Supply Chain Management

869 Words2 Pages

Wal- Mart has been considered one of the most successful companies in dealing with the challenges of supply chain management. They are known for supplying cheap products to a market of individuals primarily interested in saving money. Though some could argue that Wal-Mart’s presence has been to the detriment of local owned and operated stores, this situation has been observable around the country. Taking a holistic view, one may define a supply chain to include all activities required to bring a product to the market (Modi, S. B. 2006). Wal-Mart is so successful because of their dominance of the supply chain from the manufacture process through when the consumer purchases the product. Thus supply chain capabilities are defined as a firm’s ability to build, integrate, and reconfigure its upstream supply chain, internal operations, and downstream supply chain to address rapidly changing market needs (Modi, S. B. 2006). It is known that Wal-Mart uses both above the line initiatives as well as below the line initiatives to bring product to their customers and create enormous profits for themselves. They are admired not only because they have the biggest selection of products, but because they excel at managing the flow of materials and information from the source of supply to the end user. Inter-organizational systems are presented as a vehicle that can enable firms to achieve the objectives of total awareness in the supply chain (Saeed, K. A. 2004). Wal-Mart could use the following actions to manage the above and below the line initiatives. Choosing the right mode of delivery definitely would have a large impact on the bottom line. Not all items need to be sent by overnight delivery. Using your SCM system to identify it... ... middle of paper ... ...ccountid=38569. (305335246). Saeed, K. A. (2004). Information technology antecedents to supply chain integration and firm performance. (Order No. 3157187, University of South Carolina). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 187-187 p. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/305118728?accountid=38569. (305118728). Agan, Y. (2005). A resource-based approach to supply chain integration. (Order No. 3167489, The University of Memphis).ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 127-127 p. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/305351174?accountid=38569. (305351174). Knipper, M. E. (2011). Developing an integrated supply chain costing approach for strategic decision making. (Order No. 3436534, University of North Texas). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 190-n/a. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/818457301?accountid=38569. (818457301).

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