Wal-Mart Strategic Audit

fling products at everyday low prices is unmatched of Wal-M artworks m whatever strategies. The go with value kitchen stove attend tos identify activities associated with how Wal-Mart obtains their many strategies. First, Wal-Marts supply chain management is extremely cost nubive. For example, Wal-Mart has been known to imitate competitions successful merchandising concepts. Another cost-effective method in Wal-Marts supply chain management is their ability to track the movement of products by the entire value chain.Whether the product is in shipment, in distri notwithstandingion piazza inventory, in-store inventory or on the shelf, or at the cash register, Wal-Mart bed track it in real time. Their capability in streamlining supplies among stores and suppliers has helped them bear trance inventory and track what sells and what doesnt. Operations and distri entirelyion strategies have also helped Wal-Mart achieve low prices. Wal-Marts strategy has been to plot stores outsid e of large cities and inwardly 200 miles of existing stores. Clustering stores together in small atomic number 18as, Wal-Mart relies on word-of-mouth advert to win everyplace consumers in larger cities.Because stores atomic number 18 close together, distribution costs are below average. Furthermore, Wal-Mart seeks to meet antithetic customers needs with four distinct retail elections these involve discount stores, supercenters, surface-to-air missiles Clubs, and neighborhood markets. Each store concept has a specialized range of store size, total employment, and estimated sales. One of Wal-Marts foremost strategies is to tin superior service to customers. Every store has a greeter tightfitting the entrance to welcome customers, offer them a shopping cart, and direct them toward where their items are located.Rule number eight in Sam Waltons 10 Rules for Building a Business is to Exceed our customers expectations. If you do, theyll come back over and over. Alternative St rategies Wal-mart Stores Inc. is known to most as the low price draw but Wal-mart also has a controversial image. Being a multibillion vaulting horse task does not excuse one from problems. Over the years Wal-Mart has been one of the most scrutinized businesses in America. Wal-Mart has had to deal with employee disputes over health benefits, wages, hours, and labor.They have go about opposition from the communities, banks, elected leaders, and unions in many of the small towns they have expand to. Many argue that Wal-Mart stores coffin nail have a negative effect on the fellowship, because Wal-Mart has driven out other topical anaesthetic competition by driving the prices down. Some have flush gone to great lengths to get out Wal-mart stores from entering their cities. Wal-Marts goal is to treat their customers like family while providing them with graphic symbol goods at lower prices but Wal-Marts image is deflating. Why? What can be done?The challenge cladding Wal-Mart, especially in this essay time of economic hardship, is to boost its perceived value to the customer by improving the quality of their goods while keeping themselves differentiated from their competitors. there are several options that Wal-Mart can utilize in order to flip-flop their image. thither are three significantly different options to follow that Wal-Mart should analyze and rail action. One option is Wal-mart needs to target the high margin, discretionary sales. polar products need to be the center of the market efforts, for example more dapper merchandise.To entice the style conscious advertising should also be shifted to towards the higher margin sales. The second option is unionization. By unionizing a company much(prenominal) as Wal-Mart, the costs would be immense in initial incite up while they whitethorn balance out future legal costs. If Wal-Mart allowed for unionization, their perceived image impart change dramatically. A third option is creating a str ategicalal alliance or a joint surmise with topical anesthetic farmers. By creating a new image through marketing or through unionization we now can acquire a new enticing atmosphere drawing in a divers(prenominal) consumer. strategic Evaluation of AlternativesHigher Margin Target Market Wal-Mart has perpetually had a smaller margin 30%, compared with Target at 45%, on discretionary items, like furniture, electronics, sporting goods, entertainment and apparel. Wal-Mart can take out the style conscious consumer a few different flairs. One way is by offering high-quality clothing items. This can be done by scouting out up and coming high-end designers at fashion/art schools and working with them to design clothing lines that would appeal to not only the Wal-Mart shoppers but also the urban market consumers to bring in more upmarket customers and wider profit margins.Styles and variations can be done by target marketing, by age, income, lifestyles. Then pricing structures and m arketing methods can be set up for each dominant market. The pros for this strategy are simple, profit and a salmagundi among the consumers attracting a different kind of customer. By attracting this target market you generate the door to more crowded stores, possible price increases, and thereby you may find the original Wal-mart consumer shopping elsewhere. Unionization By using a functional strategy to put through unionization, Wal-Marts perceived image would change dramatically.They would be viewed publicly as a caring employer that wants to offer the outstrip benefits to its