Introduction:

Wal-Mart Stores is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of

discount department stores and warehouse stores. Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas,
United States, the company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and incorporated on
October 31, 1969. It has over 11,000 stores in 27 countries, under a total 71 banners. The
company operates under the Walmart name in the United States and Puerto Rico. It operates
as Walmart de Mxico y Centroamrica in Mexico, as Asda in the United Kingdom, as Seiyu
in Japan, and as Best Price in India. It has wholly owned operations in Argentina, Brazil, and
Canada. It also owns and operates the Sam's Club retail warehouses.

Walmart is the world's largest company by revenue, according to the Fortune Global 500 list
in 2014, as well as the biggest private employer in the world with 2.2 million employees.
Walmart is a family-owned business, as the company is controlled by the Walton family, who
own over 50 percent of Walmart through their holding company, Walton Enterprises. It is also
one of the world's most valuable companies by market value, and is also the largest grocery
retailer in the U.S. In 2009, it generated 51 percent of its US$258 billion (equivalent to $284
billion in 2015) sales in the U.S. from its grocery business.

The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. In the late 1980s and
early 1990s, the company rose from a regional to a national giant. By 1988, Walmart was the
most profitable retailer in the U.S. and by October 1989, it had become the largest in terms of
revenue. Geographically limited to the South and lower Midwest up to the mid 1980s, by the
early 1990s the company's presence spanned from coast to coast - Sam's Club opened in New
Jersey in November 1989 and the first California outlet opened in Lancaster in July 1990. A
Walmart in York, Pennsylvania opened in October 1990, bringing the main store to the
Northeast.

Walmart's investments outside North America have seen mixed results: its operations in the
United Kingdom, South America, and China are highly successful, whereas ventures in
Germany and South Korea failed.
Supply chain of Walmart
Wal-Mart is a global leader in the retail industry, based in US. The company since its
founding days has come far and wide to command a place for itself in the industry today.
What has been the significant change of tide in favor of Wal-Mart can be emphasized to its
supply chains strategy. Wal-Mart today is "considered to be a market leader in term of
employment in the private sector. It's been asserted by industry expert that Wal-Mart achieved
the status of leader in the retail industry because of its effective supply chain management
strategy."

Wal-Mart supply chain strategy is very successfully because it adapts to change and
requirement of the market. "The company commitment to improve operations, lowering the
cost factor and building relationship with customer in the best possible way is dome of the
strategic outlook that is reliant to the company principle and its visions."
The supply chain management adopted by Wal-Mart are strategically effective, which reflect
the points that "abundant concentration is given toward 'procurement and distribution' of its
products, services and everything in the retail segmentations that are aligned to one single
units. With over 40 distribution centre, Wal-Mart presence across the globe in context of its
procurement and distribution is huge and influential factor. Besides, the company also is very
specific to meet the strategic formulation in the best possible ways, wherein its operations in
the logistic segment, its distribution as well as transportation and integration of technology
follows the best industrial practices. These four components are what define the key strategic
key of Wal-Mart.
Specific details to Wal-Mart logistic management can be emphasized to the components
"encompassing fast, reliable and responsive transportation facilities. Most importantly
distribution centre of Wal-Mart also are serviced by company owned transport vehicle and
trucks to facilitate a fast, reliable and effective logistics from one centre to another." This is
one of the biggest strategic strength that Wal-Mart boasts of as far as logistic segmentation
goes in its business operational expertise.

