Walmart Analysis

No other mass retailer or trading community -- domestic, foreign, or global -- has developed a system even close to WalMart’s capabilities in supply chain and distribution management and optimization. From 1987 to 1993 WalMart spent over $700 million on its satellite communications network, computers, and related equipment. However, the possibility of competitors having allocated significant resources to developing state-of-the-art data warehouses that, like WalMart’s, go beyond collecting point-of-sale data to drive replenishment. The new data warehouses address and understand demographics, individual stores, and customer preferences. To continue to maintain IT as a strategic advantage, WalMart must continue development to further increase the effectiveness and efficiency of its supply chain management systems, to advance the development of its distribution management system, and add new capabilities as the technologies and customer service opportunities arise.

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