WALMART IN GERMANY CASE ANALYSIS 10
Abstract
Walmart is an American company with a chain of discount department stores that was founded by Sam Walton in 1962 in Bentonville, Arkansas. (Trumbull & Gay, 2004) Then, in 1997, Walmart entered the German retail market by acquiring the German retail chain Wertkauf and Interspar. (Trumbull & Gay, 2004) Following this, Walmart entered the U.K in 1999. (Trumbull & Gay, 2004) Germany was not a successful venture, but the U.K expansion was. Here within you will find the differences between the two business ventures.
Distinctive Competencies
Walmart is a proven leader in the retail market and has accomplished their market competitiveness through a variety of distinctive competencies. The three primary competencies are customer service, the advanced use of IT and supply chain management. Combine these with several other ingredients and it is no wonder Walmart has been so successful in the United States.
Walmart has a unique business culture by which they have come to dominate the retail market throughout the United States. Sam Walton employed three principles when he started in 1962: respect the individual, supply superior customer service and strive for excellence. (Trumbull & Gay, 2004) Walton carried out the first two elements by implementing a customer centric focus which gave a small business feeling to the beginning of a major cooperation. Three primary examples of this philosophy are the door greeters, the Sundown Rule and the Ten Foot Rule. The final element was obtained through strategic HRM. Walton implemented the Walmart cheer to gain a sense of unity among employees and emotional motivation to supply the best service for customers. This provided a sense of belonging for employees in something that was greater than themselves and inspired productivity and community. Walmart employed a non-union labor force and was able to better control labor costs, as well as reduced cost of benefits by managing employee hours and controlling over time and the ability to terminate at will without union involvement.
Walmart implemented the use to IT and become a leader in supply chain management. With the use of RFID’s in distribution centers Walmart is able to track inventory down to the individual items from supplier to customer and reduce waste, delay and cost. Furthermore, with just in time delivery, the cost of warehousing falls on the supplier, which helps to reduce product cost and improves efficiency. Combined with strategically located distribution centers, Walmart streamlined product supply chain and mastered delivery logistics. IT is also utilized in-store for inventory control with Retail Link to provide managers with comparative sales information and suppliers with point-of-purchase product information. This technology is yet another way Walmart has created greater efficiency which aides in keeping prices low.
Since Walmart is a one stop shop for consumers, they created...
