Wal-Mart and Supply Chain Management

Paper Summary:

This paper describes the strategic activities of Wal-Mart. The Wal-Mart supply chain organization is defined. The author also highlights the importance of Wal-Mart's warehouses and their commitment to collaborative advanced planning and scheduling. Also presented are logistical operations. A comparison is provided showing Wal-Mart's performance relative to other global leaders in this area. A cost/benefit analysis of the Wal-Mart supply chain is included as a basis for suggesting further improvements. Finally, Wal-Mart's' ethical considerations in streamlining their supply chain are explored.

Introducing Wal-Mart
How Wal-Mart Is Defining Supply Chain Best Practice
Ethics and Wal-Mart
Supply Chain Recommendations for Wal-Mart
References

From the Paper:

"At the heart of Wal-Mart's supply chain today is the need for translate the many approaches manufacturers have of producing, selling and delivering products versus the significantly different processes that mass merchandisers need to be successful. Bridging this gap of communication and making transactions as efficient as possible, in effect creating what many industry experts call a lean supply chain, is Wal-Marts' ultimate goal. Underscoring this point during a recent AMR Research conference Gary Maxwell, Senior Vice President of Merchandise Replenishment, stated that "the top priority of the Wal-Mart supply chain operations is to bridge the gap between suppliers and retailers' approaches to doing business,"(Weston, Garf, 2005). Mr. Maxwell continued during the conference to outline the key goals and objectives for Wal-Mart's supply chain strategy in the near term. Wal-Marts' supply chain objectives are grouped into a focus into the three areas of efficiency, education and electronic enablement of transactions."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Accenture (2005). Accenture Consulting. Retrieved December 3, 2005 from the Web: http://www.accenture.com/xd/xd.asp?it=enweb&xd=_dyn%5Cdynamicpressrelease_800.xml
• Aimi, G. (2005). AMR Research (2005, October 25). Retailers Save Money By Controlling In-Bound Logistics. (Alert). Boston, MA
• Cecere, L., Hagerty, J., Souza, J. (2005). AMR Research, (2005, March 3). How Best To Measure Your Supply Chain Today. (Report and Analysis). Boston, MA
• Datamonitor (2005) Datamonitor Research (2005, Reference 1935). Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (Company Profile). New York, NY
• Department of Labor, (2005). Agreement With Wal-Mart Indicates Need For Stronger Guidance and Procedures Regarding Settlement Agreements. Retrieved December 3 2005 from the Web: http://www.democraticleader.house.gov/GM/DOL_ESA.pdf

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