Taking a Look at Walmart's Supply Chain Management System

3214 Words7 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Walmart's corporate strategies

1. Nature of the Business Environment Wal-Mart delivers a wide variety of goods at competitive prices to add value and low cost its costs, making it the strongest company in the retail sector. Over the years, Wal-Mart has attracted the attention of many analysts because of its huge international success and its ability to target a wide demographic of shoppers. Wal-Mart is a discount retailor founded by Sam Walton in 1962. This Company has grown to be a retail giant with over 11,000 stores worldwide from Canada, Brazil, Argentina, UK, and China. When Walton initially founded Wal-Mart, his business strategy was to make everyday products available to ordinary consumers at affordable prices. Wal-Mart’s business strategy still remains the same: its main goal is to provide its customers with what they want, when they want it, and where they want it. This convenience is what made Wal-Mart an internationally recognized brand. Wal-Mart is a huge retail powerhouse that is able to maintain its competitive edge by cutting costs and maximizing shareholder wealth. Wal-Mart’s strength is derived from its in-depth and diverse supply chain that has been recognized as one of the best business management control systems. The company competes by providing low prices made possible through comprehensive supply lines that allow managers to shop around for the cheapest prices when determining what goods should fill store shelves. Wal-Mart’s ability to efficiently use supply chain management has given them a competitive advantage over their competitors such as: Target, Costco, Kmart, Real Canadian Superstore, Dollarama, etc. All of these rival firms have similar corporate structures to Wal-Mart’s - Costco is a warehouse store offering wholesale... ... middle of paper ... ...ayout, promotions, and inventory supplied. Wal-Mart needs to put its website on the same platform as it supply chain management. Wal-Mart is starting to make a come around by completing user surveys. It has recently refurbished its website for the holiday season, redesigning the layout and increasing the amount of products offered. Moreover, it has recently offered free shipping with a no-minimum order amount. Wal-Mart’s supply chain management system needs to ensure that not only are its individual stores having the required inventories but the designated online shopping warehouses are also having them to meet the demands of online shoppers. As with any managerial accounting tool, businesses are always looking to continuously pursue perfection in the business process. Wal-Mart is no different in continuously looking to improve its supply chain management system.

Show More
Related

  • Is Wal-Mart Bad For America?

    1169 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wal-Mart was conceived and founded by Sam Walton in 1962, at Rogers, Arkansas. Sam Walton started with just a few small variety stores, funded with borrowed money. His goal was to provide affordable products to the public to make life easier. After his success with the first few stores, Sam Walton borrowed more money to build more stores, creating the Wal-Mart empire as we see it today. The retail giant proves its stoic presence in our lives with its $401 billion sales for fiscal year 2009.

    Read More

  • Is Walmart Good For America Case Study

    707 Words  | 2 Pages

    With the ability to control its stock and see at a glance how any store is performing, Wal-Mart is able to keep its finger on the pulse of its business and make critical adjustments as necessary. The low transportation costs it achieves with its own transportation system makes it possible to deliver goods to different stores within or under 48 hours, and transportation costs are only 3% of the total costs, as compared with 5% for their competitors ("Wal-Mart 's Supply Chain Management Practices: The Benefits Reaped"). Its advanced methods of transport, This combination of technology and down-home attention to customers as people makes Wal-Mart hard to beat on any soil, and it uses the winning formula to maximum advantage.

    Read More

  • Wal-Mart: Good for American Cities and Towns

    1354 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wal-Mart has been a staple of America since July 2, 1962, when Sam Walton opened the first Wal-Mart Discount City store. Within a few years, Wal-Mart Discount City stores began to spread across the country. In 1968, it opened its first stores outside Arkansas, in Sikeston, Missouri and Claremore, Oklahoma. Sam Walton found success in offering consumers options and variety. Since that first store opened, Wal-Mart has now entered the grocery business and now the company controls about 20% of the retail grocery and consumables business. This says a lot about a man who began his retail career after working just 18 months at J.C Penny. Sam Walton found success early on with offering variety, and options when no one else was.

