How to Get Your Product Into Walmart [Step-by-Step Guide]

(A tactical playbook with real-world context)

Getting your product into Walmart is one of the biggest milestones a brand can hit. It’s also where a lot of good companies quietly fail.

The scale is hard to overstate. Walmart isn’t just a retailer—it’s an ecosystem. Your product doesn’t just land on a shelf; it enters a complex supply chain, performance-tracked ecosystem with strict compliance standards and zero patience for mistakes.

We’ve seen founders land a pitch, even a test order—and still not make it past the first six months.

Why?

Because getting into Walmart is only the beginning. What happens next—how you handle the backend, deliver on time, stay compliant, and communicate like a seasoned vendor—is what decides if you stay in.

At CrossBridge, we’ve helped everyone from first-time founders to major manufacturers launch (and survive) inside Walmart. This isn’t a marketing fluff list—it’s a grounded, real-world walkthrough of what actually happens when you go from pitch to PO.

Step 1: Reality Check — Are You Actually Ready?

Let’s get one thing straight: Walmart can grow your business—and it can also break it.

The day you land a Walmart deal, you become a logistics company. A systems company. A compliance company. If you’re not prepared for that shift, the opportunity you worked so hard for will become a bottleneck overnight.

So before you reach out to a buyer, ask yourself this:

• Do you have production capacity that scales fast, without delays? If a test order goes well, Walmart won’t wait for you to catch up—they’ll expect immediate expansion.
• Is your supply chain predictable? Walmart operates on tight lead times and seasonal resets. If your container gets delayed at the port or your label printer goes down, that’s your problem—not theirs.
• Is your brand built for retail visibility? You’re not just selling a product—you’re asking for shelf space that someone else will lose if you get it. A strong brand story, proven online traction, and sharp packaging aren’t nice-to-haves. They’re survival tools.
• Do you have a U.S. warehouse partner or a plan for it? Walmart doesn’t store your product for you. You need a reliable, responsive 3PL or warehouse setup that can ship on schedule, label correctly, and meet routing requirements.
• Do you have a system—not spreadsheets—for handling orders? This is where many startups fall apart. Once the orders start flowing, you need ERP + EDI + inventory control in place before launch, not while scrambling after your first PO.

If you hesitate on any of the above, don’t worry. It doesn’t mean you’re not ready—it just means you need a structure behind you that is.

Most suppliers think of “getting in” as the finish line.

The successful ones know it’s the starting gate.

Step 2: Finding the Right Buyer

It’s not “Walmart.” It’s one person—and they’re hard to reach.

Most suppliers start off with the wrong assumption: that Walmart is one big company making centralized decisions about what goes on the shelves. In reality, Walmart is made up of dozens of individual category teams, each with their own buyers, strategies, and metrics.

So here’s the truth:

You’re not pitching “Walmart.”

You’re pitching one buyer who manages one product category, and that buyer has to believe your product will outperform what’s already on the shelf.

Let’s say you sell a line of eco-friendly cleaning sprays.

The buyer you need is not the household cleaning director. It might be a sub-category buyer under “Natural Cleaning” in the “Home Essentials” department. The difference between a yes and a no is often just finding the right person—and speaking their language.

So, how do you find the right buyer?

You can’t just call up Bentonville and ask. These relationships are guarded, and cold outreach gets ignored fast—especially if it feels generic or uninformed.

Here’s how it’s typically done:

• You work through a trusted broker or sales rep who already knows the buyers
• Or, you do the legwork yourself: researching Walmart’s supplier structure, attending retail expos where Walmart buyers appear, or making contact through LinkedIn introductions or industry connections

However you do it, the goal is the same: get in front of the right buyer for your category with a tight pitch that speaks to retail value, not just product quality.

What buyers want to see

Here’s the part most founders get wrong:

Buyers are not looking for your passion. They’re looking for performance.

Yes, your product may be meaningful. But Walmart buyers have limited shelf space and strict turn expectations. Their job is to make every inch of that shelf more profitable than it was before.

So when you pitch, you need to show:

• What this product will replace—and why it will sell better
• Your current sales velocity (DTC or retail) and customer traction
• Strong retail margins that fit Walmart’s pricing strategy
• Operational readiness—can you fulfill 500 stores next month?
• A compelling brand story that Walmart shoppers will understand in 3 seconds or less

Build a sales sheet. Not a brochure.

Think of your pitch like a one-pager that answers two unspoken buyer questions:

1. Why this product?
2. Why now?

Include core metrics, product visuals, packaging info, margin breakdowns, past sales history (if available), and any notable partnerships, endorsements, or certifications.

This isn’t the time for emotional storytelling. It’s a numbers-first conversation.

Golden Nugget: Buyers talk.

