BENTONVILLE, AR - We’re heading into one of the busiest times of the year for retailers across the nation, and grocery operations are stacking their deck with new partners in order to succeed. Walmart most recently announced its plans to acquire JoyRun, a last-mile delivery app that will ultimately bolster Walmart’s supply chain operation.

"This acquisition allows us to further augment our team and ongoing efforts to explore even more ways to deliver for customers in the future. For instance, Runners could complement our SPARK program and 3rd Party delivery providers," Srini Venkatesan, Executive Vice President at Walmart Global Tech, wrote in a post on LinkedIn.

The acquisition includes the platform, intellectual property, and staff of JoyRun, all of which was purchased for an undisclosed sum. According to Venkatesan, the app has 30,000 users and roughly 540 retail partners.

When the deal closes—which is expected within a few weeks—Walmart will temporarily shut down the app while it assesses the intellectual property and business model. The app will then be relaunched, and a Walmart spokesperson said that it could be different from the original.

Grocery delivery strategies from Walmart have included drone partnerships, delivery vehicles, and more, so this acquisition is another step toward the retailer’s successful supply chain operation.

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