...Wal-Mart’s supply chain management practices case study Question 1: Wal-Mart has been able to achieve respectable leadership in the retail industry because of its focus on supply chain management characterized by: * Procuring goods directly from manufacturers bypassing all intermediaries. * Negotiating on prices and finalizing a purchase deal only when it was fully confident that the products being bought were not available elsewhere at a lower price. * Spending a significant amount of time meeting vendors and understanding their cost structure. Also, by preferring local and regional vendors and suppliers. * Having over 40 distributions centers located at different geographical locations in the US. So, Wal-Mart’s own warehouses directly supplied 85 % of the inventory, as compared to 50-65% for competitors. About 85% of the goods which were available at the stores passed through the distributions centers. * Having and using a fast and responsive transportation system. * Maintaining a strict vigil over its drivers by keeping a record of their activities through the “Private Fleet Driver Handbook”. * Using a Cross-docking approach. In this system, the finished goods were directly picked up from the manufacturing plant of a supplier, sorted out and then directly supplied to the customers. Question 2: Wal-Mart invested heavily in IT and communications systems to effectively track sales and merchandise inventories in stores across the country. So...
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...[pic]东北财经大学本科生论文形式课程考试 成绩评定单 (Essay Cover of Non-Paper Exam, DUFE) 论文题目(Title)Successful supply chain management of Wal-Mart 学生姓名(Student Name)Jasson 学 号(Student Number) 2013212082 专 业(Programme)Business Management年 级(Level) Sophomore 课程名称(Module Name) 课 程 号(Module Number) 论文成绩(Score) |论文评语：(Comments)—— | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |任课教师签字： | |(Signature) ...
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...organization Fully describe six components of the organization's supply chain. Examine the potential problems related to each of the components described Explain the approaches of the organization for solving the problems. Response below: TITLE NAME COURSE DATE Introduction Supply chains are the process of moving merchandise; beginning from buyer orders, to raw materials, to supply, through production; thus, final distribution of the merchandise to customers. Every company has a supply chain of some differing degree. Dependent upon organizational size and the category of manufactured goods. This supply chain system obtains components and supplies, changes them into finished products, and then distributes them to consumers. Background of the organization Wal-Mart serves its customers over 200 million times per week, at approximately 8,692 retail units, beneath 55 singular banners, within 15 different nations. As of fiscal year 2010, sales were approximately 405 billion dollars. Wal-Mart employs approximately 2 million associates worldwide and is ranked #1 on Fortune's Global 500 list (Wal-Mart, 2010). Despite the global recession, including high gas prices and higher unemployment, Wal-Mart's international sales continue to increase. Wal-Mart's CEO Michael Duke told shareholders, "Global markets are "becoming an even bigger and more important part of our company" (Tseng, 2010). Wal-Mart's success, is that their corporation has embraced the global economy;...
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...Can Wal-Mart Survive China’s Growing Middle Class? China’s rising standard of living and its impact on the discount retail market. Abstract This paper investigates published articles, financial information and books which discuss Wal-Mart’s recent business activities in China. The activity discussed includes Wal-Mart’s increasing impact and influence on the Chinese economy as a buyer and consumer of raw materials, a manufacturer of products, and as a retailer and employer in China. This paper discusses how Wal-Mart sources its finished products and raw materials in and from China, how Wal-Mart markets to China’s middle class, and how Wal-Mart manages China’s middle-class as both its primary customer and their source of labor in China. The intent of this paper is to provide readers with a high level understanding of how Wal-Mart is conducting business in today’s China and how Wal-Mart’s manages their exposure to the various supply chains in China, its increasing dependence on products and services sourced in China and how Wal-Mart is handling China’s growing middle-class and the nationally unionized workforce in their Chinese stores. Lastly, this paper discusses how Wal-Mart’s business strategy competes and compares with Target Stores, one of their leading competitors in the discount retailer marketplace. Keywords: wal-mart, target, china, supply chain management, sourcing, global marketplace Identification. This paper discusses Wal-Mart’s history in China...
