Wal-Mart's international strategy faces sustainability challenges. While low prices give it advantages, leveraging everyday low prices is no longer sufficient globally. Wal-Mart must adapt strategies to foreign markets' cultural, economic, and regulatory differences. It lacks strategies for issues like poor foreign infrastructure, high competition, and protectionism. Additionally, Wal-Mart's international human resources strategy lacks transparency and fails to account for cultural differences. To sustain its competitive edge, Wal-Mart needs adaptive contingency planning and a transparent global HR strategy that considers each market's unique attributes.

1. A STRATEGIC ANALYSISEXPLORING THE SUSTAINABILITY OF WAL-MART’S INTERNATIONAL STRATEGYBy Try L. Muller

2. What is Wal-Mart’s Strategic Threshold?

3. Major Strategic Components3

4. Core Competences as Competitive AdvantagesLow prices from suppliers, low agency costs, low overhead costs due to employee compensation model, low production costsStrong brand awareness, proven EDLP strategy, awareness of customer value propositionStrong buyer influence, efficient distribution due to warehouse location4

5. Maximizing Strategic Capabilities for Sustainable Competitive Advantage5Incorporate domestic (Chinese) suppliers and produces , adjust to foreign regulatory framework such that supply chain can work around poor foreign IT networksChina, like many other countries has a strong union presence and or mandatory unions. Adaptive planning is necessary to address this issueMust familiarize itself with cultural labor practices, close communication gaps, integrate foreign (Chinese) managers into HR strategy, create transparency in employment model Engage in intensive research of the foreign consumer as well as society and culture, understand the socioeconomic framework for consumers

6. Wal-Mart’s Competitive Advantages and Barriers in Customer Countries

7. Customer Country Features 7Dothe socioeconomic and regulatory frameworks of Wal-Mart’s customer countries provide the corporation with a competitive advantage?What will Wal-Mart need to do in order to improve on to sustain or augment these global competitive advantages?

8. Great Britain8COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES Achieving cost-efficiencies at every level of operations.

9. Enhancing internet and mobile-based customer touch points to match the trend for the customer that does not need the in-store experience.AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT Must communicate product “value”— not “cheap products”— to customers who are willing to pay extra for quality products Canada9COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES EDLP marketing strategy capitalizes on the consumer’s desire for low prices.

10. The integration of financial services products in the store help the Canadian consumer as they enjoy the “one stop shop” store feature of being able to bank and shop in one place. AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT It is imperative to stay away from expanding business to areas with a strong presence of unionized workers. One store has been closed due to this country feature. Mexico10COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES Continue aggressive competitive tactics since product substitution is irrelevant

11. Blasting the trusting society with price promotion and rollback advertising

12. Tailored marketing methods and strategies that appeal to families and people under the age of 30AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT As mentioned before, Wal-Mart’s tactics have worked well to sustain its competitive advantage. Thus, there is no explicit strategic area that it needs to improve.Japan11COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES Redefine marketing strategy to advertise product quality while raising prices to capitalize on the customer who is willing to pay a premium for quality. AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT Explore new global HR strategies: employ domestic (Japanese) managers to run operations in order to eliminate cultural and communication gap

13. Vertically integrate domestic (Japanese) producers into the supply chain to appease the desire for domestically-produced goods.

14. Incorporate density planning into expansion strategiesOvercoming Internal and External Barriers to Executing Strategy in China

15. Key Challenges in Fulfilling Strategy In China13Inability to comprehend consumer preference or behavior, purchasing patterns, societal makeupNo IT infrastructure in China which results in poor communication in supply chainTolls on foreign transportation of products, regulations in place to prevent expansionHigh level of competition, differentiation almost irrelevant, easily substitutable products, EDLP is nullified since elasticity of demand is approx. 0

16. Discontinuities in International Strategy 14Does not effectively address costs associated with protectionism or value chain effects, poor economic evaluation of foreign markets Void of strategy to address density issues in foreign market, no dynamic research on expansion vs. land use policies and lawsStrategy not easily adaptable to foreign markets, doesn’t grasp cultural/societal differences, does not account for socioeconomic contingenciesNo foreign managers in HR approach, poorly formulated and non-transparent HR strategy, pursuing labor practices that are not applicable to foreign society