1. Company Resource Analysis

Human Resources

Walmart is estimated to have over 2.2 million employees. With these vast numbers, the Human Resource is tasked with the development of appropriate policies to maintain productivity and performance among employees.

Walmart’s Human Resource Key Strengths are:

• Committed and Self-driven employee workforce.
• Leadership and professional training for staff.
• Sufficient staff supervision and management.
• Appropriate interaction and communication between employees and consumers.

Weaknesses

• Most of the company’s team is employed part-time.
• Walmart policy is non-unionized.
• Low wage rates for employees.
• Sexual discrimination for female employees (Low wages).
• Expensive training costs.

Financial Resources

Walmart is the second largest most successful international corporation. The company is worth billions of dollar.

Financial strengths

• The company has a wide following online with E-commerce website in 10 states, Walmart has taken advantage of this to maximize online sales.
• The company has enormous financial resources owing to its numerous stores and partnership with different suppliers and retailers worldwide.
• It is the leading retail store in the US.
• It has a well-coordinated supply chain, increasing its sales due to efficient distribution.
• Distinguished brand, Walmart is a high-value retail corporation.

Weakness

• Low-profit margin, due to consumer-friendly pricing policies.
• Negative brand image from the ethical and human rights scandals.
• Large corporation size inhibits flexibility.
• Walmart has a replicable business model that favors competitors.

Physical Resources

Walmart boosts of having 11000 retail stores and manufacturing outlets worldwide. The company has also partnered with several suppliers and manufacturers to increase its steady cash flow (Hitesh Bhasin).

Strengths

• Each store offers a wide selection of goods at consumer-friendly prices.
• Walmart manufactures branded products, besides the supply goods, it purchases from local and international high-end brands.
• Walmart employs strategic management, and the company is careful to make appropriate purchases that will translate to profits.

Weakness

• Management issues, the company has vast stores making it difficult to control operations.
• Suppliers are under pressure to meet demand at all times.
• Consumer friend pricing makes customers doubt the quality of products.

Organizational Resources

Despite having both critiques, competitors, and admirers, Walmart has continued to experience massive growth and expansion worldwide due to its appropriate corporate policies.

Strengths

• Walmart is an internationally recognized retail brand.
• The company has a significant scale of operations as such it can achieve economies of scale due to massive sales.
• Technological advancement, the company uses technology to operate its supply chain and other functional areas of the organization.

Weakness

• Lawsuits from ethical and human rights issues affecting employees.
• High turnover rates among employees.
• Poor ambiance within the retail stores.
• The inferiority of selected goods makes consumers question brand quality.

2. Walmart’s Value Chain

Primary Activities

Inbound logistics

The following principles control Walmart inbound logistic practices;

• Minimum links of the supply chain- Walmart deals directly with manufacturers.
• Strategic partnership with suppliers – allows Walmart to make bulk purchases at huge discounts (Brittany Marrero).
• Cross-docking as inventory tracking technique.

Operations

With over 11,000 stores in 27countries Walmart has subdivided activities into three main segments;

• Walmart US- controls all the stores in the United States.
• Walmart International- manages all the stores outside the USA.
• Sam’s Club- Membership only warehouses located in the U.S and Puerto Rico.

Outbound logistics

• Goods reach the distribution center in trucks.
• The supply replenishing process begins at the point of sale before the information arrives at the supplier through satellite.

Marketing and Sales

• Walmart’s marketing strategy applies its low pricing policy.
• Supermarkets operate on a 24/7 basis, while shops are open from 9 am to 9 pm.
• Both online and offline channels are used to market goods.

Services

• Communication between staff and customers- The team welcomes customers with good carts.
• “Satisfied guaranteed” policies at superstores allow customers to return merchandise.

Support activities

Infrastructure- Walmart large infrastructure bases compose of the supply chain, human resources, management, and distribution centers. The company also focuses on employee management and technology.

Human resource management- Walmart was previously challenged with ethical and human rights issue; however, the company has since improved wage rates by over $13. It has also set aside a $ 2.7 billion for employee training and wages.

Technology

• Walmart collects and analyses data through its satellite system.
• Products go through electronic scanning at points of sale.
• Commodities prices are marked using barcode scanners.
• Company inventory is computerized.

 

Procurement-Strategic management with suppliers allows the company to acquire high-quality goods at low costs.

 

3. Support Factors

Walmart Capabilities

Walmart enjoys a massive following globally with over 11,000 stores in 27 countries. The company has the opportunity to expand and grow to more extensive consumer bases due to the following capabilities;

• Global expansion, Walmart can take over the world through mergers and strategic alliances with other global retailers to tap foreign markets.
• Walmart is currently limited to 27 countries, and this creates an opportunity to expand and trade in other countries.
• The company has developed convenience stores, and this creates an opportunity to infiltrate foreign markets as the store overcome costs and local objections.
• Walmart’s pricing policies help the company maintain clients through the harshest economic times.

Competitive Advantage

Walmart’s business strategy relies on the philosophy of “Low Prices Every day.” The company has an advantage over its competitors as customers are assured a constant supply of quality goods at friendly prices.  Walmart has also invested in its employees by providing them with training, mentorship, compensation packages, and bonuses. Therefore, it can maintain employee satisfaction.

Sustainable competitive

Walmart has maintained its profit margin since inception in; therefore the company has a sustainable competitive advantage over other retailers. The company is also responsive to change within its internal and external environment (Meeks and Chen). It has since adopted the innovative use of technology to boost operations.

Sustainable advantage

Walmart takes pride in participating in corporate social responsibility. Currently, the company seeks to go green. The company has since cut on its greenhouse emissions. Walmart relies on making sustainable products, zero waste management and investing in renewable energy.

 

Works Cited

Brittany Marrero. “WALMART REVISED VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS.” Tropicliving, 2 June 2015, tropicliving.wordpress.com/2015/05/29/walmart-revised-value-chain-analysis/.

Hitesh Bhasin. “SWOT Analysis of Walmart – Walmart SWOT Analysis & Internal Analysis.” Marketing91, 14 Jan. 2018, www.marketing91.com/swot-walmart/.

Meeks, Margot, and Rachel J. Chen. “Can Walmart Integrate Values with Value?: From Sustainability to Sustainable Business.” Journal of Sustainable Development, vol. 4, no. 5, 2011.

 

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