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...Managing a supply chain implies the integrated management of a network of entities, that begins with the suppliers' suppliers and ends with the customers' customers, for the production of products and services to the end consumers. Supply chain case studies analyze how companies seek to achieve cost reductions or profit improvements and make the supply chain more competitive as whole. These cases are intended to provide wide-ranging information, management education, background information and leadership on the most relevant topics in business. Why Wal-Mart's supply chain is so successful? The key to Wal-Mart's supply chain Wal-Mart is committed to improving operations, lowering costs and improving customer service. But the key to retailer Wal-Mart's success is its ability to drive costs out of its supply chain and manage it efficiently. Many supply chain experts refer to Wal-Mart as a supply chain-driven company that also has retail stores. Wal-Mart's company philosophy ('The Wal-Mart Way') is to be at the leading edge of logistics, distribution, transportation, and technology. The Wal-Mart business model would fail instantly without its advanced technology (Wal-Mart has the largest IT systems of any private company in the world) and supply chain (Wal-Mart has made significant investments in supply chain management). Wal-Mart's business model and competition Wal-Mart's business model is based on a low price strategy and low transportation costs allow it to sell its products...
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...Table of Contents Introduction2 Wal-Mart’s resources2 Tangible resources2 Intangible resources3 Human resource3 Wal-Mart’s capabilities4 Distribution4 Corporate function4 Operation4 Management Information4 Marketing5 Competitive advantages5 Knowledge management5 Distribution network5 Relationships strategy with suppliers and associates6 Financial management6 International operation6 Conclusion7 References list7 Introduction This project will analyze resources and capabilities of Wal-Mart and the linkage between two strands. According to Wal-Mart’s case, it can be divided Wal-Mart’s resources into three main types of resource: tangible, intangible, and human resources. Moreover, thanks to its resources, Wal-Mart’s capabilities comprises of distribution, operation, management information, marketing, and corporate function. If linkage between resources and capabilities can be indicated and understood, it enables Wal-Mart to produce many competitive advantages: knowledge management, distribution network, partnerships, and financial management. Through those advantages, Wal-Mart creates some strategies for the growth of its operation line within United State or extending over the world. Wal-Mart’s resources Tangible resources In terms of financial resources, the company has established in discount retailing format and become the largest and most profitable retailer in the world. It has been developing rapidly, as result; Wal-Mart produces much profit to reinvest...
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...WAL-MART'S SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT PRACTICES Do No tC op y OPER - 020 This case was written by P. Mohan Chandran, under the direction of Vivek Gupta, ICFAI Center for Management Research (ICMR). It is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. The case was compiled from published sources. 2003, ICFAI Center for Management Research. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic or mechanical, without permission. To order copies, call 0091-40-2343-0462/63/64 or write to ICFAI Center for Management Research, Plot # 49, Nagarjuna Hills, Hyderabad 500 082, India or email icmr@icfai.org. Website: www.icmrindia.org OPER/020 WAL-MART'S SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT PRACTICES “When you start to collapse the supply chain, accuracy in execution becomes critical. Any lack of accurate information and processes creates costly bottlenecks in the flow of goods and materials.” -- Bruce Richmond, Global head, Andersen Consulting. y INTRODUCTION tC op The US-based Wal-Mart ranked first in the global Fortune 500 list in the financial year 2001-02 earning revenues of $219.81 billion (Refer Table I). Wal-Mart was the largest retailing company in the world. The company was much bigger than its competitors in the US –...
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...BEIHANG UNIVERSITY 北京航空航天大学 SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT 经济管理学院 SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT 1 “Supply Chain Management of Wal-Mart” Professor: ZHAO QUIHONG Student: NGUYEN HAI YEN - LS 1508256 VU THI THU HIEN - LS 1508226 GANTA. MURALI - LS 1508233 NGUYEN KHANH LINH - LS 1508230 NGUYEN THI THU HIEN - LS 1508257 INTRODUCTION Wal - mart was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton in Rogers, Ark. It is an American multinational retail corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. Almost everything can be found in Wal-Mart stores and it has everything a homemaker can ever think of. It is arguably the largest retail chain that deals with millions of product ranging from furnitures, clothes, groceries, books, movies, electronic, jewelries, baby products and much more. In the 1960s through the 1970s, companies realized strong engineering, design, and manufacturing functions were strong market strategy keys to create and capture customer loyalty. As the demand for new products rose in the 1980s, these market requirements were to increase their flexibility and responsiveness to adapt existing products and processes or to develop new ones in order to meet customer needs. As manufacturing improved in the 1990s, managers began noticing material and service inputs involving suppliers and their major impact on an organization‘s ability to meet customer needs. As a result of these changes, organizations...
