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BENTONVILLE, Ark. — More than 150 Walmart officials mingled with representatives from key suppliers at the July 10 grand opening of a state-of-the-art facility hailed as "a place where Walmart and suppliers can plan the future."
More than 150 Walmart officials mingled with representatives from key suppliers at the July 10 grand opening of a state-of-the-art facility hailed as "a place where Walmart and suppliers can plan the future."
The 18,500-square-foot Crossmark Center for Collaboration was built near Walmart’s corporate headquarters here. Its developer is Crossmark Inc., a Plano, Texas, provider of services and technology to suppliers of consumer packaged goods.
"If you can create a place where the right people from both Walmart and the suppliers can collaborate, we will take care of our mutual customer — the Walmart shopper and Sam’s Club member," Mike Graen, Crossmark’s vice president for collaboration, said at the opening ceremony.
Graen and others touted the collaborative possibilities presented by the new center, which features several conference rooms, video technology to recreate the retail experience, a presentation kitchen designed to shed light on how consumers use food products and a "solutions center" for on-shelf availability and consumer research.
"This center facilitates collaborative discussions in close proximity to Walmart, with rooms intended for joint business planning, product presentations, virtual modulars and the facilitation of innovative ideas," said Crossmark chief executive officer Ben Fischer.