Thus, when we look to these features as details, we feel that Wal-Mart key supply chain
strategy and its adoption is the strength accumulated in four segmentation of its business,
namely logistic management, procurement and distribution, inventory management and most
importantly technological integrations. These four factor in the supply chain management
strategy of Wal-Mart in the retail industry are the streamliner of its business operation and
considered to be a strategic tools adopted by Wal-Mart, which have helped improved its
business operation to a great extent.
SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGY
Wal-Mart supply chain strategy and its strength are composed into four factor, they are the
integration of technology, procurement and distribution, inventory management and effective
logistics components. In that respect, the other factor that comprised the strength of Wal-Mart
in supply chain management also is their emphasis and greater force that is "concentrated in
building a lasting and fostering relationship with customers, its employees, and suppliers,"
who the company overall comprised the stakeholder in the company in deciding its fate in the
market.
Considering these facts, the major difference in Wal-Mart supply chain management to that of
other corporations in the retail industry in US and elsewhere are the factor of "its cross
docking operational expertise adopted by the company in meeting its supply chain
management processes." As the case is, Wal-Mart "in recent time since 2000 have invested
heavily in cross docking, which is its unique factor that also defines its inventory mechanism,
often regard by analysts as a major factor. The main factors that have helped Wal-Mart
through its unique cross docking inventory mechanism are its benefits derived in context of
economic of scale and cost of sales that are reduced dramatically through such processes."
Besides, Wal-Mart and its management also spent a "significant amount of time in meeting
their vendors, suppliers, distributors as a factor to understand what goes into the cost in
selling and procurement, etc which is an exemplification of an effective negotiation process
that goes into the making of it."
WAL-MART INVENTORY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
In the inventory segment as we have detailed, Wal-Mart adopt a streamlined measure in that
regard, so as to keep a low level of inventory. In that respect "the investment made by the
company in context its cross docking mechanism and its inventory. In another word, WalMart cross docking inventory "and its integration have enabled the company the ease and
convenience of complexities involved in the process of inventory management."
Besides Wal-Mart "adoption of the fast transportation facilities that are serviced and backup
by the company owned truck and supply vehicles that defines the effective transportation
facilities overall saves a tremendous amount of time, which is often loss in transaction or
shipping, which also reduces the cost in that regard." This is the benchmark of Wal-Mart
inventory practices and a model for emulation in the global retail industry.

IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON WAL-MART SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGIES

Globalization has had both the negative and positive impact on Wal-Mart supply chain
strategy and its management. However, on a greater note, we feel that Wal-Mart supply chain

strategy have benefitted greatly from globalization. One example of it can be said in context
of the company retail chains and its presence across national boundaries, be it in Mexico,
Latin America and major part of US and Canada. Add to it, "with around 7000 stored across
the globe, and 120 major distribution units globally, with an operation that span across 15
national economies, is one good exemplification to reason the factor attached to Wal-Mart
and the impact globalization have on it.
Some instance of globalization and impact on Wal-Mart supply chains management can be
seen in context of 'improved inventory process, technology, distribution channels and cross
docking as well as sales tracking systems that are rapid in process formulation and
information transfers."

TECHNOLOGICAL TRENDS AND ITS INFLUENCE IN WAL-MART

Technology as in any other industry has it influence. The same is with Wal-Mart and their
integration of technology in fostering an effective operational process in is supply chain
management. It is "speculated that Wal-Mart has one of the largest IT system within its
corporation structure, where technological integration and its influence is tremendously huge"
and play a significant part in Wal-Mart supply chain.
The main technologies adopted by Wal-Mart in its supply chain management are namely the
following:Universal Bar Code: This is the first of its kind "technology introduced by Wal-Mart in the
retail industry. The primary objective of this universal bar code adopted by Wal-Mart is to
bring about a change in retail industry bar coding system for common labelling. This is
somewhat a great technology adopted by Wal-Mart that enhanced its business process, given
that it generates all kinds of information required which is specific."
Radio Frequency Identification Technology (RFIT): This technology used by Wal-Mart
"integrates the advancement of radio frequency to pass on data and any relevant stored data
within the company intranet and extranet system."
Magic Wand: This is a hand held device used by Wal-Mart in its stored around the world.
This hand held device are mainly executed by the help of computers and make use of the
point of sale (POS) system and its integration, which help tracking sales of product and
tracking the merchandise in stores accurately. Considering these three technological
advancement, we feel that Wal-Mart integration of technology in its supply chain
management is huge and influential.