MAINTAINING OPERATIONS

Maintaining Operations



Abstract

The paper discusses the six components of Wal-Mart's supply chain and the benefits of implementing ERP to facilitate the global operations. Supply refers to an outsourcing process from which an organization obtains material and inputs for the production of goods and services. Wal-Mart's supply chain ensures low price strategy which is the core of company's strategic fit. Beside competitive supply chain procedure, the use of ERP and SAP facilitates the communication flow and operation management across geographically dispersed locations. Such integration is essential in managing the global operations as the scope of management is wide. The use of ERP benefits the organization by ensuring the control and measurement steps that are imperative for an effective supply and operations management.

Maintaining Operations

Introduction- Supply Chain Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart operates in several international markets, but these are the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Brazil and China. The company sells a number of retail goods and services at low prices. This product range includes both national and private- brand manufacturers. These distribution centers primarily serve the operating segment called Wal-Mart Store. In addition, these centers are also the distribution of supplies from Sam Club perishable items, jewelry, tires, and the product returned. Wal-Mart establishes a customer relationship depending on self-service and automated and towards co-creation of some products once it is possible (Basker, 2007).

Wal-Mart tends to reach the mass market toward mass customization. Wal-Mart's customers can be divided into three groups: “brand aspirations”, people with low incomes who obsessed with brand; “price-sensitive effluents” wealthier shoppers who love deals; and finally “value-price shoppers” who like low prices and cannot afford much more. Wal-Mart's technological edge is in its inventory control, logistics, and distribution. The ability to move products place to place quickly and efficiently keeps the costs down as well as the time system in combination with logistics force permits Wal-Mart to have accurate time information of products to the stores shelves that allow restocking automatically (Basker, 2007). Wal-Mart's core competitive advantage is that delivers the lowest possible price and its business strategy aligned with this advantage, based on cost leadership. Its wholesaler Business Models supports this strategy, all elements focused on using the least amount possible of resources, always looking into how to improve performance and effectiveness.

Components of Supply Chain

Production

Production is a significant aspect of Wall mart's supply chain decision regarding the focus on customer needs, capacity, quality and market demand. There are some issue that the company may face in the production of goods such as changes in taste and customer choice, new technology, and quality of raw material. To cope with this problem, Wal-Mart conducts surveys and gets continuous feedback from the customers so to effectively oversee the changing production demand (Hugos, 2006).

Supply

Supply refers to an outsourcing process from which an organization obtains material and inputs for the production of goods and services. It is one of the significant elements of Wal-Mart's supply chain. Wal-Mart focuses on the quality of predicts, velocity development in supply inputs and flexibility in prices that ensures ...