Disadvantages Of Wal-Mart's Competitive Advantage?

Businesses especially those that operate in the same industry always try to emerge the best in the market by adopting different strategies so as to become more competitive. In the retail industry where goods move in volumes, proper management of the inventory can make a big difference by making a company to be more competitive as compared to the others. In most retail business, manipulation of the supply chain functions is one of the strategies that are used to give a retailer a competitive edge over its competitors. This research paper will compare how TJ Maxx and Ross manipulate their supply chain functions to gain a competitive edge over each other. Based on the available facts, the paper will make a determination on which of the companies

2.Competitive Advantage – It includes the best product of an Organization in the competitive market.

Supply-chain management consists of developing a strategy to organize, control, and motivate the resources involved in the flow of services and materials within the supply chain. A supply chain strategy, an essential aspect of supply chain management, seeks to design a firm’s supply chain to meet the competitive priorities of the firm’s operations strategy.

The second source obtained for this research paper title is, Cross-Docking: A Strategy to Enhance Supply Chain Agility. This article was written by authors, Shweta Narang Arora, Dr. SM Anas Iqbal, and Dr.G.D.Gidwani, and all three of these authors have studied and work in the field of logistics, and have done credible research for the international journal of logistics and supply chain management perspectives.

The five generic competitive strategies are low-cost provider, broad differentiation, focused low-cost, focused differentiation strategy, and best-cost provider strategy. According to the textbook, “a company’s competitive strategy deals exclusively with the specifics of management’s game plan for competing successfully” (Gamble, 93).

A Competitive Advantage is a peculiarity for an organization between it's competitors . It's achieved either by lowering prices or by greatening the value of the product or by offering luxury service and benefits to cope with high prices .

Competitive advantage is that a company has better ability in earning profit and profit growth compared to its competitors for the same group of customers in one industry.

Competitive advantage(CA) is an advantage competitors gain by providing or offering customers or consumers greater value for their money through product and service differentiation or through lower prices. Maintaining competitive advantage is crucial to many businesses or organizations' success in order to survive in the market. Competitive advantage is characterized by superior performance which could be an attribute to outperform the competitors whether current or potential; or gaining a higher market share in a particular industry thereby ensuring market leadership; or ultimately, maximization of profit.(JOBBER 2010)

Competition among retailers is aggressive, as the demand side of the industry is driven by consumers who expect to get the best value for their money. “Competitive advantage is anything a company has, or does better, that customers value but the competition cannot match” (Romero, 2005). Walmart has a sustainable competitive advantage over other retailers, largely due to their centralized focus of cost leadership and differentiation strategies.

Referring to De Wit and Meyer (2010) “To create a competitive advantage, alignment must be achieved among all three elements of a business system. They are a superior Value Proposition, ability to actually develop and supply the superior product offering and the resource base required to perform the value –adding activities”. These three components can be seen through considerable Pep Stores business system which conducts their daily activities. By aiming Operational Excellence they were prominent on:

Competitive advantage is a very general but genuine term in the present business market. The business market is very competitive. One has to be very unique as well as customer satisfying in order to sustain in the market for the long run. “A competitive advantage is an advantage gained over competitors by offering customers greater value, either through lower prices or by providing additional benefits and service that justify similar, or possibly higher, prices” (Ehmke, 2008). (Porter, 2008) “Competitive Advantage introduces the concept of the value chain, a general framework for thinking strategically about the activities involved in any business and assessing their relative cost and role in differentiation.” It can be in various aspects of

Competitive strategy is the moves and methods that the firm has taken and is taking to appeal buyers, improve its market position, and to endure competitive pressures. The strategy is about what a firm’s capability to try to knock off competitors and attain competitive advantage, which can be offensive or defensive. There are three approaches to competitive strategy, which are low-cost leadership strategy where struggling to be the overall low-cost manufacturer in the in industry. Moreover, pursuing to distinguish one’s product offering from competitors (differentiation strategy), and the last one is focus or niche strategy where aiming on thin portion of the market rather than the whole market (Porter, 1998).

Competitive advantage is explained by Mahoney and Pandian (1992) as the function of industry analysis, organizational governance and the firm’s effects in the form of resource advantages and strategies. In order for a firm to be competitive it must adapt to the volatile business environment and through strategic management decisions establish a competitive advantage that will ultimately produce superior performance relative to its competitors (Akimova 2000).

In order to achieve competitive advantage, a firm must perform one or more value-creating activity that is more superior compared to other competitors. Superior value is created through lower costs or superior benefits to the buyers.

exists when the firm is able to deliver the same benefits as competitors but at a