Walmart is making a power move in global logistics — and it could be a game-changer for sellers who know how to take advantage of it. For the first time, Walmart Cross-Border will move full-container ocean freight straight from Vietnam’s ports in Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong directly into Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) facilities in the United States.
On paper, it’s just another shipping route. But in reality, this is Walmart planting a flag in one of the fastest-growing manufacturing hubs in the world. If you’ve been sourcing from Vietnam, or thinking about it, your products just got a faster, cleaner, and more direct path into the American market. And if you’re still sourcing mostly from China, this might be the nudge you need to start spreading your risk.
Vietnam Steps Into the Spotlight
For years, Walmart’s cross-border network has leaned heavily on China. The major origin points were all there — Yantian, Ningbo, Shanghai, Qingdao, Xiamen. That made sense when China was the undisputed manufacturing powerhouse, but the supply chain world is changing fast. Trade tensions, new tariffs, and rising labor costs have pushed many brands to diversify their production footprint.
Enter Vietnam. Over the past decade, Vietnam has been quietly building a reputation as a manufacturing powerhouse in its own right. Competitive labor costs, growing infrastructure, and trade agreements with major markets have made it a magnet for companies looking to reduce their dependency on China. Big names like HP and Boot Barn have already ramped up production there. Now, Walmart is giving its sellers a way to plug directly into that same network — with fewer middlemen, fewer delays, and more control over their inventory flow.
How It Works (Without the Jargon)
Here’s the beauty of it: the process is simple. Sellers can now load a full container in Vietnam — from either Ho Chi Minh City or Hai Phong — and ship it straight into Walmart’s U.S. fulfillment network. Once the container lands, the inventory is ready for sale on Walmart.com. But that’s not all. Through Walmart’s Multichannel Solutions program, the same stock can also be used to fulfill orders from other platforms like Amazon, Shein, and Temu.
That means sellers can operate from a single pool of inventory while selling across multiple channels — all without splitting shipments or paying for separate fulfillment streams. It cuts down on lead times, reduces handling, and keeps products moving toward customers instead of sitting in a warehouse overseas. In a market where speed matters as much as price, that’s a competitive edge worth noting.
Walmart’s Timing Is No Accident
This move isn’t happening in a vacuum — Walmart is dropping this new shipping option right before the most chaotic retail period of the year: the holiday season. And to make it even more attractive, they’re offering a couple of incentives that could add up to real savings for sellers who act fast.
First, from October 1 to December 31, Walmart is waiving its peak storage surcharge. Normally, WFS charges $1.50 per cubic foot for items that sit longer than 30 days during the peak season. That extra fee? Gone for the holidays. Second, sellers who book Multichannel Fulfillment before October 1 will get a 30% discount on those services. That’s money back in your pocket at a time when every dollar counts.
If you’re moving large quantities of inventory for the holiday rush, this could mean hundreds — even thousands — in savings. More importantly, it gives you the flexibility to stage inventory ahead of demand without stressing about extra storage costs.
What This Means for Your Supply Chain
Let’s zoom out. This new Vietnam route isn’t just another dot on the logistics map — it’s a signal that the supply chain industry is becoming more decentralized. For sellers, this opens up several strategic advantages.
First, it reduces your exposure to any single-country risks. A port closure, a policy change, or a trade dispute in one country won’t hit you as hard if your sourcing is spread out. Second, it gives you access to competitive manufacturing markets where production costs might be lower. And third, it lets you respond faster to demand spikes because your inventory is already moving on a reliable route into one of the largest retail ecosystems in the world.
In an industry where a single delay can throw off weeks of sales projections, having more than one reliable lane is like having a backup generator for your business. It’s not just about cost — it’s about resilience.
The Bigger Picture
At Impact-O-Graph, we watch these kinds of moves closely because they signal where the future of shipping is headed. Walmart’s expansion into Vietnam isn’t just about moving goods more efficiently — it’s about building resilience into the supply chain. The companies that get ahead of these shifts, that diversify their sourcing and lock in smart, flexible shipping lanes, are the ones that stay competitive when the market gets unpredictable.
And here’s where our world connects to yours: every new route, every new port, every new leg of the supply chain is another opportunity to track, monitor, and protect your products from origin to final delivery. Whether it’s measuring impact during transit, tracking environmental conditions, or making sure your goods arrive exactly as intended, our technology is built for a global shipping landscape that’s constantly evolving.
Walmart’s Vietnam corridor is a sign of the times — and a reminder that the smartest supply chains aren’t just fast. They’re built to adapt.
