How to Ensure a Smooth Transition from DSS to Luminate™
Walmart has decided to phase out its long-standing Decision Support System (DSS) and transition to Walmart Luminate™. This change marks a significant shift in how Walmart and its suppliers will manage and utilize data.
What is DSS?
DSS is a computer program that organizes and analyzes large amounts of data with the objective of helping the user make better decisions.
Walmart’s DSS, which is found in Walmart’s Retail Link®, can produce a wide variety of reports to help with analyses, decisions, and plans of action for suppliers. A supplier chooses from several DSS templates to build the report. Sales and Margin, Company Summary, Store Detail, and Market Basket Analysis are just some of the valuable templates that are available.
For many years, Walmart suppliers have depended on DSS to provide data about critical aspects of their business — sales, inventory, forecasting, invoicing, and more. Moving to any new system is always both challenging and unsettling. When that change involves the heart of a business, it can be downright scary.
“As someone deeply entrenched in the world of DSS for the past 17 years,” says Heather Reid, Walmart Luminate™ instructor for 8th & Walton, “adapting to the new era with Luminate™ hasn’t been without its challenges. But even with the initial hurdles, the potential of this innovative tool is becoming increasingly clear.”
What is Luminate™?
Like DSS, Walmart Luminate™ is a reporting tool that offers Walmart suppliers valuable reports about their Walmart business. Its objective is to unite suppliers with their buyers and account managers all on one platform so that business planning is smoother and ultimately results are better. It provides sales data (in-store and online pickup and delivery) as well as customer shopping insights.
Here is Walmart’s Academy in Retail Link® where you can find out about Walmart Luminate™.
Walmart Luminate™ is not replacing Walmart’s Retail Link®; it is simply replacing the Decision Support System (DSS) within Retail Link®. Walmart suppliers will still use Retail Link® for applications, communications, and other tools outside of sales reporting.
The reason Walmart is moving to Luminate™ is because it believes Luminate™ is a more responsive and better-equipped platform for today’s complex retail environment. (Retail LInk® was developed over 25 years ago, long before omnichannel was a reality, and DSS has been part of it for decades.)
There are two versions of Walmart Luminate™: Basic and Charter. Luminate™ Basic is free and offers many but not all of what was once available through DSS. Luminate™ Charter is a paid platform and provides more information.
What should a supplier do to make the transition smooth?
Reports delivered through DSS will need to be rebuilt in Luminate™. Approach this realistically. Recognize that reports are not automatically or easily moved from DSS to Luminate™. Some DSS reports will not be available in Luminate™ at all. Others (if not most) will require rebuilding from the ground up.
First, prepare a list of all your current DSS reports. Next, review that list thoroughly and honestly. Which reports are you actually using — and how are you using them? Scrutinize each report to determine if you truly need it, if you really use it, if it in fact is valuable. Hone the number of reports you regularly prepare to those that have real significance to your business.
Before you begin rebuilding reports, you need to know if your company will be using Luminate™ Basic or if they have purchased Luminate™ Charter. (The user does not necessarily make this decision; the company does.)
To help prepare you for the transition, you have two options:
Option 1: Attend Walmart’s free instruction; then conduct your own research
Walmart periodically schedules Zoom sessions to walk suppliers through the fundamentals of Luminate™. Session dates are posted on Retail Link®. Here is the link to Walmart’s Report Builder Basic Live Training.
The presenter demonstrates some of the basics of both versions (Basic and Charter) and provides updates of the latest changes to the system. A proctor collects questions from attendees, and (as time allows) the questions with the broadest appeal are answered for everyone to hear.
You already know the pitfalls to doing research on your own: not setting aside time to make learning happen, not knowing where to find what you need, having nowhere to go with questions, a slow learning curve. The plus of going it alone? There is no out-of-pocket cost.
Options 2: Find a reliable source to help you through this transition
There are a few companies teaching Luminate™. If you go this route, find a reputable company that has experienced advisors who have your best interest in mind.
FAQs About Luminate™
Exactly when is Luminate™ going into effect for all Walmart suppliers?
The transition has started; it is happening in waves. As of this writing, there is no precise date for everyone. Categories are transitioning to Luminate™ at different times.
How will I know when DSS is ending for my category?
Walmart alerts suppliers to the date it will be cutting off DSS for a category well in advance of its happening.
Will all my current DSS reports be available in Luminate™?
Luminate™ is different from DSS. Not all reports or data will be available. It is likely that you will have to build some reports from scratch. That is why it is important to review your existing DSS reports to determine exactly what is truly needed, used, and important. Building new reports takes time, so keep the number you need to build to a minimum.
Why are there so many changes to Luminate™?
Walmart wants Luminate™ to be a terrific system and is working to assure that it is. The team behind Luminate™ is listening to suppliers, learning from them, and making changes in order to make it work better and faster for suppliers. Expect frequent updates to Luminate™.
What’s happening to Retail Link®? Is that going away, too?
You will still use Retail Link® for many things. All that’s moving is DSS. All the reports you currently receive will need to be recreated in Walmart Luminate™.
How can I stay on top of all things Luminate™? It’s overwhelming sometimes!
As this transition rolls out, be sure to read your Walmart notices, emails, and other correspondence. 8th & Walton has developed Luminate™ Hub LINK which may help you, too.
How can 8th & Walton help?
8th & Walton can lead you smoothly through the transition from DSS to Luminate™ Basic. We have two options for Walmart suppliers who need to learn and use Luminate™ Basic: Luminate™ Fundamentals (a class) and 2-Hour Luminate™ Consultation (an advisory service).
Luminate™ Fundamentals
This is a half-day class on Zoom that is taught by an expert who knows the topic well and has had years of experience with Walmart systems. The number of attendees is limited (usually a maximum of ten), and the students appreciate the chance to talk directly with the instructor and get answers from someone in the know.
In this class, attendees also learn how to construct new reports in Luminate™ using the most current guidelines. This is very valuable information because converting a DSS report into a Luminate™ report does not happen easily, and updates to Luminate™ happen very often.
“Since the announcement of DSS sunsetting and the gradual rollout of Luminate™, each passing month has brought about significant updates and improvements. These updates have been crucial in aligning Luminate™ more closely with our familiar reporting frameworks,” says Reid.
Rebuilding DSS reports into Luminate™ reports is a complex process:
- Terms are used differently in both
- New terms are introduced in Luminate™
- Column headings in Luminate™ have different meanings from those in DSS
- Reports cannot be directly transferred from DSS to Luminate™
- It is not an apples-to-new-apples conversion
Learning how to correctly rebuild existing reports is crucial. Guidance from an 8th & Walton expert with extensive experience with Walmart systems has been a life-saver for many suppliers.
2-Hour Luminate™ Consultation
This advisory service is customized for each suppliers’ particular needs. 8th & Walton experts with decades of experience with Walmart systems guide a supplier team through the process of rebuilding its three most critical reports. This is all done in strict confidence.
8th & Walton also has set up LLuminate Hub LINK to help Walmart suppliers. To learn more about the Luminate™ Fundamentals class or any 8th & Walton class, contact us for more information.
