¶ … Walmart's ICMT Strategy
Walmart is the world's largest retailer, known for its low prices and streamlined supply chain processes. The company commits itself to providing everyday low prices to customers to enable them live better. Technology plays a huge role in the achievement of this mission. The company uses networking and RFID technologies to communicate with suppliers, and ensure that goods are available on the shelf when customers need them. Moreover, these technologies help to ensure that transportation and storage costs are kept low. The cost savings are in turn passed on to the consumer in the form of low prices. This is just one aspect of Walmart's ICMT strategy. This report reviews the effectiveness of Walmart's overall ICMT strategy, and how it contributes towards the achievement of the organization's strategic initiatives. It also provides recommendations on how the same could be improved to ensure that the company maintains its leadership position in the retail industry.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Corporate Mission
ICMT Components Defined
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Strategic Initiatives
Save Money, Live Better
Fast, friendly and Clean
ICMT Aligned to Strategic Goals
Recommendations
Summary
References
Introduction
Walmart is an American-based multinational corporation headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. The company was founded in 1962 with the aim of providing discount goods to customers to enable them live better (Walmart Inc., 2015). It went public in October 1969 to be able to achieve this vision. Today, the company operates more than 11,000 stores in 27 countries, dealing in a wide range of merchandise, including foodstuffs, groceries, clothing, furniture, apparel, toys, communication and media technologies that the company uses to achieve its strategic goals (Walmart Inc., 2015). The research was limited to the store in West Hills, California. I reviewed the company's strategic reports, and interviewed the store's assistant manager to obtain information on the organization's ICMT strategy.
Corporate Mission
Walmart's mission is to 'Save People Money so they can Live Better' (Walmart Inc., 2015). Consumers save money through the company's low-selling prices, which it is able to sustain because of its large size and broad scale of operations. It relies on this mission to achieve its long-term vision of becoming the best retailer in the world in the hearts and minds of consumers and employees. This vision clearly points to employees and customers as the most important stakeholders of the company. As such, the company strives to keep these groups satisfied and contented. One of the ways through which it achieves this is by maintaining an innovative ICMT plan responding to the needs of these groups.
ICMT Components Defined
For purposes of this research, the term ICMT was defined as the various media and technological devices used to receive, store, manipulate, or transmit digital information from one point to another.
Any ICMT system comprises of five major components:
People: The entire system revolves around people; people are responsible for supplying data to the ICMT system, and also making judgments from the output supplied by the system
Data: This is the raw material that is input into the system and processed to produce output
Hardware: The physical components that make up the system. They are the communication devices needed to send data across networks. They include computers, and mobile devices such as tablets and smart phones.
Software: These are the computer programs that provide step-by-step instruction to get the job done. They include word processing software, database software, accounting packages, and customer-relations management software
Information: This is the result of data processing. It is the output from the ICMT system
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Large Scale of operations: Walmart is the world's largest retailer, operating more than 11,000 stores worldwide (Walmart Inc., 2015). This large scale of operations gives it high bargaining power over suppliers and places it in a good position to negotiate the best possible prices for its commodities. Moreover, the company is able to take advantage of scale economies to maintain sufficiently lower prices than those offered by competitors.
Information systems: Walmart achieves significant cost savings from the use of RFID technology in its supply chain, which enables the company's suppliers to track sales, inventory levels and orders in real time (Kosasi & Saragih, 2014). This helps the company make goods available on the shelf for customers whenever they need them.
Broad product range: Walmart deals in a wide array of merchandise, incorporating both branded and own-label goods. This wide commodity range makes it possible for the company to take advantage of economies of scope, and pass the same over to the customer in the form of low prices.
Weaknesses
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