result in multiple packages arriving at different times.
When a customer orders multiple items, the OMS may route different items to different fulfillment points based on availability and proximity. For example, a book might ship from a warehouse while a grocery item comes from the local store. This optimizes delivery speed and cost per item but means the customer receives multiple packages. Clear communication about split shipments and separate tracking numbers is essential to prevent 'where is my stuff' calls.
Question 6: A substitution is needed for an out-of-stock item in an online grocery order. What is the correct approach?
- Cancel the entire order
- Select a comparable substitute of equal or greater value at the original price, and notify the customer (Correct answer)
- Ship whatever is closest on the shelf
- Remove the item without telling the customer
Correct answer: Select a comparable substitute of equal or greater value at the original price, and notify the customer
Substitution should be a thoughtful match that meets the customer's needs, communicated transparently.
Effective substitution follows rules: same brand if possible (different size), same category and purpose, equal or better quality, and never at a higher price to the customer. For example, if a 12-pack of a specific soda is out, a 12-pack of the same soda in a different flavor or a comparable brand is appropriate. The customer should be notified of the substitution with the option to approve or reject it before delivery or pickup.
Walmart Order Management 2
A customer's online order shows 'shipped' but tracking has not updated in 5 days.
What is the best course of action?