Wal-Mart Supply Chain

If an IT system is put in place where trucks can be tracked on route, load capacity, and arrival time, the outbound and inbound logistics can be controlled in a precise fashion optimizing full truck loads per shipment and precise arrival times to minimize inventory holdings. In essence the mobile trucks will become mobile inventories dropping holding costs significantly. Furthermore, Deere will be able to eliminate duplication of tasks because those who dealt with outbound logistics can service inbound logistics as well. Coordination of the two activities in the supply chain will optimize Deere’s supply chain at each plant giving it an advantage over other competitors who outsource inbound, outbound or a combination of the two. This is because by keeping both in house, Deere may be able to continuously improve their management of logistics and reduce costs. Deere is more flexible when they in-source outbound and inbound logistics because they can send trucks to service the current logistics need. Performance measurement is also more efficient especially if the aforementioned IT system is utilized. Furthermore, cost reductions will ultimately be seen due to better utilization of infrastructure, IT and human resources if our proposal is implemented.

China’s underdeveloped infrastructure, in particular the land transport system and connection between different forms of transportation, slowed down distribution, increased logistic costs, and finally hindered expansion into rural regions (p.13). As a result of this slow transportation, Wal-Mart’s two distribution centers couldn’t serve the entire country adequately. On the other hand, these distribution centers were significantly underused due to small amount of stores. Consequently, the retailer couldn’t benefit from cost saving through its distribution approach (p.14). Furthermore, communication with the retailer’s 15,000 local suppliers was inefficient and costly due to the lack of an information-technology network (p.14).

Demographic: According to Wal-Mart, there are three types of shoppers: Price-Value Shoppers, Brand Aspirationals, and Price-Sensitive Affluent (Wal-Mart, 2012). By 2004, Wal-Mart was the largest employer in private industry worldwide, over 1.3 million associates among its ranks. Roughly, 65% of Wal-Mart’s management associates started out as hourly associates, and it hired locally for most of its foreign operations. Economic: Despite the general weakness in the world economy and the uncertain environment that prevailed, Wal-Mart had reported sales growth of 11%, amounting to $6.4 billion. The company 's associates were indeed doing the Wal-Mart cheer in faraway

Under such a system, the vendor—subject to bounds previously agreed upon with the retailer—decides on the appropriate levels of inventory to carry at the retail stores, as well as the corresponding inventory policies to maintain such levels. In the P&G and Wal-Mart partnership, P&G committed to the development of a dedicated team to handle the Wal-Mart account. A primary objective of this team is to facilitate information-sharing between the two firms and address logistics, supply, management information systems, accounting, finance, and other issues (Handfield and Nichols, 1999). Under this arrangement, Wal-Mart shares point-of-sale information from retail outlets directly with P&G, giving the latter easy access to information on consumer transactions and buying patterns. P&G’s dedicated Wal-Mart account team effectively takes responsibility for the marketing and sales of P&G products within Wal-Mart stores. Similar VMI partnerships with other giant retailers have been established by P&G. These partnerships have dramatically improved P&G’s on-time deliveries to Wal-Mart and the other retailers while increasing inventory turnovers (Simchi-Levi, et al, 2000; Handfield and Nichols, 1999). At the same time, they save the retailer a significant amount of managerial and other resources, and demonstrate how information sharing leads to mutual advantage for both

Walmart 32nd St. has two primary warehouses located in Arizona, Buckey and Casa Grande. The store receives from 1 to 2 trucks per day with products ready to be out for sell, and 1 truck with products that are placed in the store’s warehouse. Walmart 32nd St. does not have any other type of inbound logistics because the store does not make any products, the store receives all products ready for sale. The store outbound logistics is basically the waste that the store produces, rarely the store sends out to others Walmart the inventory that has not been selling in Walmart 32nd St. and is selling good in other Walmart locations.

Wal-Mart use telecommunications to link directly from their stores to their central computer system and from that system to its supplier’s computers. This allows automatic reordering and better coordination. Knowing exactly what is selling well and coordinating closely with suppliers permits Wal-Mart to tie up less money in inventory than many of their competitors.

