Walmart's Tech, One Activist's Fight

Podcast Summary

• Effective communication in business and life: Strong communication skills are crucial for business success and addressing challenges through effective communication and strategic decision-making.

  Effective communication skills are essential in business and life, and the Think Fast, Talk Smart podcast offers valuable insights from experts on how to hone these skills. In the business world, the importance of strong communication was highlighted in a developing activist fight between Disney and Trion Fund Management. Nelson Peltz, Trion's founder, sought a seat on Disney's board, but Disney was not interested. Instead, they announced the appointment of Nike chairman Mark Parker as their new chairman. The financial struggles of Disney over the past few years, including a significant decrease in operating income and stock price, have made this a topic of great interest for investors. Disney's efforts to rectify these issues by changing leadership and bringing in experienced executives like Parker demonstrate the importance of addressing business challenges through effective communication and strategic decision-making.

• Disney Addresses Investor Concerns with New Leadership and Changes: Disney responds to investor pressure by bringing in new leadership, increasing transparency, and making changes to address concerns around executive compensation and efficiencies, particularly in relation to their streaming services.

  Disney is bringing in new leadership and external perspectives to help navigate their business transitions and address concerns around executive compensation and efficiencies, particularly in relation to their streaming services. Activist investor Nelson Peltz, who has been engaging with Disney for some time, is pushing for greater transparency and representation on the board. While Peltz's stake in Disney is relatively small, his concerns align with those of many investors regarding the company's financial performance and executive compensation. Disney, acknowledging the need for improvement, has brought on Mark Parker as a new board member and made changes to the CEO structure. Peltz's firm has expressed a desire to observe the board rather than sit on it, suggesting a potential resolution to the situation. Overall, Disney is addressing investor concerns and working to improve its business operations.

• Disney's Past Leadership and Current Initiatives: Disney's past leadership under Bob Iger set the stage for current initiatives like the Fox acquisition and Disney Plus. Shareholders want more profitability and transparency from Disney Plus, while Walmart continues to expand beyond retail with tech deals like Salesforce.

  Bob Iger's leadership at Disney played a significant role in setting the stage for the company's current initiatives, including the acquisition of Fox and the move into streaming through Disney Plus. His successor, Bob Chapek, was left to implement these strategies, which may have contributed to any perceived failures on his part. As a shareholder, I would like to see Disney acknowledge past mistakes and focus on making Disney Plus more profitable and being more transparent about future monetization strategies. Regarding Walmart, the tech deal with Salesforce is a continuation of the company's existing strategy to offer business services, such as Go Local and Store Assist. While it may not be groundbreaking news, it shows Walmart's continued effort to expand beyond its traditional retail offerings. Overall, both Disney and Walmart are facing challenges and will continue to evolve in response to changing market conditions.

• Walmart partners with Salesforce to expand technology infrastructure and fulfillment network to Salesforce's enterprise customers: Walmart and Salesforce partner to integrate Walmart's services into Salesforce's platform, improving user experience for businesses and aiding Walmart's efforts to leverage resources and compete in e-commerce market.

  Walmart is expanding the use of its technology infrastructure and fulfillment network by partnering with Salesforce to make their services more accessible to Salesforce's enterprise customers. This move is part of Walmart's larger transition to maximize the value of its existing assets, rather than bringing something entirely new to the table. The partnership aims to improve the user experience for businesses by integrating Walmart's services into Salesforce's platform. While this may not have a significant impact on either company in the short term, it is an important step in Walmart's efforts to leverage its resources and compete in the e-commerce market. Additionally, the upcoming earnings season and holiday retail results will provide insight into Walmart's performance during the season of heavy consumer spending.

• Automating freight brokerage with technology: RXO Connect streamlines freight brokerage by combining strong relationships with technology to help carriers be more efficient and connect them with potential business opportunities, benefiting both shippers and carriers.

  RXO Connect, an automated smart system in the freight brokerage business, combines strong relationships with technology to create efficiency and connect carriers with potential business opportunities. Historically, freight brokerage was a relational business, but RXO Connect uses technology to help carriers be more efficient by finding their way home and connecting them with shippers they might not otherwise reach. This benefits both parties by helping shippers meet demand cost-effectively and allowing carriers to better utilize their time and assets. Additionally, RXO Connect serves many industrial sector clients, including some Fortune 100 and 500 companies, who are currently dealing with inventory issues due to the pandemic. This situation highlights the importance of RXO Connect's role in helping shippers clear excess inventory and providing carriers with more opportunities for business. Overall, the platform creates a more efficient transportation market by connecting shippers and carriers electronically and helping both parties optimize their resources.

• Building long-term relationships with carriers: RXO's success hinges on strong carrier relationships, which are fostered through access to a larger customer base and improved operational efficiency, ultimately benefiting both parties and ensuring capacity and market responsiveness.

  RXO's success relies heavily on its strong relationships with carriers in the transportation industry. With a fragmented industry and a large number of truckers and small businesses, creating loyalty among these carriers is crucial for RXO. The company's platform provides access to a wider customer base for these small businesses, improving their efficiency and capacity utilization. This, in turn, helps them offer better customer service to their own customers, ultimately benefiting RXO as well. By providing access to a larger customer base and enhancing their operational efficiency, RXO builds long-term relationships with carriers, ensuring access to capacity and the ability to react quickly to market changes.

• RXO's carrier rewards program benefits small carriers: RXO's extensive carrier network and rewards program offer small carriers cost savings and flexibility, making it an attractive choice for shippers dealing with fluctuating demand.

  RXO's carrier rewards program is a significant advantage for small carriers, enabling them to operate more cost-effectively through bulk purchasing power. With over 100,000 carrier relationships, RXO offers an extensive capacity equivalent to about 1,500,000 trailers, making it an attractive choice for shippers dealing with fluctuating demand. This flexibility and responsiveness, coupled with the rewards program, contribute to RXO's strong relationships with carriers and a high percentage of returning clients. As a result, RXO is well-positioned to capitalize on market trends in the brokerage industry.