Wal-Mart Csm Case

INVENTORY MANAGEMENT

Wal-Mart CSM case

1. Mention five remarkable dates in Wal-Mart’s history. Eg. Walton was born in 1918.

1969: Walton had established 18 Wal-Mart stores.

1992: Wal-Mart suffered a setback when Walton died.

Wal-Mart expanded its operations in Mexico (joint venture w/Cifra).

1994: Wal-Mart acquires 122 Woolco stores from Woolworth, Canada.

1997: Wal-Mart acquires the 21-store German hypermarket chain, Wertkauf.

2002: Wal-Mart ranked 1st in the global Fortune 500 list.

2. The article describes management practices of three areas of the supply chain. These are?

The three areas of the supply chain describing management practices are: procurement and distribution, logistics management and inventory management.

3. For each of the three areas, identify three remarkable SCM practices

• Procurement and distribution

o The company procures goods directly from manufacturers, bypassing all intermediaries.

o 85% of the inventory is supplied directly from their own warehouses

o They are able to provide replenishments within two days on average.

• Logistics management

o Fast and responsive transportation system

o Drivers committed and dedicated to customer service

o Cross-docking technique

• Inventory management

o Investment in IT and communications to effectively track sales and merchandise inventories

o Full integrated satellite communication system

o 'Magic Wand', POS systems, centralized inventory data system, bar coding and radio frequency technology to manage its inventories.

4. Why is Information Technology (IT) and important tool for Wal-Mart Inventory Management practices?

IT is a very important tool for inventory management practices, specially for a big company like Wal-Mart, because it helps to control every single detail about the status of inventories in every warehouse and every store, providing uninterrupted service to its costumers, suppliers, stockholders and trading partners.

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