...Management at wal mart Submitted to: Prof Mhihr Das Submitted By: Kunal Bhatia (M00116, Hitesh Bambhaniya (M00126), Saloni Umraniya (M00128), Sagar Nathani (M00134) 3/6/2014 Table of Contents Introduction 3 Value Chain System of wall mart 4 Porter 5 force 4 SWOT 5 Competitors 6 Suppliers 8 Back haul of wall mart 9 Role of HR 10 Role of RFID 11 Strategy 12 Strategy of other companies 13 Conclution 16 Introduction The retail industry is dominated by few retail giants, with Wal-Mart competing in several retail categories. Wal-Mart competes against Kmart and Target in the general merchandise retailing; against Costco in the warehouse club segment; and against Kroger, Albertson’s and Safeway in the supermarket retailing. Competition among retailers centers on pricing, store location, variations in store format and merchandise mix, store size, shopping atmosphere, and image with shoppers. Further analysis provided by the following figure diagnoses the competitive environment of the retail industry. As a fact, Wal-Mart is considered as the world’s largest retailer nationwide that has been guided by its founder Sam Walton’s passion toward customer satisfaction, and his beliefs in excellence, as well as his philosophy in lowering his prices that has been proven with his famous slogan “everyday low prices.”1Visible outstanding success has required a lot of effort, strategies, dedication, and wide consideration. Such as Wal-Mart, victory...
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...wallmartWAL-MART GLOBAL STRATERGY Wall mart has its four large scale formats: * Wal-Mart Stores * Wal-Mart Supercenters * Sam's Club * McLane's Company * Wal-Mart International During late 1980s wall mart started its expansion in Mexico, Canada, Argentina, Hong Kong, and Brazil. The company considered that with a prospective of market globalization, the brand, “Wal-Mart,” could be a competitive advantage in many countries where it would operate. The company also decided that the entry strategy in each country should be through a partnership with local companies. In Mexico the local partner was Cifra in 1991. In Canada wall mart acquired Woolco - instead of having a local partner. In Brazil a local retail chain provided its help to open 80 stores to wall mart with the help of its logistics and communication infrastructure. As on august 2008 United States: 4,227 total units and international units of wall mart have reached 3210 units. Overall wall mart has opened its stores almost throughout the world like Argentina, china, Costa Rica, Japan, United Kingdom, Puerto Rico (Lakshman, 2009) WAL-MART GLOBAL STRATERGY * Inbound Logistics Integrated system with suppliers to communicate in real time with sales information and stocks * Operations Incoming goods are offloaded into outgoing trucks directly without stocking them even for a few hours * Outbound Logistics Goods are transferred within 48 hours of receipt from suppliers * Marketing...
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...Ward and then the ever expanded and refined works of Richard Sears. Before these opportunities the town’s general store was basically all that was available to most of America. Sears had an idea to provide a multitude of products to many who had no other way of acquiring them. He took Wards business model and expanded upon it. Working a 12 hour day, 7 days a week, Sears set out to catch up with industry leader Montgomery Ward and Company. The strategy was the same – low price, heavy advertising and a money-back guarantee. But Sears was able to execute the strategy more effectively and within 10 years he had caught up with and surpassed the sales volume of Montgomery Ward and Company. (Buris and Jeneck) It was this type of risk taking and hard work that made American entrepreneurs so successful. Not all had what it took but without the risk taking, big business could have never grown to be the multi-billion dollar industries we see in today’s world. Growing up in a large city I never really understood the hoopla around the Wal-Mart phenomenon. When they opened up in the suburbs it was just another retail shopping spot to buy cheap items at discounted prices. This memory reaches back to the early 1990’s for me. Move forward a few years and my first experience with how this fortune 500 company happened in my professional life. Overnight this company became our biggest customer of retail cheese products. They also became our biggest nightmare. Although the...
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...Company background Wal-Mart is the world's largest retailer by annual sales and number of employees, tracing its history back to 1962 when it was first opened in US (guardian.co.uk). Wal-Mart operates in 27 countries worldwide under 69 different names including the acquisition of ASDA in the UK. Wal-Mart has reached $1bn in sales in 1980 and reached $414bn in 2012 and is currently employing 2.2 million employees worldwide. Wal-Marts stores offer merchandise such as housewares, electronics, small appliances, clothing and groceries. It has 13.4% of the market share in the US (CNBC, 2012) and 17.3% (Guardian, 2012) in the UK, being second largest retailer in the country after Tesco. Wal-Mart has been present in the UK after Wal-Mart acquired ASDA for £6.7bn in 1999. Now ASDA operates 528 stores and their clothing brand George has become UK's biggest clothing retailer pushing Primark out to the second place by market share. Company's mission is to save people money so they can live better. Their main core value is to respect every individual and provide exceptional customer service. These values has helped Wal-Mart to compete globally and to gain leadership in the market since customers are more conscientious these days. Generic strategy There are numerous strategies that companies can use to compete against each other and try to maintain competitive advantage and most of them involve knowing customer needs and preferences. Entering a new market is always difficult, Porter's...