associates, attracting let out workers thus creating better customer service and longevity of their associates. due to the negative publicity that Wal-Mart has encounter about its workers pay and benefits, this would be seen as a arrogant action. Wal-Mart has had to work hard to clear their name from stinking press relating from their business practices, from low pay and stingy health benefits, to li gation issues.Wal-Mart is a multi-billion dollar company where their top exe ariseives are some of the richest in the country, however, their employees are barely making minimum wage at the highest, and are facing the harsh reality of being unable to support their families. As a multi-billion dollar company, providing benefits would be a great opportunity for Wal-Mart to help employees and the prudence but it will also help revive the companys current image into something much more positive. A union would help establish and maintain the program plus it would also create group unity which in turn would create a more positive work environment.Not only would it bring more customers to the store, it will cut down on its lawsuits. The introduction of a union may even cut costs because the company would then be held to more unrelenting guidelines, resulting in less legal issues. However, the cost of implementing a union would be great. Employees may also be leery of paying union dues. Strategic Alliance or Joint Venture with topical anesthetic anaesthetic farmers Wal-Mart could expand its business to include partnerships with local anaesthetic farmers utilizing a cooperative strategy, by creating a strategic alliance or a joint venture with local farmers.These local farmers will benefit from the large scale business that Wal-Mart would offer. Wal-Mart by purchase locally are reducing their environmental stamp, giving back to the community and enabling their consumers to purchase fresh produce thus creating an image of portion communities. The local farmers could grow produce, including original, that could be stocked in local locations, advertising this within store with locally grown signs above each product, depicting the location and photo of the farm/farmer would make consumers aware that buy these products will benefit their local community.Moving into organic fares will create new challenges for Wal-Marts well-known supply-chain schema. The wholes ale organic foods market is made up of many small suppliers selling perishable goods that require complicated handling. Recommended schema Strategic Alliance or Joint Venture with local farmers Wal-mart has managed to climb a brand name synonymous with low cost products but not necessarily quality products. This image has attracted a core lower-income consumer which organic products may not appeal to.However, Organic products represent a new, ontogeny category of demand for all retailers. Many consumers today are actively buying American made and grown products with an increase of interest in organic products. Wal-mart has the opportunity now to diversify its target market to include the heath conscious consumer. Having a Joint venture or strategic alliance with local farmers will create an image of helping local communities, increase sales, reduce costs, and create a loyal customer stupid by using the local farmers Implementation A. Wal-Mart can increase cabbage by using loca l markets. Buying locally from the farmers will reduce transportation cost and increase product freshness. B. Wal-Mart will lead the food markets by using local farmers exclusively. C. Research and Development will be implemented at the local store manager level. The supply and expect demand will also be determined at the local level. Strategic Manager Julie Communication Online Meetings Accountability Update, determine needs for local markets Frequency Quarterly Evaluation and Control.Wal-Marts evaluation and control of the carrying into action of a strategic alliance or joint venture with local farmers change starts with setting performance standards. Wal-Mart will set performance standards that will allow guidelines to be set that will define the differences between genuine and desired results. These standards will help to ensure that Wal-Mart is able to catch any issues related to the implementation and implement new procedures if needed. Wal-Mart can begin by analyzing the o verall market they would operate in using a benchmarking cover.The benchmarking process would enable Wal-Mart to better understand the services, products and competitors that it would be going up against in this market segment. By utilizing this process Wal-Mart will have a better understanding of their competitors, the process they use and possibly the ability to do it better. at one time Wal-Mart has analyzed its competitors, the monitoring of the implementation begins. In the evaluation and control process Wal-Mart needs to begin to set up a control system that would enable Wal-Mart to monitor departments within each store.These systems would then enable them to maintain quality standards, monitor pricing, follow current trends and have the ability to implement any necessary changes to the system within each store immediately. There should be multiple control systems to ensure that management is able to run feedback within each corporate level, enabling them to be able to nai l down any issues prior to the completion of the implementation. Wal-Mart is known for everyday low prices and maintaining their environ as the low cost leader is important during this process.