One thing many suppliers don’t realize is that Walmart buyers share feedback internally. If your pitch gets forwarded—or if you show promise but don’t quite fit their category—you might get introduced to someone else.

But that only happens if you come prepared, clear, and credible.

Step 3: The Pitch Meeting

30 minutes in Bentonville. Use every second wisely.

If a Walmart buyer is interested, they may invite you to Bentonville, Arkansas for a face-to-face pitch. It’s often a short meeting—sometimes just 30 minutes—but it’s the moment everything hinges on.

It’s not flashy. No stage, no big reveal.

Just you, your product, and a buyer who’s heard 50 other pitches that month.

And in those 30 minutes, you need to answer one question clearly:

Should this product replace something on Walmart shelves?

What to expect walking in

The meeting is usually held in a standard corporate conference room.

The buyer may already know your product. They’ve seen your sales sheet, maybe tried a sample. But they’re not here to be convinced emotionally—they’re here to make a call based on retail logic.

Expect questions like:

• “What are your expected turns per store per week?”
• “What does your DTC or Amazon velocity look like?”
• “What’s your landed cost, and what margin do we have to work with?”
• “Can you support a 500-store rollout with 6 weeks’ lead time?”
• “What are your promotional plans, and how will you support reorders?”

These questions aren’t just about readiness—they’re about trust.

The buyer wants to know you’ve done your homework, understand retail math, and won’t collapse under pressure.

What buyers don’t want to hear

• “We’re still figuring out production.”
• “We’ll get back to you on margins.”
• “We don’t have a logistics partner yet, but we’re looking.”

If you show up with uncertainty, you’ll walk out with a polite “We’ll be in touch.”

Walmart won’t bet on a brand that hasn’t mapped the operational side in detail.

What impresses buyers (and gets you a test order)

• You’ve already mapped demand planning
• You’ve run Walmart-specific packaging tests
• You know your routing, labeling, and modular set timelines
• You have an ERP + EDI setup in progress or in place
• You show an understanding of OTIF (On Time In Full) metrics and what happens if you miss them

In other words: you don’t just want the shelf space—you’re ready to earn it.

A word on tone

Confidence matters—but humility earns trust.

The best pitch meetings aren’t performances. They’re clean, honest business conversations with clear answers and strong data. Don’t overpromise. Don’t overexplain. Focus on what matters to the buyer.

If you’re invited to Bentonville, you’re already in the top 1% of suppliers who even made it that far. The buyer wants it to go well. Your job is to prove they’re not taking a risk by saying yes.

Step 4: Setup & Compliance

The part that breaks first-time vendors.

You’ll be expected to quickly complete:

• Item Setup in Walmart’s internal platform (hundreds of required data fields per SKU)
• EDI testing and integration (no EDI, no orders—period)
• Labeling and routing compliance based on your product’s category and packaging
• Warehouse prep so you’re ready to ship according to modular set timelines

Where things usually go wrong

• Incorrect case dimensions throw off pallet configs
• Incomplete item data causes approval delays
• Barcode issues trigger chargebacks before you even start shipping
• EDI test failures delay your ability to receive POs at all

If you’re not fully integrated and approved, your product won’t move—even if the buyer loves it.

Don’t forget:

• Walmart requires you to own your barcodes (GS1 prefix)
• You’ll need U.S.-based warehousing ready to ship by the set date
• You can’t “trial and error” your way through compliance—everything must work on day one

This is where good products lose momentum and buyers lose patience.

But if everything is wired correctly, you become easy to work with—and that’s what buyers remember.

Step 5: Trial Orders & Store Tests

You’re not in yet. You’re being watched.

If your pitch goes well, Walmart may issue a trial order—usually a regional rollout or placement in a few hundred stores. It feels like a win, and it is. But make no mistake: this isn’t onboarding. It’s evaluation.

This phase is Walmart’s way of asking:

“Can this supplier deliver real performance, at scale, without issues?”

You are, effectively, on probation.

What they’re looking for (even if they don’t say it)

• Did your shipment arrive exactly on time—and in full?
• Were your labels, cartons, and pallets 100% compliant with routing requirements?
• Did your ASN (Advance Ship Notice) match the physical shipment?
• Are you replenishing inventory fast enough when sales are strong?
• Are store staff seeing clean delivery execution—or problems?

Buyers track these things. Walmart’s systems track them even more closely.

Golden nugget: Performance is scored, not just observed

Walmart uses internal scorecards to track supplier performance across:

• OTIF (On Time In Full)
• Fill RateReturn RateBarcode scan issues
• Chargebacks
• Retail Link data accuracy

Even if your product is selling well, if your backend isn’t tight, you may never get a second order.