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...for perishable items], warehousing and logistics infrastructure issues to be faced by Wal-Mart in India. * Competition by Indian small-scale retailers: Cultural differences in Indian retail way and the wall-mart way, while unorganized small-scale retailers in India build a long lasting relationship with their customer, Wall-Mart’s relationship is mainly transactional. * Lack of skilled employees, inadequate quality control and a variation in policy regimes across different states in India is a significant challenge Wal-mart would have to face. 2. Situation Analysis Core competence of Wal-Mart: Wal-Mart, due to its efficient logistic system and the ability to capitalize on every cost saving opportunity has provided them with a competitive edge over their competitors. The core competence of Wal-Mart is providing low priced products due to its excellent supply chain management including the following 3 sub points: * Procurement and distribution: Minimizing reducing purchasing cost through procuring directly from the manufacturers and eliminating the intermediaries. Further, with strategically located warehouses at different geographical locations and each one ensuring a constant flow of goods through the use of technologies such as RFID makes it economical and cuts down the overall cost of operating the warehouses. * Logistics management: Wal-Mart has its own transportation system. Having more than 7000 company owned trucks for its distribution...
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...Wal-Mart Stores: One Step Ahead of the Rest I Parties In 1962, Sam Walton and his wife, Helen, opened the first Wal-Mart in Rogers, Arkansas. The discount retailer proved to be a quick success as Walton opened 15 additional stores in the following 10 years. In 1972, in hope of raising more capital and further expanding his business, Walton had an initial public offering of Wal-Mart stock on the New York Stock Exchange. The IPO went extremely well and the corporate entity was able to raise enough capital to open up another 276 stores spanning 11 states. The retail giant continued its success and has now become one of the staple corporations of American history; operating 10,000 stores nationwide while serving 176 million customers annually. However, the path to success came with a few bumps in the road; Wal-Mart has been accused of treating female employees, in both management and hourly positions, unequally compared to their male coworkers. Betty Dukes, Patricia Surgeson, Christine Kwapnoski, Deborah Gunter, and Edith Arana are current and/or former Wal-Mart employees who are accusing their employer of sexual discrimination. Mrs. Dukes began her employment for Wal-Mart in 1994. In 1999, after 5 years of minor promotions and raises, she asked to be trained for a management position but was refused. Ms. Surgeson was hired by Wal-Mart in 1997 and received 2 promotions in her 4 years of employment. While bearing more responsibility, she didn’t receive an increase...
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...Activity 2.3 Case Study: Wal-Mart and the yuan debate Why is the value of the yuan so important? Wal-Mart’s business strategy relies on low production costs which it can pass on to its customers. If Wal-Mart were a country then it would be China’s eighth largest trading partner ahead of Russia, Australia, and Canada. Wal-Mart’s non-Chinese owned suppliers operating in China number nearly 5,000 and all of them benefit from a low valued yuan compared to the dollar. The 176 million worldwide customers of Wal-Mart also benefit from the low valued yuan. With nearly 70% of Wal-Mart’s products coming from China a sharp increase in the value of the yuan against the dollar can be devastating for the company as the increased costs for Wal-Mart and would most likely passed on to customers. It could also hurt American customers whom Wal-Mart claims it saves the average household roughly $2,500 dollars every year. (Peng, 2011) If you were the CEO of Wal-Mart and were preparing for a meeting with the most vocal members of the US Congress on China’s currency “manipulation”, what would you say to them? I would point out that while it may be politically easy to blame China especially when it comes to an uniformed electorate, the rise in costs associated with policies aimed at encouraging China to lets its yuan to appreciate against the dollar will do harm in other ways. Average Americans (also known as voters) will feel an appreciated yuan in their wallets. China may be an easy target...