    Read More

  • What Is The Walmart Effect Essay

    965 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first Wal-Mart was opened in 1962 by Sam Walton. His idea was to sell everyday item slightly cheaper than anyone else and have them available all the time. That simple idea was intensely focused on year after year until Wal-Mart became the largest store on the planet. To do so Wal-Mart

    Read More

  • Wal-Mart's Competitive Environment

    1679 Words  | 4 Pages

    Wal-Mart’s competitive environment is quite unique. Although Wal-Mart’s primary competition comes from general merchandise retailers, warehouse clubs and supermarket retailers also present competitive pressure. The discount retail industry is substantial in size and is constantly experiencing growth and change. The top competitors compete both nationally and internationally. There is extensive competition on pricing, location, store size, layout and environment, merchandise mix, technology and innovation, and overall image. The market is definitely characterized by economies of scale. Top retailers vertically integrate many functions, such as purchasing, manufacturing, advertising, and shipping. Large scale functions such as these give the top competitors a significant cost advantage over small-scale competition.

    Read More

  • Home Depot Supply Chain Management Case Study

    883 Words  | 2 Pages

    Understanding the changes in the market and the growth of e-commerce prompted the organization to invest heavily in its supply chain management forecasting and management system. The development of a network of distribution centers and Direct Fulfillment Centers to position the company to capitalize on the growing e-commerce market indicate a strong understanding of the need to adapt to changing market forces. The company spent over $300 million on new distribution center facilities in 2014 alone, and continues to expand to maintain efficiency in product movement (Cassidy,

    Read More

  • Wal Mart's Supply Chain

    1889 Words  | 4 Pages

    In order to succeed, managers have to realize that they cannot do it alone and they must work together on a daily basis with the whole organizations in their supply chains. Because supply chain management involves all functions within an organization, managers need to know what a supply chain is, why it is important, and the impact of supply chain management on the success and profitability of their organization. Today, Wal-Mart topped the list of the America’s biggest companies on the Fortune 500 list, “with sales of almost $345 billion — more than a quarter of a trillion dollars” (Forbs). Wal-Mart’s supply chain management is becoming recognized as a core competitive strategy.

    Read More

  • Walmart Information Management System

    758 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1987, this information became even more essential for the company. Walmart created its own private satellite network. This network allowed for direct two way communication between the headquarters and individual stores so that instant information on inventory, sales and other data could be viewed by upper management. A network diagram of this setup would allow for a ...

    Read More

  • Strategic Management of Wal-Mart

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is in the discount, variety stores industry. It was founded in 1945, Bentonville in Arkansas which is also the headquarters of Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart operates locally as well as worldwide. It operated 1209 discount stores, 1980 super centers, and 567 Sam’s Club by January 31, 2006. It has also extended its operations to many international countries. It runs its retail stores in two forms: Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart Stores. The Sam’s Club sells assorted product lines such as hardwares, electronics, jewelry, and to mention a few. The Wal-Mart stores also offer similar products in addition to the following: health and beauty products, apparel for women, men and children, household appliances etc (www.yahoo.finance.com). The Vision Statement, Mission Statement, Values and Code of Conduct, Corporate Governance: Directors, Executive Management, Committees and Stakeholder will be the key elements that will discussed in this report as it relates to Wal-Mart. In addition to that, the major trends in the general/macro environment and industry will be analyzed.

    Read More

  • Wal-Mart Dominating Global Retail

    1496 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Wal-mart is the largest retail chain in United States and in the world. The wal-mart was founded in the year 1962 by Mr Sam Walton. It was originally named as Wal-Mart discount city in Rogers, Arkansas. At the time when the Wal-Mart stores started in the year 1962 it was focused only in small rural cites and town which had a population of 5000 to 25000. It was soon increased to 18 stores in 1969. In the next 30 years it had more than 4750 stores across 50 states in USA and 9 countries with $245 billion sales. It started its international operations in Mexico in the year 1991 and then it expanded it to different countries across Europe and Asia.

