Walmart Study
Wal-Mart: Marketing to the Masses
Team Purple: Brian Kinder, Clara Kirby, Brian S. Joseph, Brandi Labrum, Nola Johnson
Grand Canyon University
Marketing Management
MKT607
Dr. Stephen Tvorik
April 12, 2010
Wal-Mart: Marketing to the Masses Wal-Mart’s Strategic Plan Wal-mart’s mission is to establish and maintain itself as the number one retail store choice for consumers. Their strategy for success includes providing its customers with convenient shopping access to brand name items at prices that can’t be matched by any other retail chain. According to Peter & Donnelly (2009), Wal-Mart’s success can be attributed to multiple store formats, low operating costs, innovative merchandising, customer satisfaction, and growth. Wal-Mart’s number one priority is keeping its costs low and passing savings along to its customer base. By often being the biggest purchaser from a supplier, Wal-Mart is able to make demands that would leave other retailers holding the bag. Obviously, the super-sized retailer demands the lowest possible price from its suppliers, but the real issue is how Wal-Mart gets their savings. Wal-Mart has been a leader in inventory tracking for years. ASA Research (2009) notes that for over twenty years Wal-Mart has been developing and implementing the most efficient supply chain solutions, and that their efforts have catapulted them to the top of the retail industry. Supply chain efficiency obtained primarily through inventory automation techniques such as bar coding and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) allows Wal-Mart to track and distribute inventory better than any other retailer. Peter & Donnelly (2009), state that a large portion of Wal-Mart’s inventory is shipped to stores within 12 hours of arrival. Wal-Mart’s ability to effectively track, order and distribute inventory shatter the once unbreakable three day turnaround time for inventory. Additionally being able to keep such a close eye on inventory helps keep
Team Purple: Brian Kinder, Clara Kirby, Brian S. Joseph, Brandi Labrum, Nola Johnson
Grand Canyon University
Marketing Management
MKT607
Dr. Stephen Tvorik
April 12, 2010
Wal-Mart: Marketing to the Masses Wal-Mart’s Strategic Plan Wal-mart’s mission is to establish and maintain itself as the number one retail store choice for consumers. Their strategy for success includes providing its customers with convenient shopping access to brand name items at prices that can’t be matched by any other retail chain. According to Peter & Donnelly (2009), Wal-Mart’s success can be attributed to multiple store formats, low operating costs, innovative merchandising, customer satisfaction, and growth. Wal-Mart’s number one priority is keeping its costs low and passing savings along to its customer base. By often being the biggest purchaser from a supplier, Wal-Mart is able to make demands that would leave other retailers holding the bag. Obviously, the super-sized retailer demands the lowest possible price from its suppliers, but the real issue is how Wal-Mart gets their savings. Wal-Mart has been a leader in inventory tracking for years. ASA Research (2009) notes that for over twenty years Wal-Mart has been developing and implementing the most efficient supply chain solutions, and that their efforts have catapulted them to the top of the retail industry. Supply chain efficiency obtained primarily through inventory automation techniques such as bar coding and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) allows Wal-Mart to track and distribute inventory better than any other retailer. Peter & Donnelly (2009), state that a large portion of Wal-Mart’s inventory is shipped to stores within 12 hours of arrival. Wal-Mart’s ability to effectively track, order and distribute inventory shatter the once unbreakable three day turnaround time for inventory. Additionally being able to keep such a close eye on inventory helps keep
References: Anderson, J. (2003). Running the gauntlet at Wal-Mart. Retrieved from http://www.inc.com/magazine/20031101/walmart.html Collins, Carlton, J. (2009).Wal-Mart Sets the Standard For Supply Chain Automation. Retrieved from http://www.asaresearch.com/ecommerce/supplychain.htm. Goodwright, Ellen, (2010). Twelve Ideas for Customer Service Training. Retrieved from http://www.customerservicemanager.com/12-ideas-for-customer-service-training.htm. Lisanti, T. (1989, December 18). The 'little things ' add up to trust. Retrieved April 12, 2010, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n23_v28/ai_8283613/ Mathur, Sanjay, & Shah, Baiju, (2005, October). The Power of Predictive Insight. Retrieved from http://www.accenture.com/Global/Research_and_Insights/Outlook/By_Issue/ Y2005/OutlookJournalNo3.htm. Murphy, Paul, (2009, February 12).Learning From Wal-Mart. Retrieved from http://blogs.zdnet.com/Murphy/?p=1429. Peter, J. P., & Donnelly, J. H., Jr. (2009). Marketing management: knowledge and skills (9th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Schmitt, Emily, (2009, July 14). The Profits and Perils of Supplying to Wal-Mart. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jul2009/sb20090714.