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...Strategic Management: Strategy is a long-term plan framed to gain a competitive advantage. Strategic management is a domain wherein strategies are transformed in to actions. It even comprises decisions made based on priorities, say, tasks to which time is devoted like resource allocation. These plans and decisions are aligned to goals of an organization. (Amason, A. 2010) Strategic management focuses on clients to know their expectations and serve them brilliantly. It involves action plans to reduce attrition and to retain the best talent. Its scope involves the functions and activities which make the organization innovative and pioneering. (Karami, A. 2007) Need for Strategic Management: Need for its strategic management arises to fulfill the priorities of an organization few of which include: o To accelerate its growth in this global business. o To augment the operational excellence of the organization. o To become globalized. It aims towards value creation to all shareholders at the same time even being centered towards society. (Amason, A. 2010) Executive Summary: Strategic Management involves formulation and implementation of strategies to improve the performance and to gain competitive advantage. It involves decisions and acts that managers undertake in order to attain the desired goals. Strategies are planned means to attain end results. Strategic management is long term in nature and gives a direction to the organization. Before...
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...Customer Relationship Management of Wal-Mart - January 20th, 2011 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (formerly branded as Wal-Mart, branded as Walmart since 2008) (NYSE: WMT) is an American public multinational corporation that runs a chain of large discount department stores and a chain of warehouse stores. In 2010 it was the world's largest public corporation by revenue, according to the Forbes Global 2000 for that year.[6] The company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962, incorporated on October 31, 1969, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. Wal-Mart, headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, is the largest majority private employer[7] and the largest grocery retailer in the United States. In 2009, it generated 51% of its US$258 billion sales in the U.S. from grocery business.[8] It also owns and operates the Sam's Club retail warehouses in North America. Wal-Mart has 8,500 stores in 15 countries, with 55 different names.[9] The company operates under its own name in the United States, including the 50 states. It also operates under its own name in Puerto Rico. Wal-Mart operates in Mexico as Walmex, in the United Kingdom as Asda ("Asda Wal-Mart" in some branches), in Japan as Seiyu, and in India as Best Price. It has wholly owned operations in Argentina, Brazil, and Canada. Wal-Mart's investments outside North America have had mixed results: its operations in the United Kingdom, South America and China are highly successful, while it was forced to pull out of Germany...
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...1) The report provides a good picture about the symbolic meaning of Wal-Mart to the consumer and serves as a good measuring stick to certify that the Company’s core brand associations (low prices, rural America, patriotism, etc.) are still in place. Additionally, it does a good job in understanding the relationship between Wal-Mart and the three customer segments: from depicting the psychological profile of the customers (dreams, aspirations, concerns, shopping patterns, etc.) to explaining what role Wal-Mart plays in their lives. Despite providing a thorough analysis on the consumer segments and their interaction with Wal-Mart, it fails to provide a solid case on how should Wal-Mart address the challenges it faces in trying to address new customers and new categories in a congruent manner. In terms of methodology, the research is not exhaustive enough. 24 In-home Friends and Family Groups, 80 Workbooks and 20 In-home 1:1 Interviews and Store visits are not conclusive enough for a Company that has 138 million weekly customers. Having to resort to the same quote from a Price Sensitive Affluent for different purposes on pages 17 and 26 – “We all went to college and struggled […]” is very poor. Furthermore, the markets in which the research was conducted are not representative enough of the rural America that Wal-Mart serves. The absence of quantitative analysis (or even quotes) in the research to backup conclusions undermines the credibility of some statements, such as...
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...PREPARED BY: GROUP MEMBER 1) NURSYAHIDAH BINTI RAZALI 62283113720 2) NURUL NABILAH BINTI RAZALI 62283313248 3) NURUL ZAITUN BINTI ABDUL MALIK 62283313168 4) UMMI KHALSUM BINTI RAHMAT 62283313053 PREPARED FOR: LECTURER’S NAME: MOHD HAIZAM BIN MOHD SAUDI 1. What is the nature of the company business? What are their product lines? Wal-Mart is the World's largest retailer. It has over 11,500 stores in 28 countries across the globe. Wal-Mart is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores and grocery stores. Walmart products include discount stores, cash and carry wholesale, warehouse club, super-center, supermarket and superstore and also an e-commerce business. 2. Develop a suitable vision and mission statement for the company. Vision i. To be the best retailer in the hearts and mind of consumer and employees. ii. To promote ownership of Wal-Mart ethical culture to all stakeholder globally. Mission i. Saving the people's money so they can live better. ii. If we work together we will lower the cost of living for everyone. iii. Save money. Live better. 3. Using the following template, develop EIGHT (8) core business objectives in fulfilling the stakeholder’s expectation. Please refer Chapter 4 page 134 of your text book for the details. The objectives must meet SMART (Specific, Measurable...
