Les Fara
AIU Online
MGMT 415
08/19/2016
Wal-Mart is an American retail corporation which heads a chain of discounted supermarkets (Walmart, 2016) and their headquarters is located in Bentonville, Arkansas. It supplies products globally from their retail stores that are situated in 28 different countries. The company first appeared on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. Wal-Mart has roughly 12,000 stores. The food distribution accounts for 50% of all sales made by the company (MWPVL, 2016) the supply management operations of the company are rated among the best, and they are primarily focused on the needs of their customers and improving the operational efficiency as well.
For Wal-Mart their supply …show more content…
Wal-Marts supply chain is run by a fleet of Over the road trucks that support distribution centers. These distribution centers can hold up to 100 stores on a radius of 250 miles. As a result, the trucks only travel a short distance which creates short drive time (MWPVL 2016). Distribution centers are divided into sections that are assigned to specific commodities to store. Most of the retail stores are owned by branches of Wal-Mart. OTR carriers distribute to these outlets and the company claims they hire drivers who have driven over 400, 000 miles without causing any minor accident. The logistic phase of Wal-Mart which covers their customers are covered by a term called deliver and return. Orders from customers are prepared and the shipping department process the invoice and the reception of payments initiated (Roberts, 2012). Finally, the integration section links the work flow and data across all networks of the supply chain to enhance maximum …show more content…
This occurs when they accumulate more inventory at their distribution centers instead of the in stores (Walmart, 2016). The overall result is a decline in the growth rate of the inventory as opposed to the quarter revenues.
To fix this, operations should apply one of the core aspects of a Supply Chain Management which is Facilities. This will drive in more inventory into the distribution center then the retailers will cover less inventory. This is a chance for the retailers in the chain to practice being more flexible while delivering the right commodities to the store, being able to forecasts demands. The general effect is a reduction of old inventory held for inventory that does not move fast.
In the distribution section, the company is at a higher chance of suffering from delayed deliveries and a poor logistics system. This is a result of the traditional model it has adopted: truck transportation, over the road drivers. The total reliance of drivers places them at