Order 1375344: Read Instructions

Quentin Anderson

Excelsior College

Professor Kane : BUS 490

Introduction

Walmart is one of the biggest companies in the United States supply chain business and is also one of the leading stores in the implementation and development of the supply chain. It is from time to time bound to face management challenges both internally and externally which affects how the company is perceived in the market. It is the standard measure of leading companies to carry out regular SWOT analysis which is aimed at establishing organisational strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement. SWOT analysis assists companies in developing ways of better dealing with corporate challenges whether concerning processes, output or service delivery. Walmart achieved a 12% increase in net sales in the year 2017 totalling up to $256.3 billion in net sales (Walmart Company, 2018). Effective executive business decisions, especially on areas of market interpretation and customer satisfaction, are among the most significant attributes leading to the continued success of Walmart. However, despite the fact of Walmart being among the leading retailing giant, it has continually struggled with shaking off a few effects accruing from environmental concerns and transportation inefficiencies (Walmart Company, 2015).

According to Gonzalez., (2012) factors such as the strategic transportation of goods has improved efficiency. However, the advancement in transportation Technology is an area of concern for Walmart if it to remain competitive and profitable in the future. Majority of Walmart competitors hastily implemented newer technologies into their transportation systems thus improving efficiency in the routing and scheduling management systems. Time form time Walmart’s management confesses as to having problems with their inventory management systems leading to billions of losses each year mainly resulting from the pile-up of stock merchandise caused by the increase in inventory and slow transportation. Although the Walmart management blamed bad weather the issues experienced with inventory, the reality is that they incurred huge losses as a result (Rosenblum, 2014). The process improvement addressed this issue by guiding the replacement of the transport management system with newer more effective technology. The fact that Walmart aims to expand even further globally, there will be the need for more improved transport infrastructure especially in the potential markets such as Canada and Mexico if they are to implement a successful improvement of the transportation processes. According to Walmart’s report, the company has continually experienced the improvement in the efficiency of the operations of the transportation department after the recent rollout of the process improvement plan on the transportation department of their Mexico outlets. Walmart reported that their focus on backhauls and other initiatives across the transportation department saved them nearly 9000 trips totalling up to 3 million (Gonzalez, 2012).

The other challenge that Walmart faces is related to the company’s external environment and is concerned with how the company relates to its employees. Although Walmart strives to maintain a good record especially in the human resource department, the company also focuses on implementing a plan that seeks to address the welfare of its employees which includes better remuneration as well as improved healthcare in regards to medical covers (Rosenblum, 2014). Although Walmart is often accused of inadequately compensating its employees, the company is focused on bettering the lives of low-income earners enabling the employees to save close to $1000 each year if successfully implemented. The possibility of Walmart reducing the prices of some products could be applied to stimulate increased sales by the employees while the increased market expansion also offers a chance for employees to tap into the high-end markets of urban areas.

Conclusion

The continuous process improvement plans being implemented by Walmart Company in many ways is projected to enhance organisational performance and also facilitate the achievement of both long-term and short-term goals and objectives.

References

Gonzalez, A. (2012) Improving Walmart’s Fleet Efficiency to enhance inventory flow. Retrieved on 25th November, 2018 from http://www.logisticsviewpoints.com/2016/07/25/improving Walmart’s Fleet-Efficiency-to-Enhance-Inventory-Flow-Logistics Viewpoint.html