    Read More

  • Global Human Resource Management

    943 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first Wal-Mart store opened in July of 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas by Sam Walton who believed that the future of retailing was in discounting and to avoid competing with established giants like Sears and Woolworth, Wal-Mart’s stated out of the large cities in the beginning and this strategy help avoid competition, while in rural areas Wal-Mart began growing their customer base by offering ways to save money and shorter travel distance, Sam Walton felt the best way to make customers happy was to provide the low prices every day (Farhoomand, 2006). The company needed to continually find ways to control the operating costs so the savings would then be passed on to Wal-Mart customers in the form of lower prices than the competitors. Walton was opposed to having any kind of employee unions for its company and saw them as a disruption and an inconvenience (Farhoomand, 2006). The continued search for lower prices made him aware of business related travel cost, Wal-Mart executives stayed in low cost hotels when they traveled and the cost related to the services provided by suppliers, Wal-Mart helped suppliers improve operations and efficiency to produce lower cost. Walton wanted the suppliers to correct any nonessential or insufficiencies existing in their business structures as a way of gaining lower prices and higher value products for its Wal-Mart stores. To further push savings Wal-Mart forced cost down by eliminating the middleman and buying directly from the manufacturers. This cost saving also applied to executive salaries Walton felt providing employees with stock options, training opportunities, and allow employees to grow and develop would be a better way to engage and involve them in his vision (Farhoomand, 2006).

    Read More

  • Walmart Inventory Management Case Study

    1260 Words  | 3 Pages

    From the manufacturers’ warehouse to the shelves, the business must orchestrate a symphony of the right products to the right places at the right times. Walmart serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week in retail outlets, online and on mobile devices. The company is able to offer a vast range of products at the lowest costs in the shortest possible time (Chandran, 2001). The main reason for this incredible growth of Walmart is because its distribution centers are highly automated.

    Read More

  • Strategic Analysis Of Wal-Mart's Supply Chain Management

    1616 Words  | 4 Pages

    Wal-Mart is known to beone of the best supply chain companies in the world. Throughout the years Wal-Mart has adapted strategies that keep up to their name. Unlike many retailers, Wal-Mart purchases goods directly from manufacturers, skipping a few steps of the supply chain cycle. Buyers use advanced negotiation skills to make sure they are receiving the best price on purchases. Wal-Mart also has their own trucks picking up from warehouses, reducing the price significantly on transportation. Long term relationships with vendors are extremely emphasized to understand prices and cost structure. These practices build Wal-Mart to its name and keeps low prices for retail customers all over the world. Supply Chain studies have shown that in 1998, Wal-Mart would fill up stock in 2 days compared to their competitors which would complete it in 5. Part of the reason Wal-Mart would replenish so

    Read More

  • Case Study Of Walmart Stores, Inc.

    1478 Words  | 3 Pages

    These major supply chain components that have shaped Walmart’s success over recent years are their buyer bargaining power (one of Porter’s Five Forces), focus on the overall customer experience, and investments in emerging technologies along with the implementation of these technologies in their business plan. The third and final key trend in which all of the top 25 supply chain companies possess emerging digital business models. Over the past couple of years, Walmart has boosted its e-commerce operations and brought in a large portion of revenues from online sales (Aronow & Burkett, 2015, p. 20). Gartner Inc. describes Walmart as a “supply chain pioneer” that has continued its push into e-commerce and has expanded investment in multichannel drive-thru pick-up centers and a ‘click-and-collect’ grocery service offered at some of its stores (Aronow & Burkett, 2015, p. 20).

    Read More

  • Operational Planning For Wal-Mart

    1617 Words  | 4 Pages

    Wal-mart has a reputation for caring for its customers, of course their employees, and for the prospective public. So Wal-Mart can be an industrial leader for the world of shoppers with an eye for lower affordable prices, company decision makers would continue it's systematic strategies that it's founder and president established years ago. Sam Walton believed in three guiding principles in his strategy planning they were to provide the customer with good value and service, to have a good relationship with its associates, and to be involved with the community.

    Read More

More about Taking a Look at Walmart's Supply Chain Management System

Open Document