One of the gaps that Checkers successfully bridges is the space gap that exists between seller and the buyer. This gap is simply the physical distance between the producer and the consumer. Checkers bridges this gap by having large fleets of trucks and trailers at strategically placed distribution centres around the country. As checkers is one of the many brands under Shoprite Holdings Ltd, there are highly coordinated means of transportation from the distribution centres and the retail stores and thus the consumer. According to Shoprite Holdings Ltd on their website; the fleets of trucks operate 24 hours a day and seven days a week, which get the product to the customer quicker. Shoprite states they have a “highly sophisticated transport route planning and scheduling system” which improves store deliveries. This effectively closes the space gap between the checkers and the consumer.

To fill orders, SYSCO managed relationships with suppliers and moved items through its vast network of warehouses onto multitemperature delivery trucks. Nearly 9,000 delivery associates transported customer orders, unloading over

When we enter Walmart, we see a variety of items on the shelves, but do you know how they get there. Logistics of the supply chain helps with this part of the business. Walmart moves millions of products from the manufacturers, suppliers and distribution centers to its store’s shelves.

Walmart is well known all over the over the United States. Almost every town traveled through will have a Walmart. This store is known for their low prices and their ability have the essential items that are needed on a daily basis. According to their website, Walmart employs 2.2 million people around the world, with 1.4 million coming from the U.S. alone. These employees are operating in over 11,500 store in 28 different countries. In these stores more than 260 million people will visit a store in their area in a week (walmart.com, n.d.). With this many customers coming into the store customer service is essential. With customer service, feedback and response is a huge part to help associates understand what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. Then along those lines we will discuss how Walmart manages their supply chain and their supplier quality. Finally we will talk about Walmart’s employee empowerment, training and teamwork.

Offering products at everyday low prices is one of Wal-Mart’s many strategies. The company value chain helps identify activities associated with how Wal-Mart achieves their many strategies. First, Wal-Mart’s supply chain management is extremely cost effective. For example, Wal-Mart has been known to imitate competition’s successful merchandising concepts. Another cost-effective method in Wal-Mart’s supply chain management is their ability to track the movement of products through the entire value chain. Whether the product is in shipment, in distribution center inventory, in-store

Supply chain management is the process that an organization uses to "improve the way the company finds the raw components it needs to make a product or service and deliver it to customers (www.supply-chain.org 2006)." There are five basics components of a supply chain management system-plan, source, make, deliver, and return. Planning is the "strategy for managing all the resources that go toward meeting customer demand for the product or service (www.supply-chain.org 2006)." The source components are "the suppliers that will deliver the goods and services the organization needs to create the product or service (www.supply-chain.org 2006)." Make applies to manufacturing the product or the activities necessary to provide the

Due to lack of the transportation of infrastructure, it takes from 2 days to 4 days from Shen Zhen Distribution center to other major cities. It makes Wal-Mart react slowly to consumer demand and its own possible shortage. It puts more damage risk when products are on the road. Since lack of productivity of Wal-Mart’s suppliers, any loss of products on the road will cost short period supply shortage in Wal-Mart retail stores.

The supply chain management that Walmart used, had many different elements and stages to it. Some of these stages included the purchasing, operations, distribution, and integration. This supply chain management process begins usually with purchasing. The purchasing managers of companies or sometimes the buyers are responsible for determining which products and services their company will sell or are in the need for. The mangers or buyers will then use a strategy for obtaining the products at the best price from the suppliers. Then the managers or buyers will then discuss and come to an agreement which is profitable to all that is

This system was estimated at 570 terabytes – which Wal-Mart claimed was bigger than all the fixed pages on the internet. This database is connected to Wal-Mart’s internal analysts who forecasts demand with suppliers, also it is connected to the supplier network which displays sales data in real time, and is directly connected to Wal-Mart’s distribution centres. The order in which the data is collected is from the store network, and then the sales data is collected at the cash registers, in which the information is simultaneously sent to the retail link database via global satellite transmission. This global satellite system and database has given Wal-Mart a large competitive advantage to other