Walmart Case Study: Half a Century of Supply Chain Management
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Walmart Case Study: Half a Century of Supply Chain Management
SCM 607
Dr. John Wu
March 15, 2014
Table of Contents
Walmart Case Study: Half a Century of Supply Chain Management
INTRODUCTION
Walmart dominates the retailing industry in terms of its sales revenue, its customer base, and its ability to drive down costs and deliver good value to its customers. After all, the world’s largest corporation, employing 1.8 million associates worldwide, takes pride in having received numerous accolades for its ability to continuously improve efficiency in the supply chain while meeting its corporate mandate of offering customers everyday low prices. Walmart demonstrates how a physical product retailer can create and leverage a data asset to achieve world-class supply chain efficiencies targeted primarily at driving down costs.
BACKGROUND OF THE COMPANY
Sam Walton opened the firs Walmart in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas with the foundation being that it would offer “The Lowest Prices Anytime, Anywhere” (Walmart Corporate, 2014c), and by 1967 it had over 24 stores and $12.7 million in sales. By 1969, the company was officially incorporated and offered an initial public offering to raise funds to build a distribution center in Bentonville, Arkansas (Johnson & Mark, 2013, p. 3).
Walmart grew in large part by leveraging information systems to an extent never before seen in the retail industry. Technology tightly coordinates the Walmart value chain from tip to tail, while these systems also deliver a mineable data asset that is unmatched in U.S. retail. Tight inventory management is legendary at Walmart through its just-in-time techniques that allow the firm to boast one of the best supply chains in the world. Walmart has not only transformed its own supply chain, but also influenced how vendors throughout the world operate because the company has the economic clout to request changes from its vendor partners and to receive them.
Walmart Case Study: Half a Century of Supply Chain Management
SCM 607
Dr. John Wu
March 15, 2014
Table of Contents
Walmart Case Study: Half a Century of Supply Chain Management
INTRODUCTION
Walmart dominates the retailing industry in terms of its sales revenue, its customer base, and its ability to drive down costs and deliver good value to its customers. After all, the world’s largest corporation, employing 1.8 million associates worldwide, takes pride in having received numerous accolades for its ability to continuously improve efficiency in the supply chain while meeting its corporate mandate of offering customers everyday low prices. Walmart demonstrates how a physical product retailer can create and leverage a data asset to achieve world-class supply chain efficiencies targeted primarily at driving down costs.
BACKGROUND OF THE COMPANY
Sam Walton opened the firs Walmart in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas with the foundation being that it would offer “The Lowest Prices Anytime, Anywhere” (Walmart Corporate, 2014c), and by 1967 it had over 24 stores and $12.7 million in sales. By 1969, the company was officially incorporated and offered an initial public offering to raise funds to build a distribution center in Bentonville, Arkansas (Johnson & Mark, 2013, p. 3).
Walmart grew in large part by leveraging information systems to an extent never before seen in the retail industry. Technology tightly coordinates the Walmart value chain from tip to tail, while these systems also deliver a mineable data asset that is unmatched in U.S. retail. Tight inventory management is legendary at Walmart through its just-in-time techniques that allow the firm to boast one of the best supply chains in the world. Walmart has not only transformed its own supply chain, but also influenced how vendors throughout the world operate because the company has the economic clout to request changes from its vendor partners and to receive them.
References: Huffington Post. (2013, November 6). Walmart workers are striking today in Southern California. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/06/Walmart-workers- california_n_4226285.html Johnson, J.F., & Mark, K. (2013, November 12). Half a century of supply chain management at Walmart. Ivey Publishing. Walmart. (2014). Home page. Retrieved from Walmart.com. Walmart Corporate. (2014a). Our ad match guarantee. Retrieved from http://corporate.walmart.com/ad-match-guarantee Walmart Corporate. (2014b). Our business. Retrieved from http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/our-business/ Walmart Corporate. (2014c). Our History. Retrieved from http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/history/history-timeline Walmart Corporate. (2014d). Our locations. Retrieved from http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/locations Wu, J. (2014). Sustainability power point. Supply Chain Management. CSU San Bernardino