Every industry has a name you can’t leave out of the conversation. Basketball has Jordan. Animation has Pixar. Retail has Walmart, the Superbowl of retail!
That kind of status doesn’t come easy, and it doesn’t stay easy either. To keep it, Walmart sets a high bar for the partners it works with. Advantage Solutions knows exactly how important that bar is, and we built our approach to meet it.
Advantage Solutions Named Verified Service Provider for Walmart
Advantage Solutions has just been named a Verified Service Provider (VSP) for Walmart, a status reserved for a select group of third-party partners that have a proven track record of service performance across all of our end-to-end services. Additionally, we have completed security, compliance, and data governance vetting. It’s a distinction that gives Advantage direct, verified access to Scintilla, Walmart’s massive internal first-party data engine.
Within that same VSP status, Advantage also holds a distinction of being a preferred Merchandising Service Provider (MSP). That combination gives Advantage a rare position, the ability to work directly with Walmart’s data on one end, and directly in stores on the other. Data analysis, in-store execution, and everything connecting them all run through one partner.
Curious what VSP status could mean for your brand? Connect with our Walmart team to learn more.
“Our mission within this verification status is to be Walmart’s most trusted VSP, delivering end-to-end solutions that support both Walmart and our clients,” said Dave Peacock, CEO of Advantage Solutions. “This kind of scale and expertise doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of decades of hard work across every corner of our business. VSP status confirms what we’ve always known: Walmart sees Advantage Solutions the same way we see ourselves, as the partner capable of doing it all.”
Our Advantage at Walmart
Northwest Arkansas is where Walmart got its start, and where its headquarters still stands today. It’s also home to over 250 Advantage Solutions teammates dedicated to Walmart alone. But our commitment doesn’t stop at the Arkansas state line. Nationwide, more than 5,500 Advantage teammates support Walmart in some capacity, helping manage over $36 billion in retail sales, including $7 billion in headquarter sales handled directly by Advantage. That kind of scale, backed by teammates on the ground in every market, is exactly the model Walmart’s business demands.
Beyond VSP status, Advantage also serves as Walmart’s Demo Agency of Record, servicing all in-store sampling, demos, and Online Pickup and Delivery (OPD) sampling; another layer of capability no other partner can match. Data, stores, sampling, and service make up that full spectrum, and that’s what it takes to be a total partner, one that helps our brand clients win at Walmart, and Walmart win with its shoppers.
Brands Reap the Benefit
One partner across the full path to purchase means fewer handoffs and one unified strategy. Advantage’s cross-functional teams, including field reps, sales and category managers, and analysts, are dedicated to Walmart, working from that same strategy at every level of the organization. That structure is backed by continuous investment in the tools, training, and technology that keep execution sharp as Walmart’s business evolves. For a brand, that translates into one point of accountability across headquarter sales, category management, retail merchandising, digital commerce, experiential activation, and in-store execution.
“Our teams are in it every day, at headquarters, in the stores, and everywhere in between,” said Dwayne Drummonds, Senior Vice President of Advantage’s Walmart Team. “When a brand works with us, they’re not managing five different partners with five different priorities. They’re working with one team that already knows how Walmart operates, and we use that to move faster and deliver growth for them.”
Solutions Across the Entire Path to Purchase
Other partners hold VSP status too, but Advantage is the only agency across every solution along the path to purchase, from headquarter sales to in-store execution. Not most of them, every single one. Interested in speaking to someone who can help you identify which solutions work for your needs? Reach out today.
Headquarter Sales
Our team sits directly in front of Walmart’s buying organization, managing the relationship at the corporate level and building growth strategies tied to Walmart’s priorities and supplier goals. That seat translates into real access: identifying opportunities to drive sales, strengthening supplier connectivity, and giving brands a direct line into how decisions actually get made. The approach flexes where a brand is; tailored solutions for emerging brands look different than what an established brand needs.
Category Advisorship
This role is built on being a trusted advisor, not just another supplier. Data-driven insights shape assortment decisions and maximize distribution across the category, turning shelf performance and market data into action. Line reviews get tied to real milestones and category goals, positioning a brand as a partner in growing the category rather than just another name on the shelf.
Replenishment & Supply Chain
Staying in stock is won or lost long before an item hits the shelf. Tight coordination across forecasting, demand planning, and fulfillment, backed by root cause analysis and actionable supply chain recommendations, catches problems before they become empty shelves. OTIF tracking flags breakdowns early, protecting sales that would otherwise disappear to an out-of-stock.
Digital Commerce
A product’s digital shelf is often the first shelf a shopper sees. Clean item setup, strong content and imagery, and ongoing digital shelf optimization decide how that product shows up in search and whether it converts once a shopper lands on the page. Marketplace and brand shop management keep the presence accurate and competitive as Walmart’s digital experience changes.
Retail Media
Owning great content only gets a brand so far if no one sees it. Our partnership with Walmart Connect is the paid layer on top: sponsored search and digital advertising that put a brand in front of shoppers at the exact moment they’re searching or browsing, whether that’s on Walmart.com or off platform. It’s a different lever than organic digital shelf work, buying visibility and measuring the return rather than optimizing what’s already there.
Modular Development
Filling space is the easy part. A planogram takes a full merchandising strategy behind it, from creation through analysis, and pre- and post-analysis confirms what’s actually working once it’s live. Space-to-sales analysis flags gaps before they cost a brand its shelf presence. Our experienced Modular Development Team is drawing modulars across multiple categories in Walmart today.
Deduction Management
Every supplier relationship runs on financial and administrative work that rarely gets noticed but always gets felt. Managing and recovering deductions protects margin, covering shortage claims, pricing claims, overages, demo claims, and rejected EDI claims. It’s the ongoing management that keeps a partnership healthy even when no one’s watching the shelf.
Retail Merchandising
Strategy upstream only matters if the shelf holds up. Maintaining on-shelf availability and executing merchant-driven promotions is where a plan proves itself, covering pack-out and merchandising, pop placement, and audits and surveys. Catching issues here, before they reach the point of purchase, is what turns a plan into sales. Our Retail Merchandising solutions are completely customized, leveraging data driven deployment to maximize the physical and digital shelf.
Experiential & Sampling Activation
Nothing sells a product like putting it in a shopper’s hand. In-store demonstrations and pickup and delivery sampling drive trial, build brand awareness, and create real shopper engagement, especially around new item launches and promotional events. Those moments also generate consumer feedback and performance insights a brand can act on.
Connect With Our Walmart Team Today
Advantage’s Verified Service Provider status and full spectrum of solutions mean there’s a direct path for your brand to grow at Walmart, and it starts with a conversation. Connect with one of our dedicated Walmart teammates to complete a full assessment of your business and identify exactly where the opportunity is. From there, we’ll map a plan around your goals, backed by the same team, tools, and Walmart access this partnership runs on.
Reach out to learn more and connect with our team today.
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