In this article
Walmart last mile delivery integration connects an order and its delivery updates to the corresponding records in your ERP. You establish a dependable order reference, translate each incoming status into an agreed business meaning and retain the event history. That lets your team see which delivery is progressing, which needs review and which ERP action is appropriate.
The first decision is which Walmart program and interface your business actually uses. Walmart's Marketplace driver status documentation and its GoLocal webhook documentation describe different notification contexts. Their event formats and availability should not be treated as interchangeable. BOLD VAN can connect to a platform's API and map data into back-end systems, but the exact flow must be built against the documentation for your program and ERP version.
What the integration connects
A last mile integration joins three related records: the commercial order, the physical delivery and the status events associated with that delivery. Your ERP may own the sales order while another system manages fulfillment or delivery. The integration links those records without assuming that every delivery update should change inventory or billing.
Some workflows also include EDI. For example, an X12 850 Purchase Order may initiate a retail order process, while an X12 856 Ship Notice/Manifest describes a shipment where the partner's guide calls for it. Neither transaction automatically supplies every last mile delivery event. Check Walmart's published EDI implementation guide for your specific relationship and transaction version before selecting documents or assuming a status feed is available.
Keep delivery status separate from business completion. A delivered event may update the delivery record, but it should not automatically close every order line, post an invoice or complete a return. First verify which order and package the event describes, then apply your approved ERP rules.
How to structure order and event data
BOLD VAN recommends a simple mapping model: identify the order, identify the delivery within that order and record each status as a separate occurrence. This makes split shipments and later corrections easier to investigate. The table describes design concepts, not required Walmart fields. Confirm actual identifiers and available values in the documentation for your interface.
| Record | Information to relate | ERP handling decision |
|---|---|---|
| Order | External order reference, ERP order reference and relevant lines | Match to the correct customer order before updating it |
| Delivery | Delivery or shipment reference and related package references, if provided | Allow more than one delivery against an order when needed |
| Status event | Source reference, status meaning and event time, when available | Preserve the original event and decide whether it changes the current state |
| Exception | Unmatched reference, duplicate or unsupported status | Hold for review without changing an unrelated order |
The source event and the ERP's current status serve different purposes. The event is evidence of what the delivery system reported. The ERP status is the result of your business rules. Keeping both helps you explain why an order appears delivered even if a later return event or unresolved line still needs attention.
How to map the workflow
- Confirm the program and source. Identify whether you receive Marketplace notifications, GoLocal delivery updates or another approved feed. Read the current program documentation alongside your ERP's integration documentation.
- Agree on record ownership. Decide which system creates the order, which holds the delivery reference and which system can change fulfillment, return or billing status.
- Build a status crosswalk. For each available source status, record its meaning, the ERP state it may affect and the business owner of exceptions. A pickup update and a completed delivery should trigger different actions.
- Control repeated and late events. Compare incoming source references against previously processed events. If the interface lacks a dependable event identifier, define a documented matching rule and review ambiguous repeats rather than applying them twice.
- Test reconciliation. Compare the ERP's open deliveries against the delivery system's available records. Investigate missing updates, unmatched orders and events that arrive after an order has changed state.
BOLD VAN maps to and from ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle ERP, Infor CloudSuite and others, as well as WMS, TMS and e-commerce platforms where those systems participate in fulfillment. BOLD Integration supports EDI mapping and connections to platform APIs in both directions. The mapping still depends on the specific Walmart interface and your back-end configuration.
Pitfalls and best practices
Do not collapse all statuses into one order flag
One order can have multiple packages, and one package can generate several events. If you store only a single delivered flag, you may lose the distinction between a completed package and an unresolved one. Keep the order, delivery and event relationships visible during testing.
Separate acknowledgments from acceptance
When EDI is part of the workflow, an X12 997 Functional Acknowledgment tells the sender whether a document passed the receiver's syntax check. It can report acceptance or rejection. It does not mean the order or its content was accepted. Track business processing separately from document syntax.
Give exceptions an owner
Decide who reviews an event that lacks a matching order, arrives out of sequence or appears to conflict with a return. Retain enough source information to investigate it. For EDI documents handled by BOLD VAN, every document is tracked in the portal, where customers can search, requeue and report, with notifications when something needs their attention. Define separate review procedures for delivery events where applicable.
Before launch, test a normal delivery, a split delivery, a repeated event, an unmatched reference and a return or failed delivery supported by your program. When a trading partner changes its requirements, BOLD VAN updates the map, and minor changes are typically handled at no cost. Recheck the partner guide and repeat affected tests after any change.
Good integration gives you a defensible link between the order your ERP knows and the delivery activity another system reports. If that link is missing today, BOLD VAN can help you scope the mapping and determine whether BOLD Integration fits your existing workflow.
Frequently asked questions
What should I map from Walmart delivery updates into my ERP?
Map the available order and delivery references, status meaning and event time to the correct ERP records. The exact data depends on your Walmart program and interface, so check its current documentation and your ERP's integration documentation.
Are Walmart Marketplace driver notifications the same as GoLocal delivery webhooks?
No. They describe different integration contexts. Confirm which program your business uses before choosing an event feed or designing a status crosswalk.
How do I handle duplicate or out-of-order delivery events?
Retain the source event, check whether it was already processed and compare its meaning with the ERP's current delivery state. Hold ambiguous or conflicting events for review instead of repeating a business action.
Does an EDI 997 mean Walmart accepted my order?
No. An X12 997 Functional Acknowledgment reports whether a document passed the receiver's syntax check. It can report acceptance or rejection, but it does not confirm that the order or its content was accepted.
