WAL-MART

Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart

Overview

In looking at Wal-Mart more closely we realize that since Wal-Mart is a traditional company its value chain is its supply chain. In order to strengthen its value chain we must focus on strengthening components in their supply chain. As we further analyze the company, Wal-Mart maintains a win-win situation with its suppliers since they order large quantities and they represent one of the largest customers for their suppliers. If we were to analyze Wal-Mart like any other company and focus on its value chain rather than supply chain, Wal-Mart still comes out on top. On the other side, strategic management is the process of decision making which have high medium term to long term impact on activities of the organization including the implementation of those decisions to create value for customers and key stakeholders and to outperform the competitors (Hubbard 2000, 2).

Wal-Mart and its strategic management have three important elements such as strategic analysis, strategic choice and strategic implementation. Strategic analysis gives the idea to understand the strategic position of the organization. It is an ongoing activity of organization. Strategic analysis gives the clear picture of the changes in the environment and how these changes affecting the organization and its activities. It gives idea about the resources and competencies present and their contribution to competitive advantage and development of new opportunities. Also it produces the idea about the people and groups such as manager, shareholders, union, stakeholder etc. associated with organization and their contribution for the development of organization.

Wal-Mart is one of the biggest global retailers in the world (See Appendix for more details), operating in several different countries around the world, with multiple formats, all tied together by a state-of-the-art retail distribution system known as a Retail Link. The corporation typically seeks market areas where there is a customer base of 5,000 to 25,000 and targets small to medium-sized towns in particular. Historically, the corporation avoids big city markets where land prices may be too high and competition from other large retailers much stiffer. Instead, Wal-Mart's strategy has been to locate in peripheral, semi-rural areas or city outskirts where it may draw from a regional clientele. (Thompson 2004, 180-205)

Some of Wal-Mart's sustainable sources of competitive advantage lie largely in their goal to providing their customers with the "Everyday Low Prices." This assurance along with the fact that they are willing to match or beat any of their competitors prices leads their customers to place more faith in Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart's aim to always serve their customers with a smile as well as always be of assistance is another reason they are able to stay ahead of their competition. Sticking steadfastly to the two rules of thumb on customer satisfaction and low price guarantee has lead Wal-Mart to become the leader in their competitive industry.

Descriptive statistics

Some of the key strengths of Wal-Mart are in its value chain activities, most importantly its primary activities. Wal-Mart has an excellent warehouse and inventory management system on hand, a segment of the ...