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...HOW WAL-MART USES DISTRIBUTION CENTRES TO REDUCE TRANSPORTATION COSTS AND AT THE SAME REPLENISH INVENTORIES FREQUENTLY 1.0 Introduction Daskin, Snyder and Berger (2003) noted that achieving efficiency and effectiveness in the movement of goods from source through processing, fabrication, finished goods assembly, distribution centres, wholesalers, retailers and right down to the final consumers is highly important in today’s global world especially considering that cost of goods/products in a number of instances can be higher than the value placed on the goods/products by the final consumer. Similarly, Chopra and Meindl (2010, p.41) stated that the ability of supply chain to perform in relation to responsiveness and efficiency is determined by how the logistical and cross functional drivers of supply chain namely facilities, inventory, transport, information, pricing to mention just a few interact with one another. Furthermore, Daskin, Snyder and Berger (2003) also offered that taking decisions on locations constitute the most “critical and difficult” of all decisions required in making supply chain effective and efficient largely because other decisions on the other drivers such as inventory, information, pricing can be more easily changed in response to changes in the market, raw materials, labour to mention just a few. Chopra (2001) offered that distribution entails the process of moving and storing products right from the supplier down to the final consumer within...
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...operations related to the selected topic. Wal-Mart Operations Management Analysis Mission : ‘Save people’s money so they can live better’ SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT PRACTICES Wal-Mart’s ability to focus on customer needs and reduce costs through efficient supply chain management practices has attributed to its growth. Wal-Mart’s automated distribution centers , reduce shipping costs and time, while its computerized inventory system speeds up the recording of transactions. * Every Day Low Prices (EDLP) Promises customers a variety of high quality branded and unbranded products at the lowest possible price, offering better value for money than its competitors. The company emphasized strengthening its relationships with customers, suppliers and employees. Low transportation costs, resulting from its owning its transportation system, can deliver goods to stores within 48 hours or less, enabling Wal-Mart to replenish its stock four times faster than its competitors. The EDLP ensures sales volumes are high and consistent. Wal-Mart can afford to offer higher discounts than other retailers based on the velocity that its products move through the supply chain. * Speed ,Consistency ,Accuracy Reduction in lead time, faster inventory turnover, accurate forecasting of inventory levels, increased warehouse space, reduction in safety stock and better working capital utilization are all examples of how Wal-Mart uses supply chain management principles to stay competitive. These...
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...Half a Century of Supply Chain Management at Wal-Mart Wal-Mart Stores Inc., supply chain is still a competitive advantage, but the role through which it derived has changed its competitive advantage. From the start of Wal-Mart in 1962, until the 21st century, Wal-Mart supply chain brought its strength only from cost leadership point of view. However, now it has shifted its focus from cost leadership towards focus strategy for smaller targets within the United States. Wal-Mart’s supply chain management strategy is ideal because it does two things: cut costs while also saving consumers money through favorable cost structures. Wal-Mart’s supply chain relies on a well-orchestrated relationship with its customers and suppliers. These relationships were built and fine-tune over many years which has contributed substantially to their competitive advantage. Wal-Mart has led the retail industry for many years with its innovative ways to minimize costs as well as generate revenue. In other words, Wal-Mart has had the competitive advantage for various reasons such as technology implementation and usage of data. Wal-Mart’s ability to use barcodes and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to assess how to manage better inventory is a critical role in the company’s success. The data is used to provide real world inventory updates to whether there is a need for supply on the shelves, also known as stock checks. Automatically, costs are reduced due to a more accurate forecasting...
