Walmart Case Study PDF

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Julie Switkes Case: Half a Century of Supply Chain Management at Wal-Mart Key Issues/Problem:  Stock Prices for Walmart have been stagnant for a decade,Walmart was losing market shares as new competatitors replicated their innocative business model.  Whether Walmart’s current supply chain capabilities allow them to contitue to be the dominant and competitive fit in the current globalized and e commerce focused market Main Drivers of Problem:  The Supply chain model was lacking a global focus, had issues with excess inventory causing large costs, lacking strategic policy in marketing and advertising, and a need to manage cost of goods sold and operating expenses  Walmart lacks presence in e commerce, losing market shares due to growing customer demand and competition like Amazon who are dominating the online marketplace. Recommendations:  In order to increase stock price Walmart will need to focus on future sales growth and profit margins: o Walmart needs to expand business into global markets focus on global sourcing o Reduce excess inventory, minimize out of stock losses and surplus expenses by increasing their focus on the “One Touch” model o Shift the focus from opening new stores to aggressively remodeling old ones, improving the physical retail experience and create cross functional teams to process inventory o Develop a strategic plan in marketing and advertising to increase presence in the global market and drive sales  Walmart needs to focus on its “Multi Channel Strategy”: o Leverage its strength in store locations to boost its online business by offering in store pick up and quick free delivery for combined orders. o Develop their App and website which would allow customers to connect with Walmart to buy whatever they need on no matter where they are. o Test one-day shipping to try and compete with major competitors like Amazon. o Test in-home grocery delivery allowing them to break into the grocery delivery service that Amazon and grocery stores currently dominate. Key Takeaways:  A key takeaway for me is the refocus of your company to align with increasing globalization as technology develops new global markets emerge. Working for Northeastern we have seen a shift in focus to recruit students from all over the world versus recruiting just from the United States.  The future of increasing profits is directly related to your online market dominance, our school has moved towards developing our degrees to be completed fully online as demand for these programs has steeply increased and it aligns with the competition from other Universities who have also moved toward the online only model....