Common ways suppliers fail the trial phase

1. They underestimate lead times. That one extra week your factory needs? It’s enough to miss the modular set window.
2. They assume “close enough” is good enough. Incorrect label placement or mismatched ASNs will trigger compliance flags—even if the product itself is perfect.
3. They don’t monitor Retail Link. Inventory is flying off the shelves, and no one’s watching? That’s a missed replenishment opportunity.
4. They overspend on marketing without fixing ops. A beautiful ad campaign won’t save you from a barcode that doesn’t scan.

What you should focus on during this phase

• Absolute shipping precision — this is your credibility test
• Responsive communication — buyers hate chasing answers
• Real-time Retail Link tracking — catch issues before they snowball
• Quiet, consistent execution — be the supplier that “just gets it right”

Get this part right, and you move from trial status to full rollout.

Get it wrong, and the buyer moves on without a second call.

Step 6: Retail Link & Supplier Tools

You’ve launched. Now comes the hard part: staying in.

Getting your product into stores is only the first win.

What happens next is what determines whether you stay there—or quietly disappear by next season’s reset.

Walmart gives you access to Retail Link, their internal data portal, which provides near real-time visibility into:

• Sales by store and region
• Inventory levels at the store and DC (Distribution Center) level
• Order forecasts
• OTIF (On Time In Full) performance metrics
• Compliance violations and chargebacks

Why this matters

Buyers check Retail Link regularly—and they expect you to do the same.

If inventory is sitting stagnant in 100 stores, you need to flag it.

If your OTIF score drops below threshold, you need to catch it.

If a DC is about to go out of stock, you need to replenish before they email you.

The best suppliers aren’t reactive—they spot issues and fix them before they hit the buyer’s radar.

Most new vendors don’t do this

They assume the hard part is over. They stop watching the data.

Then they get surprised when they’re delisted six months in with no warning.

Pro tip: You don’t have to do this alone

If you’re not familiar with Retail Link—or don’t want to manage it manually—there are partners (like us) who can:

• Set up Retail Link access
• Build automated dashboards
• Monitor sales and inventory trends
• Flag compliance issues before they hit your bottom line

The better your data, the longer you stay in the game.

Step 7: Financial Setup & Risk Planning

Don’t let margin vanish after the first PO.

Getting into Walmart can feel like validation.

But getting paid by Walmart? That’s a different story.

You’ll need to get your U.S. entity and financial systems in order well before launch. Not just to accept payments—but to navigate how those payments actually show up, and what gets taken out along the way.

Here’s what most new suppliers don’t realize:

• Payment terms are long — often Net 60 or Net 90
• Chargebacks are frequent — and they’re often automated
• Deductions are line-itemed — shipping discrepancies, routing errors, even minor mislabels
• Testing, onboarding, and packaging costs add up fast
• You’ll need real cash reserves to float operations while waiting on your first payments

Walmart pays reliably. But not fast.

If you’re not financially structured for the lag, you’ll burn through your launch budget before the second PO hits.

What smart suppliers do:

• Set up a U.S. bank account and tax-compliant entity to receive funds
• Build margin buffers into pricing to absorb deductions
• Track chargebacks proactively using Retail Link and EDI reconciliation
• Forecast cash flow conservatively for the first 6–12 months
• Treat the first few orders as proving grounds, not profit centers

This phase is where you move from “excited brand” to “operational business.”

And if you treat it seriously, you won’t just get in—you’ll stay profitable, too.

Where Most Suppliers Get Stuck (And How We Help)

You don’t need to do it alone. But you do need to do it right.

Most suppliers that get into Walmart don’t fail because their product isn’t good.

They fail because they weren’t structurally ready for what comes next.

• They fumble item setup.
• They mislabel their first shipment.
• They blow OTIF on a test order.
• They miss what Retail Link was trying to tell them.
• They run out of cash waiting for their first payment.

And it’s not because they were careless—it’s because no one told them how much backend work goes into staying in Walmart once you’re in.

That’s where we come in.

At CrossBridge, we help you get in—and stay in

We don’t just give you a checklist. We run the infrastructure.

From the day you pitch to the day your product hits shelves, our team handles:

• Category matching and buyer outreach
• ERP and EDI setup (fully integrated and tested)
• Inventory and warehouse coordination
• Labeling, routing, order processing, and compliance
• Retail Link monitoring and performance tracking
• U.S. accounting, entity structuring, and cash flow planning

Whether you’re a global manufacturer or a lean, fast-growing brand, we help you operate like a veteran supplier from day one.

So you can focus on what you built—while we keep the engine running behind the scenes.

Thinking about pitching Walmart—or already got a call back?

Book a strategy call and we’ll walk you through exactly what to do next.