Wal-mart Sustainability Strategy

Introduction1

Discussion2

Challenges of Wal-Mart's supply chain2

Wal-mart Seafood Supply Chain8

Conclusion13

References14

Wal-mart Sustainability Strategy

Introduction

This paper is based on the analysis of the case Walmart's Sustainability Strategy: Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain. Wal-Mart is the largest discount store in the United States. The retail store has not only successfully operated in the United States but also across the globe.

Wal-Mart is the largest global retail chain store. Wal-Mart is not only famous as a global retail store but also as the world's largest retailer. The company is operating in thirteen international markets. The countries in which Wal-Mart is operating include UK, Canada, Japan, Mexico, China, and Brazil. Wal-Mart is operating in as many as 10 countries outside the United States. Asian market has provided Wal-Mart with diverse opportunities. The company has already started its operations in Japan, Korea, and China. In the European Market, Wal-Mart has started its operations in British and German market. In addition, the company is also operating in Mexico, United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. In the year 2007, the company outsourced $750 million seafood. The output of the world fishers had declined to 3 percent in 1900. The volume of Walmart's was growing at the rate of 25% per year. The biggest issue faced by Wal-mart was the continuity of supply. The company decided to address this challenge through its sustainability strategy. The seafood network of Walmart decided to work with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) (Burt & Sparks, 2001, pp. 1468).

Discussion

Challenges of Wal-Mart's supply chain

The supply chain challenges experienced by Wal-mart are similar to those of other mass merchandisers. In order to evaluate the performance of Wal-mart's supply chain, it is important to look into its supply chain challenges. The major challenge faced by Wal-mart is the on-shelf availability of products at its retail outlets. Another important challenge faced by the company is an improved collaboration between suppliers and retailers. Wal-mart needs a thorough understanding of total supply chain cost to determine the effective practices for its supply chain. It is a challenge for the company to determine the best method of replenishment (Burt & Sparks, 2001, pp. 1468).

The need of having the right product at the right time and right price is a challenge in the global retail industry. The product variety offered by Wal-mart is large. The products offered by Wal-mart are also available at competitors' stores. Since products are readily available, the competition in this sector is very high. Therefore, it is important for Wal-mart to ensure the timely availability of products. For this purpose, the replenishment process must be carried out in an effective manner. According to industry experts, the in-store replenishment of products is associated with the distribution cost of the company (Burt & Sparks, 2001, pp. 1468).

The collaboration with suppliers is also a major challenge for Wal-mart. In the year 2003, Wal-mart had as many as 20,000 vendors and suppliers. The company ensures that all vendors provide products at the lowest ...