Walmart to charge suppliers new fuel and pickup fees

Walmart cut its full-year profit outlook blaming rising costs of labor and fuel.

Walmart Inc. will charge a few of its suppliers from next month revised fees to transport goods to its warehouses and stores in the wake of the rising transportation and fuel prices, according to a memo seen by Reuters. The company will charge a "collect pickup charge" calculated as a percentage of the cost of goods received and a fuel surcharge based on the cost of fuel to transport the goods, the memo from Walmart's chief merchandising officer and chief operating officer for Walmart U.S. said.

The move comes more than a month after Walmart, the U.S's largest retailer, cut its full-year profit outlook blaming rising costs of labor and fuel. Fuel costs ran over $160 million higher than they had expected. The program is a result of Walmart adapting to the increased costs and the transformation witnessed in the transportation industry in the past few years. In June, John Furner, Walmart's U.S. CEO, informed that the company would need to pass on the costs of increased fuel or shipping to "fairly price and protect the margins where appropriate.“ He also pointed out that some suppliers were responding positively to the retailer's efforts.