Procurement Supply Chain Management at Walmart

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Procurement supply chain management

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Walmart
Walmart was launched in the year 1962 which is a global brick-and-mortar as well as e-
commerce retail company with stores in United States and more than 14 countries. Currently,
Walmart is the largest and most profitable retail company in the world (Walmart, 2019a).
Walmart has been a retail dream for many other companies. Walmart has been highly
competitive in the retail industry with its mission of having a cost advantage and comparatively
lower prices than other retailers in the area. This multinational retail corporation operates in a
chain of supermarkets, hypermarkets, departmental stores and grocery stores. Walmart is
currently headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. The company has more than 275 million loyal
customers visiting in multiple stores of Walmart (Walmart, 2019b). Since the company operates
in e-commerce sector also, it has created a niche in that sector too giving a tough competition to
companies like Amazon. In 2019, Walmart generated a revenue of $514.4 billion becoming the
world's largest retailer. It employs more than 2.2 million associates from around the world
operating in different countries.
The supply chain management of Walmart
The emphasis on the supply chain management has made Walmart a global leader in the retail
industry (Ladd, 2018). The company has gained success since it has adapted according to the
requirement of the industry and committed to utilize strategic options to build a robust supply
chain network. Wal-Mart's supply chain comprises of the procurement and distribution, effective
logistics, inventory management and use of latest technology. Although considering these
factors, Walmart has been under many questions due its supply chain strategy.
Supply chain issues
Walmart has been working closely with its suppliers such as Unilever, Heinz and Johnson &
Johnson (Walmart, 2019c). Recently, there having issues with regards to Walmart suggesting the
suppliers to reduce their prices. This would have a direct impact on the suppliers, their
immediate wholesalers as well as the producers. Since reduction in price can impact the entire
supply chain network, Walmart should consider this. Apart from that, the lack of proper
inventory management and retail execution has been a matter of issue from the past few years.
Walmart has been scrutinizing its supplier selection and evaluation process, but there are certain