We strive to transform the future of omnichannel supply chain by combining strategic thought leadership with data science and advanced analytics to solve the world’s most complex supply chain challenges at Walmart’s scale.
We had our second 2024 town hall meeting last month where our associates had fun participating in team-building activities: Marshmallow Challenge in Sunnyvale and Scavenger Hunt in Bentonville. A big shout-out to Annie Dorsey, Arindam Debbarma, Federico Laiño, Grant Barnes, Greg Guinney, Jenna Ford, Lekshmanan Natarajan, and Tory Rickey who helped organize the events!
Walmart Centroid was invited to the 2024 INFORMS Annual Meeting in Seattle last week to chair two sessions and deliver a keynote speech. Emerging Delivery Technology Session: Yuqian Dong had the honor of chairing this dynamic session, featuring experts from diverse fields. We explored the integration of cutting-edge delivery technologies into urban systems. Special shoutout to Coline Ramée from CENTROID, who shared how we leverage decision science models to enhance strategic insights in Last Mile Drone Delivery. Strategic Supply Chain Network Optimization Session: Chaired by Xinyue Peng, this session spotlighted the remarkable algorithmic work by CENTROID members Amin Aghalari, Lingxun Kong, Rahul Swamy, PhD, Xinghua Wang and Yaqing Wu. Their presentations addressed complex real-world challenges, highlighting our strategic initiatives that are transforming Walmart’s End-to-End Supply Chain and improving customer experiences. Keynote Speech: Yuqian Dong was invited to give the keynote talk on "The Future of Last-Mile Delivery Technology and the Importance of a Collaborative Approach." The talk emphasized the significant benefits of collaborative innovation in creating competitive advantages in Last Mile Delivery—a key factor in customer satisfaction, loyalty, and brand perception. Thanks for having us, and we are proud of our team’s achievements and excited for what lies ahead!
It is exciting to share that Mohan Ram Akella, who leads Walmart’s Centroid, was invited as an opening keynote speaker at Supply Chain Expo of Silicon Valley Summit hosted by Plug and Play. Mohan shared how Walmart’s supply chain had evolved over the last couple of decades and introduced our transformative journey of supply chain around automation and data with focus on delivering bigger value to our customers and associates. Appreciate Plug and Play and Joshua Saffran for inviting us!
Edgar Blanco, one of Centroid's VPs, recently had a privilege to be invited to the MIT Supply Chain Management Master's Program Class of 2024 graduation ceremony.
MIT Professor | Supply Chain, Resilience, & Risk Management Expert
Congratulations to the 2024 graduating class of the MIT Supply Chain Management Master's Program. You've successfully navigated a curriculum designed to challenge your analytical, mathematical, business acumen, and decision-making frameworks. 🎉 The world is in a perpetual state of flux. Geopolitical pressures, rapidly evolving technologies, and emerging requirements beyond cost and service are the new norm. As graduates of our program, you are uniquely positioned to tackle these challenges. Supply chains, in particular, are at the epicenter of both the challenges and the solutions to society’s ambitions in terms of resilience and sustainability. Therefore, I urge you to embrace a lifelong learning journey, continually honing your skills and knowledge, and making a significant contribution to society. MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics Edgar Blanco Maria Jesus Saenz Jarrod Goentzel Josue Velazquez Martinez Jim Rice Matthias Winkenbach Christopher Mejia Argueta Eva Ponce Chris Caplice
Walmart’s Centroid Team Members, Yuqian Dong and Coline Ramee, attended the University of Washington’s Undergraduate Aerospace and Astronautics Showcase on May 21st. In addition to networking and reviewing the impressive Capstone projects showcased at the event, they had a chance to share with students and faculty about WMT’s drone delivery and catchment strategy. Yuqian and Coline were really impressed by all the hard work and ingenuity exhibited by the UW aerospace students in their end of year showcase projects and are excited to see what innovative ideas these promising students will contribute to the field of aerospace in the future.
Walmart Centroid reposted this
At Centroid, we continue to evolve our Supply Chain Strategy and position our customers, business and associates for success. Today, I am excited to share the promotion announcement of a long tenured associate, Yilei Shi. Yilei has been promoted to Vice President Officer, Last Mile Strategy. In this role, Yilei will lead the design and deployment of our future last mile delivery network focused on store digital fulfillment and final mile delivery to provide market leading customer delivery speeds at the lowest cost. Yilei has been with Walmart for close to 20 years in multiple roles leading supply chain operations, capacity planning, network strategy, and most recently in Last Mile within the Centroid Team. Yilei was instrumental in creating the blueprint of our physical and digital transformation of the last mile network that will reshape our long term P&L. Congratulations Yilei and I look forward to working with you in this new capacity!!
At Centroid, we continue to evolve our Supply Chain Strategy and position our customers, business and associates for success. Today, I am excited to share the promotion announcement of a long tenured associate, Yilei Shi. Yilei has been promoted to Vice President Officer, Last Mile Strategy. In this role, Yilei will lead the design and deployment of our future last mile delivery network focused on store digital fulfillment and final mile delivery to provide market leading customer delivery speeds at the lowest cost. Yilei has been with Walmart for close to 20 years in multiple roles leading supply chain operations, capacity planning, network strategy, and most recently in Last Mile within the Centroid Team. Yilei was instrumental in creating the blueprint of our physical and digital transformation of the last mile network that will reshape our long term P&L. Congratulations Yilei and I look forward to working with you in this new capacity!!
We had our first Walmart Centroid Leadership Ask Me Anything (AMA) session today led by Yilei Shi who leads Last Mile team. Many interesting topics were discussed such as mentorship and time management, and thank you Yilei for taking the time to share your career journey and tips for career development today.
Our associates gathered together in Sunnyvale and Bentonville early this month for year-end Townhall events. We shared various updates and held interesting sessions such as Get to Know You Bingo and a Fireside Chat with Mohan Ram Akella who leads Walmart Centroid. Also, to give back to our community, we partnered with Marine Toys for Tots Foundation to help sort and prepare gifts for the children.