Operation Management: Strategy, TQM and SCM for Wal-Mart Inc.

This report assesses the critical foundations of Wal-Mart's operational proficiency and formulates a new operations strategy for the company. It covers key aspects such as competitive priorities (cost, quality, time, and flexibility), vision and mission alignment with growth strategies, and the company's cost leadership approach. The analysis includes the operation strategy, supply chain management focusing on cost minimization, TQM initiatives for continuous improvement, JIT philosophy with vendor-managed inventory, and forecasting methods using anticipation inventory. The report identifies tasks misaligned with the operational strategy, such as inventory support during excessive demand, cross-docking issues, and minimizing inventory size, highlighting weaknesses in each. A new operations strategy is proposed, emphasizing cost minimization, quality control, reduced lead times, and flexibility, along with three new enablers: value, convenience, and appealing products. The report concludes by evaluating the pros and cons of these enablers, offering insights into enhancing Wal-Mart's operational effectiveness.

Running head: OPERATION MANAGEMENT
Operation Management
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Vision and Mission....................................................................................................................3
Business strategy........................................................................................................................3
Operation strategy......................................................................................................................3
Supply chain...............................................................................................................................3
TQM...........................................................................................................................................4
JIT Philosophy...........................................................................................................................4
Forecasting method....................................................................................................................4
Statistical technique...................................................................................................................4
Facility location..........................................................................................................................4
Work design...............................................................................................................................4
Project life cycle.........................................................................................................................4
Project management...................................................................................................................5
Three tasks that do not align with the operational strategy........................................................5
Determination the weaknesses that are evident in each task......................................................5
Formulation a new operations strategy for Wal-Mart................................................................5
Analysis of both the structure of the competitive priorities and infrastructure of the
production process.....................................................................................................................6
Development of three new enablers that are aligned with the long-term plan...........................6
Evaluating three (3) pros and three (3) cons of the new enablers..............................................6
Pros.............................................................................................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
The study aims to assess the important foundations of organization’s operational
proficiency and formulation of a new operations strategy for Walmart Inc. Some of the main
aspects of the study have stated about the competitive priorities such as cost, quality, time,
and flexibility) (Muñoz, Kenny & Stecher, 2018)
Vision and Mission
The corporate vision and mission statement relates to the central guiding principles of
a particular business. In this consideration the success of the corporation is linked to the
efficiency which is seen to follow growth strategy as per Porter’s model and Ansoff Matrix.
Business strategy
The company is seen to follow cost leadership generic strategy. This is mainly
advantageous as per including players such as Amazon.com Inc. and its subsidiary Whole
Foods Market, Costco Wholesale, eBay, and Home Depot.
Operation strategy
The operations management of the company is seen to cover the different approach of
considering the issues and concerns on a daily basis. The decisions are based on the
prioritization of the objectives of the business (LeCavalier, 2016).
Supply chain
The warehouse of the company is depicted to having sufficient provision for the
allocation supplier’s truck and goods. The efficiency is depicted with the cost effectiveness
and cost minimization programs. Moreover, the SCM is integrated with ability to minimize
costs.

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TQM
The continuous improvement strategy is identified as main progress of the
organization with TQM.
JIT Philosophy
The JIT philosophy of the company is identified with vendor managed inventory and
reducing the delay in the movement across supply chain.
Forecasting method
Wal-Mart uses anticipation inventory which is considered to be similar with the
maintenance of buffer inventory. This is referred with the forecasting of demand as per
seasonal changes.
Statistical technique
The implementation of this technique is considered with “ABC analysis, Inventory
Information System and Bullwhip Effect in Walmart’s Supply Chain”.
Facility location
The location of the warehouse is identified in areas such as Cullman, Bentonville,
LaGrange, North Iris Street and Illinois Highway.
Work design
The work design model is depicted with identification of errors in managing the
movement of goods and personnel management based on the same.
Project life cycle
The lifecycle approach of the company is depicted as per focusing on shoppers,
suppliers and in-store associates.

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Project management
The medium and small sized projects of Wal-Mart is often identified to be complex
and require cross functional collaboration. The project program is associated to keeping track
of the activities, improving management skills and leveraging communication.
Three tasks that do not align with the operational strategy
The tasks which does not align with the operational strategy are regarded with:
 Inventory support system during excessive demand
 Cross Docking
 Minimizing of Inventory Size
Determination the weaknesses that are evident in each task
The weaknesses in the individual operational strategy are stated below as follows:
 Inventory support system during excessive demand- During black Friday sales and
other flash sale options the inventory management suffers huge delay in terms of the
procurement of the demand from customers (Rutledge, 2018).
 Cross Docking- During Cross docking Wal-Mart often suffers the problems which
relates to provide product description for the individual products
 Minimizing of Inventory Size- The forecasting of the inventory may seen to suffer
considerable amount of weakness pertaining to insufficient information for the
demand of the customers (O'brien, 2018).
Formulation a new operations strategy for Wal-Mart
Cost- Wal-Mart needs to be adopt cost minimization measure which response with the
financial constraint as per the growth strategy.

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Quality- Thee manufacturers should look forward to follow the specific strategy which are
related to the scouting the products and quality.
Time- The overall system of ordering the products should be brought down to a lead time of
5 days.
Flexibility- The new system needs to be flexible enough to have the capacity for 80,000
items and replenishment of 50-65% of the total inventory (Bjelland & Wood, 2015)
Analysis of both the structure of the competitive priorities and infrastructure of the
production process
As per the analysis of the both the structures the new structure needs to be acceptance.
Development of three new enablers that are aligned with the long-term plan
The three enablers are stated as follows:
1. Value
2. Convenience
3. Appealing
Evaluating three (3) pros and three (3) cons of the new enablers.
Pros
1. Low Prices of the Products
2. Expansive selection of products
3. Better competitive Position
Cons
 More time to hire new employees
 Increased cost for implementation of the new plan

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 Insufficient information on POS (Atchley et al., 2018)
Conclusion
The three responsibilities that do not line up with the operational strategy that does
not align with the operational approach are considered with Inventory support system during
excessive demand, Cross Docking and Minimizing of Inventory Size. Moreover, the remedial
measures are seen in form of adopting cost minimization measure, scouting the products for
quality, flexibility to maintain capacity for 80,000 items and replenishment of 50-65% of the
total inventory.

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References
Atchley, M. D., Taylor, R. C., Thompson, J. P., & Letson, E. A. (2018). U.S. Patent
Application No. 15/941,565.
Bjelland, O. M., & Wood, R. C. (2015). To nurture transformational technology, build a
community like Sam Walton’s. Strategy & Leadership, 43(2), 41-46.
LeCavalier, J. (2016). The Rule of Logistics: Walmart and the Architecture of Fulfillment.
University of Minnesota Press.
Muñoz, C. B., Kenny, B., & Stecher, A. (Eds.). (2018). Walmart in the Global South:
Workplace Culture, Labor Politics, and Supply Chains. University of Texas Press.
O'brien, J. J. (2018). U.S. Patent Application No. 15/917,995.
Rutledge, C. W. (2018). U.S. Patent Application No. 15/869,458.