Walmart has dominated the retail industry through strategic supply chain management and low prices. It employs over 1.8 million people worldwide and has over 11,000 stores across 27 countries. Key to its success has been cross-docking inventory and using technology to efficiently transfer goods between suppliers and stores with little warehousing. Initiatives like global sourcing and RFID tracking have further optimized Walmart's supply chain. To remain competitive, it will need to continue innovating, like improving its online presence against Amazon.

1. PRODUCTION & OPERATION
MANAGEMENT
Case Analysis of WALMART
Submitted to: Submitted by:
Prof. A. B. Raju Anshu Jain 194102
Hardik Jain 194110
Varun Choksi 194154
Vasu Chandak 194155
Keshav Rathi 194163

2. FLOW OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary
Introduction
Changing the face of Retail
Competitors
Action Plan
Justification
Supply Chain Management
Initiatives at Walmart to improve Supply Chain
Sourcing Strategies that Worked for Walmart
Conclusion

3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• Walmart is superior in the retailing industry when it comes to sales revenue, its
customer base, its ability to drive down costs and deliver good value to its
customers.
• After all, its the world’s largest corporation, employing 1.8 million associates
worldwide, having one of the largest transportation fleets with approximately
6,100 tractors, 61,000 trailers and more than 7,800 drivers, and with a little more
than 150 distribution centers.
• And is now one of the largest onsite green power generator in the U.S.Walmart
has the ability to continuously improve efficiency in the supply chain with cross
docking new technology and while meeting its corporate mandate of offering
customers everyday low prices from their grocery and entertainment to sporting
goods and crafts, Walmart provides the deep assortment that customers appreciate.

4. INTRODUCTION
• Walmart Stores Inc. is synonymous with low prices and name brand quality
products.
• The company basis of success and foundations cannot be credited to the current
CEO Lee Scott but famed Sam Walton.
• Walmart formula for success simply put is their relationship with customers,
employees, and technology that assists in forming relationships with their
suppliers; places Walmart Stores Inc. as the top discount retailer.
• Walmart, today is evolved from Sam Walton’s goals for great value and great
customer service.
• Sam opened the first Walmart in 1962 at the age of 44 in Rogers, Arkansas.

5. CHANGING THE FACE OF RETAIL
• The company went public in 1970, and the proceeds financed a steady expansion
of the business. Sam credited the rapid growth of Walmart not just to the low costs
that attracted his customers, but also to his associates.
• In addition to bringing new approaches and technologies to retail, he also
experimented with new store formats—including Sam's Club and the Walmart
Supercentre—and even made the decision to take Walmart into Mexico.
• His strong commitment to service and to the values that help individuals,
businesses and the country succeed earned him the Presidential Medal of
Freedom, awarded by President George H. W. Bush in 1992.

6. COMPETITORS
• Target Corporation: Retail industry, growing profits of 5.1% each year, quality
products, 2nd in low-price ., customer loyalty, bright appearance, Canada
Expansion Project.
• Kroger Co : Food Retail Industry, largest grocery store chain, second largest
general retailer, massive combinations of chains, growing profits of 6.6% each
year, growth driven by grocery operations.
• Costco Wholesale Corp : Costco Wholesale operates membership warehouses. Its
products include a large variety of every items and place it as the most important
competitor of Walmart.

7. • Amazon.com : Amazon.com serves consumers through its retail websites. It
provides merchandise and content purchased for resale from vendors and those
provided by third-party sellers. Walmart has to learn from this competitor to
improve its e-commerce because amazon is the best on the web.
• Dollar Tree Inc :Dollar Tree is an operator of discount variety stores providing
merchandise at the fixed price of $1.00.It’s one of the most discount retail stores
like 99cts stores and can be a competitor to Walmart. At January 28, 2012, it
operated 4,252 stores in 48 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 99 stores
in Canada under the Dollar Tree, Dollar Giant and Dollar Bills names.
• Walmart also have other competitors like Sears Holding Corp, Fred’s Inc, Safeway
Inc. ,Dollar General ,Big Lots Inc, CVS Caremark Corporation ,Tesco plc.

8. ACTION PLAN
• Walmart has to improve its E-commerce and has for that to improve its budget on
this sector.
• Hire more in this sector and try to match with the big E-commerce company like
Amazon.
• They have to improve this by also try to satisfy the customers who are more and
more connected nowadays by like for example creating new app which on you
could buy whatever you need for your house and your family.
• Walmart also needs to improve the quality of its products and its diversity to
satisfy all the type of customers and beat its competitors and be the only one retail
especially in the us.
• If they try to improve and take a real advantage online, they will be the biggest
retail store in the US and moreover if they match with all the types of people like
the vegan and everyone.

9. JUSTIFICATION
• Walmart's competitive advantage began to decrease when other competitors
replicated their innovative manufacturing process, data collection technology
and distribution strategy.
• Walmart the first corporation to implement cross docking the most efficient and
low cost distribution strategy .
• To maintain the title of market leader Walmart is continually seeking more
efficient strategies to decrease manufacturing costs, inventory costs and costs of
supplies.
• In 1969 Sam Walton assured Walmart's dominance by investing into a
distribution centre in Arkansas.