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...A Case Study of Wal-Mart’s “Green” Supply Chain Management Adam Heying Whitney Sanzero MGT 520 Operations Management Professor Jim Constand May 4, 2009 Summary Supply chain management has been the cornerstone to Wal-Mart’s success and remains their primary competitive advantage in the retail/department store industry. Their distribution system is generally regarded as the most efficient and they have an approach to supply chain management that has long emphasized visibility through the sharing of information with their suppliers. Although there are hundreds of logistical functions which allow Wal-Mart to be the price and logistics leader, the focus will be primarily on the company’s newly adopted strategy of making logistical processes “green” and more environmentally conscious. According to the Supply Chain Management Review, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott committed the company to three ambitious goals: to be supplied 100 percent by renewable energy; to create zero waste; and to sell products that sustain Wal-Mart’s resources and the environment. Wal-Mart’s 14 Sustainable Value Networks, the Network’s structure, new “green” logistics technologies, and additional future initiatives will be considered along with counter arguments which suggest that Wal-Mart’s green initiative is simply unsustainable. The main sticking point seems to be the same one that has long held back the adoption of better light bulbs...
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...CASE STUDY Professor: Dr. Mary Flannery Teaching Assistant: Jia-Yuh Chen ECON 136 – Business Strategy February 27, 2006 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS The retail industry is dominated by few retail giants, with Wal-Mart competing in several retail categories. Wal-Mart competes against Kmart and Target in the general merchandise retailing; against Costco in the warehouse club segment; and against Kroger, Albertson’s and Safeway in the supermarket retailing. Competition among retailers centers on pricing, store location, variations in store format and merchandise mix, store size, shopping atmosphere, and image with shoppers. Further analysis provided by the following figure diagnoses the competitive environment of the retail industry. Five Forces Model of Competition Threat of Substitute Products Weak: Substitutes for big box retailers are smaller grocery stores; substitutes are higher priced relative to the performance they deliver. Supplier Bargaining Power Weak: Industry members account for a big fraction of suppliers’ total sales and continued high volume purchases are important to the wellbeing of suppliers. Rivalry among Competing Sellers Fierce: Competing sellers have triggered heated price competition and are active in making fresh moves to improve market standing and business performance. Buyer Bargaining Power Weak: There is a broad base of buyers so no single buyer can demand price concessions; buyers purchase merchandise in small quantities; buyer loyalty for...
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...Wal-Mart Principles of Management Introduction Wal-Mart (Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is currently ranked not only as America’s largest, but also as the world’s largest company (Soderquist, 2005). The store’s three business segments, Wal-Mart International, Wal-Mart Stores and Sam’s Club all operate in discount retail industry. Currently Wal-Mart’s leadership is facing challenging issues including an invariable customer base, a declining same store base and a crumbling reputation. However, Wal-Mart’s history is a living example of innovative and successful leadership. The company started with a single store in 1962, in Rogers, Arkansas and it has grown into what is now regarded as the world’s largest retailer. Wal-Mart runs each store with the products stocked in the store, to the front-end equipments, helping to speed up checkouts. Using the same philosophy in all its stores to provide low prices and superior customer service, Wal-Mart can sell at low prices and thus eliminate expenses associated with frequent sales promotions as well as have predictable sales. Wal-Mart has invented its own unique inventory system, the cross-docking system that has enabled the company to achieve economies of scale, thus reducing the cost of sales. In this system, goods are continually delivered to Wal-Mart’s stores within 48 hours and without the store having to inventory them. This allows the stores to replenish their shelves four times faster than...
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...Executive Summary At the beginning of 2009, Wal-Mart top management faces the question of whether the same strategy that it has been adopting in the past can be used to maintain the company’s remarkable performance and growth in the next decade. In the last 10 years, Wal-Mart has achieved strong and constant growth in sales and net income. It has maintained the leading position in the U.S. discount retail industry and has become the largest retailer in the world. With the maturity of the industry, coupled with the intense competition from rivalry companies, maintaining the current level of high performance becomes very challenging. The Porter’s Five Forces analysis reveals that the competition among rivals is the driving force of the industry, in which price is the most critical factor. The value chain analysis and resource based view analysis show that Wal-Mart has been very successful in implementing the strategy as the low-cost leader by inculcating cost efficiency in its corporate culture, management style, and operations. It has been the pioneer in adopting cutting edge technology to streamline its supply chain, and to understand and respond timely to customer demand. Wal-Mart has developed many strengths that help guard its leading position and open door to many opportunities for expanding the business. However, it also faces threats from growing too big and in many areas, which makes it vulnerable to losing control, weakened cooperation...
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