Marten - Walmart Dedicated WI

Looking for any insight the good folks here could share. I’ve been doing Dollar General Dedicated in the Midwest for a few years now. I’m looking at making a move possibly to Marten’s Walmart Dedicated account out of Wisconsin. I would welcome any feedback on the Walmart dedicated account, and especially anyone who has experience with Marten. Among other things, they are offering a guaranteed weekly minimum of $1,400. That sounds great but I’m a firm believer that money isn’t everything. Also curious what other carriers in my area handle Walmart Dedicated. I’m just outside of Milwaukee, Wi, about 75 miles from Chicago. I would greatly appreciate any thoughts from the group. Thanks in advance and be safe.

Welcome, Scott. G-Town runs a Walmart dedicated account for Swift.

A quick entry into the search bar above produced these results:

The scoop via G-Town

Welcome Scott...

The link Turtle sent is rather comprehensive (Thanks "T" for picking me up on this).

I've been running Walmart for many years now and really enjoy the account. Although it's definitely not for everyone, your Dollar General experience will enable safe and efficient passage in and out of the stores.

A few things to keep in mind:

- Walmart, not the carrier determines the operational aspect of outbound DC loads destined for stores or Sams. The operation is basically the same no matter the carrier. Each carrier has their own specific contract with he DC, that include performance SLA's. On Walmart it's all about delivery completion at the end of each shift.

- It's a hustle. Each dispatch can have up to 5 different store stops consolidated on one trailer. Especially true for reefer if the DC you are Dedicated to is a grocery/perishables center. Most of the Walmart loads are live unload, with the possible exception of the last store stop for a non-perishable grocery load, many times a drop and hook.

- 30-35% of the time you'll be assigned a vendor back haul as your return leg back to the DC. Since you are likely paid stop pay, back hauls are usually easy money. Most back hauls are drop and hook and even better Walmart many times has priority and gets serviced quickly. The longest I've ever waited for a live load to be completed was 2 hours.

- Expect to average a 12+ hour day, many times encroaching on the 14 hour daily on-duty clock. Delays do occur on dock-out times, pushing the clock. That said, never put yourself on-duty until you've been dispatched. That said, I've usually burned 62 or more hours by the 6th day of dispatch; unless your assignment is dramatically different the 34 hour reset is invoked and will cover your day-off on the 7th day.

- Really important to realize that Walmart is the customer, and you'll need to conduct yourself with professionalism and finesse' when you are interacting with store and DC personnel. The rapport you build with them can either make or break you...please trust me when I say this; "they don't typically care how long it takes to unload their pallets from your trailer". Treating them with respect and gratitude will enable their memory of you in a positive light. Over time this will enhance your ability to "get-in" and "get-out" in a timely fashion. This is key to maximizing your compensation.

- Not trying to shed a negative light on the $1,400 weekly "guarantee", but this account is all about performance. If you find yourself frequently "tapping" that as a "fall-back", someone will likely have a chat with you about under-performing and reinforce expectations. Like I said, you gotta hustle. Not hurried, but maximizing your available time.

- This is a no-touch assignment. Although we are not expected to assist with unloading, I do in the event of a toppled pallet. I help re-stack for two reasons; it expedites departure and it's a good-will gesture the unloaders remember.

Here is a blog article I wrote describing my first 6 months running Walmart...I think it applies to any driver, experienced or otherwise to understand the demands of this account.

Freedom of Trucking

Good luck!