10. • The centre allowed the company to purchase in bulk, the suppliers became
inclined to maintain low purchased prices.. The centre also allowed for more
stores to be opened close from one another, purposely to maintain a day distance
drive.
• By the 1980s competitors realized that Walmart strategically placed stores close to
highways to reduce wait times and costs. Other companies had stores separated to
far from each other and mainly in prime urban sections of cities.
• A new approach of logistic operations led for more efficient trucks routes, on
average conductors only travelled one hundred and thirty miles. With quicker
routes Walmart experienced advantages that would allow for further expansion in
inventory levels and control .
• Walmart's constant efforts to innovate led for new solutions to be created.

11. SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
• The supply chain management is the collaboration with suppliers and customers, it
has a strategic business function and can create value to any company it is also the
key to creating competitive advantage for many companies.
• Walmart’s supply chain innovation began with the company removing a few of the
chain’s links. In the 1980s, Walmart began working directly with manufacturers to
cut costs and more efficiently manage the supply chain they specifically selected
the suppliers who could meet their demand.
• Walmart has other supply chain management strategies like close monitoring of its
stores, some technology innovations, they’re locating stores close to distribution
centers, they are sharing information with suppliers, they have a private trucking
operation, and they have a private label, with manufacturing in China.

12. INITIATIVES AT WALMART TO IMPROVE
SUPPLY CHAIN
• One way Walmart improved supply chain was the way they procured products with global
sourcing. Walmart Global Procurement was established in 2002 to facilitate the direct
purchasing of merchandise.
• They are headquartered in Shenzhen, China, and they have over 1700 associates sourcing
products from 50 countries, Another improvement was that they optimized product
delivery to stores to increase on shelf availability.
• Walmart aligned the merchandise flow, their delivery schedules, and the store labor
schedules together. Then, they reorganized their high velocity distribution centers to
deliver category group pallets that allow their associates to easily transfer product from
their trailers to the sales floor.
• Then, they added aisle and modular locations to the general merchandise case labels to
make it easy for Walmart store associates to get these types of products onto the shelf.

13. SOURCING STRATEGIES THAT WORKED FOR
WALMART
• Some of the sourcing strategies that worked for Walmart were Cross Docking and
technology.
• Cross docking one of Walmart’s best-known innovations, transfers products directly
from inbound trucks to outbound trucks.
• Cross docking makes the process of distributing products to stores more cost
efficient and gives a business logistical advantages.
• The traditional method to transport products to stores without a distribution centre.
Trucks need to make multiple trips in this case three separate stores. Inefficient use
of gas and time will increase the cost of storage and shipping .
• The Wallmart’s ideal distribution strategy of cross docking was more organized
approach, each truck is loaded with different products, the product is unloaded where
it is organized to be redistributed out quickly to stores.

14. • Inside the distribution centre there are workers who assemble pallets from one side
(inbound) to another (outbound) .
• The results are little to no storage, and suppliers are able to get product into retail
stores quicker.
• In some cases when products are defective it can be traced and the mechanised can
be sent back to the distribution centre.
• Walmart effectively implemented this strategy we can make the assumption based
on the thousand of products there superstores carry at everyday low prices.
• In the mid 1980s Walmart purchased a central database and a store level point of
sales system. Walmart would become again the first retailer to UPC bar codes. The
lump of data could be analyzed to make more accurate forecasting.
• In 2003 Walmart required its top one hundred supplier to use (RFID) tags on
shipments. Radio frequency identification offered the ability to record all sales
done within the store.

15. • For the first time Walmart a large retailer could record and analyze its company
operations. The data would allow Walmart to analyse stock availability.
• Trucks could be tracked, the location and how much stock is in each container.
• The priority was to minimize out of stock losses and surplus expenses.
• Walmart gave access to its suppliers with the contingency of getting more frequent
shipments.
• When the market experiences sudden spikes of demand for certain products
Walmart would be more likely to maintain in stock compared to competitors who
didn't have agreements with suppliers.

16. CONCLUSION
• In conclusion, Walmart dominates the retailing industry it operates more than
11,000 stores in 27 countries around the world, and manages an average of $32
billion in inventory.
• Walmart stores are located in low-rent, suburban areas close to major
transportation systems. This enabled Walmart to be close to its distribution centres,
reducing transportation costs, and time.
• Through the use of cross-docking, one of its best-known innovations. Walmart
continues to push the supply chain toward greater efficiency by taking on new
technologies.
• Walmart also developed the strategy of achieving high levels of growth and
profitability through its rigorous control of manufacturing, inventory, and
distribution.

17. • Some recommendations for Walmart should be reducing the excess inventory, and
utilizing a lean system as much as possible.
• With their online competitor Amazon.com wanting to take over the retail industry
Walmart should also step up their online presence.