Supply Chain Management at Wal-Mart Case Study

Improvement at Wal-Mart Stores

How can the logistics processes be improved in your organization?

The logistic process of Wal-Mart provides results that have propelled the retail giant to the top income earning company in 2007. They are the first store to assume the first place in sales in the Fortune 500 magazine, exceeding giants in the energy sector: Chevron and Exxon Mobil; and manufacturer: General Motors. Wal-Mart's growth is based on the organizational structure established on logistic excellence, and logistics are vital. Logistics is about supply chain; having the right supply chain is no longer just an interesting opportunity. It is a survival skill. The fallacy is that Wal-Mart is in the retail business, but in reality, it is in the distribution business. Wal-Mart is obliged to bring products from the docking station to the client's doorstep in less than 72 hours and calls for the highest efficiency level in its supply chain process.

Cross-docking can help revolutionize the logistics process of Wal-Mart. Cross docking is described as the practice in logistics of unloading goods from an inbound trailer and directly loading the goods into outgoing vehicles with little or no storage space in between the processes of transfer. Tactically, this process will help change the type of conveyance, thereby helping to sort out products designed for different places. It is also a procedure to merge products from two or more different routes into one vehicle or container with the same location.The cross-docking tactic will assist Wal-Mart to improve its logistics from the point of origin to destination. Ultimately, it will reduce the cost of handling goods, cost of operation and drastically reduce the cost of inventory storage.

The fast growth of Wal-Mart makes it necessary for the company to have a good communication system. From this perspective, Wal-Mart must establish its own satellite communication system to help them supervise each transaction in their shops at any given moment. This will ensure that any unproductive stock is as less as possible because they will permit individual stores to handle their own inventory. This will help them to reduce package size across many different products and appropriate price discounts. In addition to the two techniques mentioned, they can also use standard information technology infrastructure to make more stocks available for their customers. In the quest to make their logistics system more effective and efficient, Wal-Mart must launch the cross-docking tactic. The system will allow them to monitor the movement of goods across all their distribution facilities and shops.

Wal-Mart workers will use the Magic wand, which is connected to their in-store devices through a radio frequency System that keeps continuous monitoring on their stocks in shops, supply and back-up products in stocks at their various facilities. The….....