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...Business Week 2 Strategy Paper - Walmart Besa Kosova, Priscilla Alejandro, Lennie Bostic University of Phoenix August 09, 2013 Dr. Ron Skeddle WALMART Wal-Mart U.S., is the leading unit of the retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which sells wide-ranging merchandise and groceries. The company has reputation for value, convenience, and a large selection at a low price. As one of the highly valued global companies today it ranks third publicly while remaining the biggest retailer and major private employer nationwide. Nevertheless with growth and expansion, the company faces new challenges in an attempt to remain competitive and a community favorite. This paper will analyze the company’s internal and external factors such as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. SWOT ANALYSIS 2013 |Internal Factors: STRENGTHS |Internal Factors: WEAKNESSES | | | | |Operations Scale |Negative Publicity | |IT competence |High Employee Turnover | |Product Variety ...
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...Amazon Evolution Axia College Amazon.com's initial strategy was to become the largest online bookseller in the United States. Their plan was based on a combination of business ingenuity, fitting a newly created need in the marketplace for discount books, and being able to provide these books at a significant enough discount due to their ability to buy in bulk and run their business without the same staff required of a traditional book store. Amazon.com quickly caught on to those looking for cheaper books, especially amongst college students. At the time, the only primary way of buying other types of goods online was through EBay, which could involve a time consuming arduous process, and could cause an individual to pay a substantial premium on the goods they were going to purchase. Furthermore, it was difficult if someone were otherwise occupied, for instance, with employment to stay attuned to the deal and not lose it to another individual merely because he was working at the time. EBay attempted to fulfill this need through Half.com, but it did not really catch on like Amazon. Just like other bookstores, Amazon quickly moved into other media, such as movies videogames, and other forms of entertainment, especially those visually based. Once Amazon realized that it was making such a substantial profit through selling books and the other forms of medium that it sold on its website, it seems like the Executives came to the logical conclusion that the website would be...
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...Wal-Mart's Globalization Efforts Over the years Wal-Mart has grown by leaps and bounds. Their presents has now been seen in "thirteen international markets" (Ball, Donald A.; Geringer, J. Michael; Minor, Michael S.; McNett, Jeanne M. 395). They began in Mexico, in 1991. From there they moved into Canada (1994), Hong Kong (1994), Brazil (1995), Argentina (1995), China (1996), Indonesia (1996), Germany (1998), South Korea (1998), the United Kingdom (1999), Japan (2002), Guatemala (2005), El Salvador (2005), Honduras (2005), Nicaragua (2005), Costa Rica (2005) and India (2007). Although they were not successful in every market, Wal-Mart is looking towards the future and the possibility of moving into Russia and South Africa. 1991 Wal-Mart made its first appearance in the international market in Mexico City. "The company used a 50-50 joint venture" (Ball, Donald A.; Geringer, J. Michael; Minor, Michael S.; McNett, Jeanne M. 396). Although they were not a new chain, Wal-Mart still made a few mistakes when entering a new country. "They had a huge American-style parking lot… [however] customers came in via buses not cars" (Mahajan-Bansal). They also made mistakes with product mix, trying to sell products that were not needed and sometimes not usable. They quickly figured out how to solve these small problems and Wal-Mart is now the number one retailer in Mexico (Mahajan-Bansal). 1994 Wal-Mart "entered Canada by acquiring 122 Woolco stores" (Ball, Donald A.; Geringer...
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...Wal-Mart Online Wal-Mart is one of the largest companies in America. It is definitely the largest retailer, both in terms of the number of stores (8,970 worldwide in 2011) and the level of sales ($419 billion from the 2011 Annual Report). By pushing suppliers to continually reduce costs, Wal-Mart is known for pursuing low prices and the stores often attract customers solely in-terested in lower prices. With Wal-Mart’s expansion into groceries, the company has be-come the largest retail grocer in America. Even by 2002, over 100 million Americans visit a Wal-Mart store in a given week (Press Action 2002). Yet, Wal-Mart has struggled in the online world. The company has tried several approaches to selling physical and digital products online. From electronics to books, music, and movie rentals, the company has an-nounced many different online stores. Wal-Mart has struggled with most of its attempts, while Amazon continues to grow and expand in e-commerce sales. Although Amazon has a fraction of the total sales of Wal-Mart, Amazon is substantially larger in online sales. Which raises the ultimate question of what Wal-Mart is doing wrong, or what it needs to do to get a larger share of online sales. Background Many articles and business cases have been written about Wal-Mart. Most customers are probably familiar with the store and the overall concepts, but a considerable amount of work takes place to manage the large inventory, suppliers, pricing, customers, and employ-ees. Wal-Mart...
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