Introduction to Walmart’s NOVA PO Management

Learn about:

• What Walmart’s PO Management system is
• How to gain access to NOVA
• How to navigate the NOVA dashboard

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What is NOVA?

NOVA is an application within Retail Link used for purchase order creation and edits. The application is replacing all of the legacy order management systems with which suppliers might be familiar. 

The purpose of NOVA is to reduce the need for manual emails to and from Replenishment Managers, allowing suppliers to use this self-serve application for all manual PO Creation and PO Edits. 

Note: NOVA does not replace system-generated purchase orders. Walmart will still transmit those via EDI. NOVA is simply there to streamline the process of creating and editing manual purchase orders.

Furthermore, NOVA does not apply to creating and editing import and e-commerce orders to the Walmart fulfillment centers. These suppliers will still need to work with their import and e-commerce channels for manual orders.

Gaining Access to NOVA

Since NOVA resides within Retail Link, suppliers can request access using the self-service access request and then follow up with their Replenishment Manager for specific access to perform functions within NOVA.

Step 1. Self-granted “View Access”

To request access to NOVA, log in to Retail Link and click on the Apps tab. Search for “Additional Access Request” using the Filter option. If you do not see the Additional Access Request option, you will need to contact your Retail Link Site Administrator to request NOVA access.

Search for “Additional Access Request” from the Apps tab in Retail Link

Click on the “Additional Access Request” tile from the search result to open the application in a new tab. Enter the User ID, the Access Group Number 20008, and the Country. Then, submit the request with the business justification.

Additional Access Request form

Retail Link will automatically approve the request, and you should see NOVA in the Retail Link Home Apps section. It is immediate most of the time, but it may take up to 24 hours to appear.

Step 2. Request “Edit Access” from your Replenishment Manager

Once you have completed the access request, you will still need to contact your Replenishment Manager to request “Edit Access.” This specific request will allow you to perform the necessary tasks in NOVA, such as PO Create and PO Edit. Simply email your Replenishment Manager your User ID and all of the applicable 9-digit vendor numbers assigned to your company. 

Once you have both View and Edit access, click on the NOVA panel in the Apps tab to open the application. From the NOVA home screen, you have the option to manage either Walmart or Sam’s Club purchase orders.

Finding the NOVA App

Once you have appropriate access to NOVA, navigate to the Apps tab in Retail Link and search for “NOVA” using the “Filter Apps” option. Once you locate the NOVA app, click on the star icon to bookmark this application on your Retail Link homepage. 

Search for NOVA in the Apps menu of Retail Link

When you first log into NOVA, you have a choice of Walmart or Sam’s Club. Click on the retailer. NOVA works with both Walmart and Sam’s to allow suppliers to manage their POs for either retailer. 

NOVA login options

NOVA Dashboard

The NOVA dashboard is the first screen that will appear when you sign in to NOVA. This screen will serve as the NOVA home destination. From here, you can move to PO Creation or PO Maintenance.

You can execute the PO Creation and PO Maintenance tasks using template uploads or pasting data directly into the User Interface. 

The NOVA dashboard contains several useful elements to make your tasks easier. 

• NOVA logo: This icon will return you to the NOVA dashboard/home page.
• Search functions: You can quickly search by inputting the PO, STO, or WO number.
• Kebab menu: Clicking on the three vertical dots on the right side of the page will allow you to change the company selection and sign out of the NOVA application.
• Template downloads: Click the Template link to download the PO Creation or PO Maintenance templates.
• Task submission view: The list displays the tasks and job status submitted by the user.

NOVA homepage or dashboard

PO Research within NOVA

You can use NOVA to find your PO, get your PO status, or pull all your POs for a specific period. You can pull a quick view of one PO or do an Advanced Search.

Search by Individual PO

You can do a simple search by keying in an existing purchase order number. This search will display all details for this purchase order. Type an existing PO number into the search field and hit the Enter key on your keyboard.

Perform a search for an individual purchase order by PO, STO, or WO number

The results screen will show you all relevant details for this purchase order, as seen in the below screenshot.

PO details for selected purchase order

Advanced Search

To perform a more detailed search, click on the Advanced Search button at the top right of this page. This screen will allow you to enter specific search criteria.

Advanced search options

The Advanced Search options are:

• Item number
• 6-digit vendor number
• 9-digit vendor number
• Order number
• Host number
• Receiving node (DC)
• Order header status
• Line status
• Department
• A group of order numbers and specific lines
• A group of host numbers and specific lines

After submitting the search request, NOVA will return your results along with an associated Request ID. Click on an individual Request ID to see the detailed search results. 

The results screen has two tabs: Header Results and Line Results. Header Results displays top-line information about the requested purchase orders. Line Results will give you the detailed information of each line on the PO.

Advanced Search results

In Summary

As you can see, the NOVA application is a powerful tool, allowing suppliers to take control of purchase order creation and maintenance. While the system is very intuitive, it does require a bit of practice to become well-versed. Take some time to explore the app and submit any necessary POs. And don’t worry. If you make a mistake in the PO Creation, you can always use PO Maintenance to implement any changes!

Learn more about NOVA in our articles on PO Creation and PO Maintenance.