Walmart wants a bite of DoorDash and Uber Eats

Walmart plans to offer delivery from most of the 10,000 Dunkin' locations in the US.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images Walmart is taking on DoorDash and Uber Eats with a new restaurant delivery partnership.

The retailer will start delivering from Dunkin' locations, it said on Thursday.

Walmart already has a massive delivery workforce.

It's trying to use them to deliver even more.

Walmart wants to use its legion of delivery workers to take a bite out of DoorDash and Uber Eats.

The big-box chain struck a food-delivery partnership with Inspire Brands-owned Dunkin' that will start with 150 locations in Walmart stores and expand to most of the 10,000 Dunkin' locations across the US, Walmart said on Thursday.

Walmart is moving onto turf long dominated by DoorDash and Uber Eats, both of which already work with Dunkin'.

The retail giant's push into restaurant delivery marks a significant evolution of its business model: Rather than simply using its vast store network and Spark drivers to deliver its own merchandise, the company is positioning itself as a broader local-commerce platform.

"By expanding restaurant delivery beyond our stores, we are offering a value and convenience proposition that is unmatched," said Greg Cathey, Walmart's senior vice president, e-commerce fulfillment transformation, in a press release.

On Thursday, it described itself as "a rapidly emerging contender in the restaurant delivery business." Walmart will face stiff competition from established services with built-in brand recognition and operational experience.

Those delivery players, meanwhile, are trying to expand their reach and improve efficiency.

Uber's proposed $14.8 billion acquisition of Delivery Hero would expand the company's international reach, from Latin America to Asia.

And DoorDash is making deliveries using self-driving robots — sometimes with a little help from humans.