Dive Brief: 

• Walmart is changing its marketing strategy to include providing marketing tools and media buying services to its suppliers. 
• The retail giant recently met with 200 of its biggest suppliers to discuss Walmart Exchange (WMX), a digital targeting, buying, and optimization platform. 
• Through WMX, suppliers will now be able to track their marketing through Walmart, including sales, social media data, and spending plans. 

Dive Insight: 

With Walmart's size and scope, it is certainly sitting on a gold mine of information that suppliers could find attractive. If Walmart's plans to buy media for suppliers is successful, it could set a precedent for other big retailers or corporations and we could see more of these types of marketing relationships.