Walmart's supply chain
Name: Min Heng Lin
Student ID: 2014-81961
Walmart’s Retail Link Supply Chain
1. Where does Walmart’s supply chain start? What triggers Walmart’s Retail Link system to ship goods to local Walmart Stores?
Supply Chain Management (SCM) includes all the activities that must take place to get the right product into the consumer’s hands in the right quantity and at the right time – from raw materials extraction to consumer purchase.
It starts from:
The Supplier/Manufacturer Logistics Wholesaler Logistics Distribution Warehouse Logistics Walmart Retailer Consumer
In 1991, Walmart invested about $4 billion to Retail Link System. It connects Walmart’s network with an extranet, accessible to Walmart’s suppliers.
The suppliers know exactly how to plan their production and what goods are being sold by using a decision support system that gives the supplier 100 weeks of product sales history and tracks the product’s performance globally and by market.
RLS is connected to analysts who forecast supplier demands to the supplier network, which displays real-time sales data from cash registers and to Walmart’s distribution centers.
Companies then synchronize their demand projections under a collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment scheme.
Use of smart tags, read by a handheld scanner, which allows employees to know which items need to be replaced so that shelves are always stocked.
This allows for faster inventory turnover, Walmart/Supplier collaboration, acute forecasting of inventory levels.
2. Why is a detailed knowledge of consumer purchases at each store important to Walmart’s success?
Detailed knowledge of the customers is possible thanks to Big data analysis. It is essential for Walmart’s success, because:
It offers better services to customers:
Offer products needed by geographically regions:
Know local culture
Local perceptions
Forecast needs:
Weather conditions
Product always available; assuring continuous supply
Student ID: 2014-81961
Walmart’s Retail Link Supply Chain
1. Where does Walmart’s supply chain start? What triggers Walmart’s Retail Link system to ship goods to local Walmart Stores?
Supply Chain Management (SCM) includes all the activities that must take place to get the right product into the consumer’s hands in the right quantity and at the right time – from raw materials extraction to consumer purchase.
It starts from:
The Supplier/Manufacturer Logistics Wholesaler Logistics Distribution Warehouse Logistics Walmart Retailer Consumer
In 1991, Walmart invested about $4 billion to Retail Link System. It connects Walmart’s network with an extranet, accessible to Walmart’s suppliers.
The suppliers know exactly how to plan their production and what goods are being sold by using a decision support system that gives the supplier 100 weeks of product sales history and tracks the product’s performance globally and by market.
RLS is connected to analysts who forecast supplier demands to the supplier network, which displays real-time sales data from cash registers and to Walmart’s distribution centers.
Companies then synchronize their demand projections under a collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment scheme.
Use of smart tags, read by a handheld scanner, which allows employees to know which items need to be replaced so that shelves are always stocked.
This allows for faster inventory turnover, Walmart/Supplier collaboration, acute forecasting of inventory levels.
2. Why is a detailed knowledge of consumer purchases at each store important to Walmart’s success?
Detailed knowledge of the customers is possible thanks to Big data analysis. It is essential for Walmart’s success, because:
It offers better services to customers:
Offer products needed by geographically regions:
Know local culture
Local perceptions
Forecast needs:
Weather conditions
Product always available; assuring continuous supply