In this article
Walmart GoLocal API mapping connects delivery updates to an existing EDI workflow by matching each delivery event to the correct order and fulfillment record, then translating its status into a state your ERP, WMS or TMS understands. You can keep required EDI documents in place while giving operations a consistent view of delivery progress.
The main design decision is record ownership. Your EDI purchase order and shipment documents may describe a retailer transaction, while a GoLocal delivery event describes activity in a separate delivery service. BOLD VAN approaches this as a mapping problem: preserve the identifiers linking those records, define what each update means and route exceptions to the right team. Confirm the available GoLocal interfaces in Walmart's transportation carrier documentation and check the published EDI implementation guide for your specific trading relationship.
Where delivery data fits
In a retail EDI flow, an X12 850 Purchase Order communicates the order, an X12 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment communicates the supplier's response, an X12 856 Ship Notice/Manifest describes the shipment and an X12 810 Invoice supports billing. Which documents you exchange depends on the program and your partner's implementation guide. A GoLocal delivery update can add pickup, transit or delivery information, but it does not automatically satisfy any of those EDI requirements.
Keep technical and business acceptance separate. An X12 997 Functional Acknowledgment tells the sender whether an EDI document passed the receiver's syntax check. It can report acceptance or rejection. It does not mean the order or its content was accepted, and it does not confirm that a delivery occurred.
Likewise, a delivery event should not automatically generate an X12 214 Transportation Carrier Shipment Status Message. That transaction may be relevant to a carrier workflow, but its use depends on the recipient's published EDI implementation guide and your role in the transaction.
How to structure the mapping
Start with a small internal record model: order, shipment, package, delivery and event. Link each delivery to the appropriate fulfillment record before allowing an update to change an operational status. The references available for that link depend on Walmart's documentation and your systems' configurations.
| Record | Mapping decision | Check before launch |
|---|---|---|
| Order | Identify the business order across EDI and your ERP. | Confirm which reference remains stable after an order change. |
| Shipment or package | Associate the delivery with the items actually dispatched. | Test partial fulfillment and multiple packages. |
| Delivery | Keep the delivery service's reference tied to your fulfillment record. | Check for repeated or replaced delivery requests. |
| Event | Translate the source status into an approved internal state. | Retain enough history to review duplicates and late updates. |
Build a status crosswalk alongside that record model. For each documented source event, record its business meaning, the system allowed to change, the permitted transition and the exception owner. A pickup update, for instance, should not close an order as delivered. Keep any source event that cannot be matched or interpreted out of automatic status updates until someone reviews it.
A practical implementation sequence
- Identify the program and interfaces. Determine which GoLocal delivery workflow you use. Review Walmart's current documentation rather than borrowing assumptions from a separate Walmart Marketplace or supplier integration.
- Inventory existing EDI documents. Note where the 850, 855, 856 and 810 originate or land, if they apply. Check the trading partner's published EDI implementation guide for version-dependent requirements.
- Choose record owners. Decide whether your ERP, WMS or TMS owns each order, shipment and delivery status. Document where a delivery update may change a record and where it should remain informational.
- Define matching and exception rules. Test missing references, split shipments, canceled deliveries, repeated events and events arriving before the shipment record exists.
- Validate both directions. If your process sends delivery requests and receives status updates, test the outbound information and inbound events independently. Confirm business results, not merely successful transmission.
BOLD Integration is the relevant BOLD VAN service when you need mapping between EDI workflows and a platform's API. BOLD VAN supports EDI-to-API and API-to-EDI patterns across ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle ERP, Infor CloudSuite and others, WMS systems such as ShipHero and others, TMS systems such as Oracle TMS and others and e-commerce platforms such as Shopify and others. The actual GoLocal design still depends on Walmart's documentation and your system versions.
Pitfalls and best practices
Do not assume one delivery equals one order
A single order may be fulfilled in parts, and a delivery request may change. Test the relationship among order, shipment and package records before choosing a matching rule. An ambiguous match should become an exception rather than update an unrelated order.
Preserve event history
Plan for duplicate, late and out-of-sequence events. Compare each incoming update with the current state and retain the source information needed to investigate a discrepancy. If your team needs to reprocess a failed handoff, it should know which business action has already happened.
Keep partner rules distinct from internal visibility
Your operations team may want more delivery detail than an EDI partner requests. Maintain internal delivery statuses without assuming they belong in an 856 or 214. This distinction helps reduce the risk of chargebacks tied to incorrect or late partner documents, an industry problem that delivery visibility alone cannot resolve.
When a trading partner changes its requirements, BOLD VAN updates the map, and minor changes are typically handled at no cost. Every document is tracked in the portal, where customers can search, requeue and report, with notifications when something needs their attention. For a new mapping project, new maps are typically ready to test in about two days. You should still allow time for your own end-to-end testing and any partner approval.
Questions to resolve before launch
Ask your team to show one complete path from an EDI order to its fulfillment record, delivery reference and final status. Then ask what happens when a reference is absent, a delivery is canceled or the same update arrives again. Those cases reveal whether your mapping is operationally useful.
If you are evaluating a managed approach, BOLD VAN can help define the EDI and platform handoffs while your team keeps ownership of business decisions. For an existing workflow that needs delivery updates mapped into back-end systems, review BOLD Integration.
Frequently asked questions
Does Walmart GoLocal API mapping replace Walmart EDI?
No automatic replacement follows from adding delivery updates. Keep using the EDI documents required by your trading relationship and check Walmart's published EDI implementation guide for your program.
Can GoLocal delivery updates become EDI 214 messages?
They can inform a carrier status workflow if your trading partner requires X12 214 Transportation Carrier Shipment Status Messages. Confirm the recipient, transaction version, permitted statuses and timing in that partner's published EDI implementation guide before mapping them.
How do you match a delivery update to the right ERP order?
Choose stable references shared across the order, shipment and delivery records. Test split shipments and missing references, and send ambiguous matches for review instead of updating an unrelated order.
What should you test before launching GoLocal and EDI integration?
Test a normal delivery, multiple packages, cancellations, duplicate events, late events and unmatched references. Verify the resulting business status and exception handling in your ERP, WMS or TMS.
