Wal-Mart's Supply Chain Strategy and Overcoming Project Constraints

This report delves into Wal-Mart's service supply chain, emphasizing the importance of resource planning for efficient e-commerce operations. It highlights the need for understanding customer needs and conveying them effectively throughout the supply chain, focusing on mobile-friendly design and enhanced search usability. The report also discusses the significance of high-quality suppliers, considering factors like product offerings, reliable shipping, and competitive pricing. Furthermore, it explores strategies for maintaining a competitive advantage through customer service, including value proposition delivery and customer experience enhancement. The second part of the report addresses the triple constraint in project management – scope, time, and cost – and the challenges Wal-Mart may face, such as scope creep, schedule compression, and compressed budgets, along with potential solutions for each.

Wal-Mart
Business
12/8/2018

Part A
Understanding Service Supply Chain
Any system of service delivery could be considered as a network chain of activities, which is
comprised of numerous participants. Similar to the supply chain of manufacturing, in services
also all the participants are connected with each other (Choi 5). The aim of attaining
competence and or receptiveness is equally significant and pertinent in the entire network of
participants comprised in the delivery service called service supply chain. In order to enter
effectively in the e-commerce sector, Wal-Mart is required to successfully schedule and plan
its resources to provide a proficient service to the consumers.
Determining the customers need and conveying those needs down the supply chain
In order to determine the needs of the customers and convey them to the supply chain
department, Wal-Mart needs to ensure that the online store is accessible from all the devices
such as Phone, Laptops, P.C, etc. and readable with clear information and design on it
(Devrix). For this, the online store of Wal-Mart needs to possess a mobile-friendly theme and
responsive web design. Besides this, Wal-Mart needs to increase its E-commerce search
usability. This will track what customer is searching. This information will then transfer to
the supply chain department such that the required product can be delivered to the customer.
Obtain High-Quality Suppliers
Picking an online wholesale supplier is one of the critical decisions of the business,
influencing the capability to strive on price, distribute products to the consumers on time,
provide right product selection in order to satisfy the demand of the customer, and eventually
determining the margins. When selecting the correct B2B Company to make a wholesale
relationship, it is very essential to consider aspects such as product portfolio, reliability,

customer service, and price that is the main basis for determining which wholesale supplier
will operate appropriately (Big Commerce). The criteria to select a supplier:
Product offerings - It is very important to select a supplier who can offer products that are
required by the business i.e. Wal-Mart.
Reliable Shipping - It is very essential for a business to deliver products on time with
excellent service. Therefore, Wal-Mart needs to select those suppliers who are reliable and
offer timely services.
Price – Price is another essential aspect need to be considered while selecting a supplier for
the business. There are numerous numbers of suppliers present in the market with substantial
price differences depending on the shipping distances (Big Commerce).
Maintaining a Competitive Advantage
In order to maintain a competitive advantage in the market, it is important for all the
company to consider customer service strategies. Some of the strategies important for the
success of the business are:
Delivering and designing a value proposition to the consumers – The business needs to
divide its customer into diverse segments. Then it needs to project precise value propositions
for every customer segment. After this, the projected value proposition has to be delivered to
them constantly (Ameyo).
Defining Customer Experience – Consumers interact with different personnel of the
business while doing any type of transaction with them. They may interact with the
company's salesperson while buying the products. As a successful business, it is essential to
consider all these experience, to enhance customer loyalty.

Part B
Triple Constraint
For prosperous delivery, experts of project managers manage their constraints i.e. scope,
time, and cost. All the three constraints are mostly signified as a triangle and therefore the
triple constraints are called as Iron Triangle (Wilson 50). It has numerous depictions; one of
them is represented as follows:
Source [(Wei)]
The Major Challenges can be faced by Wal-Mart in Managing Triple Constraint
 Challenge in Scope Management – Scope Creep
 Challenge in Time Management – Request of Schedule Compression
 Challenge in Cost Management – Request of Compressed Budget
Scope Creep - Scope Creep is said to be the situation, for example, the client is asking for
extra features, which is not possible in the approved scope, without moving through the
process of change control (Shivakumar 378).

Source [https://www.slideshare.net/SunilGuglaniPMP/challenges-in-managing-triple-
constraint-v11]
Any alterations in the scope where the time and cost are not rationalized properly are called
as Scope Creep.
Addressing Scope Creep Challenge
Adequate participation of every stakeholder in the project
Appropriate gathering of the requirement, and ensuring the gathering of the requirement
through different techniques such as product demonstrations, interview of stakeholders, group
sessions, and prototyping
Schedule Compression – Schedule compression is the situation, for example, the client of
the project requested to finish the work faster to meet some of the objectives of the business
Addressing Schedule Compression Challenge
Checking the viability of placing extra resources to shorten the project duration
Compressed Budget – Compressed budget is a situation for example, where the expenditure
of the project is more as compared to the planned budget, and business needs to take it back
to the track.

Addressing Compressed Budget Challenge
Business must go for the outsourcing option for some of the project parts to the vendor or
third party if it is cheaper.

References
Ameyo. Ameyo, 2015. 8 December 2018.
Big Commerce. Big Commerce, 2018. 8 December 2018.
Choi, Tsan-Ming. Service Supply Chain Systems: A Systems Engineering Approach. U.S:
CRC Press, 2016.
Devrix. Devrix, 2018. 8 December 2018.
Shivakumar, Shailesh. Complete Guide to Digital Project Management: From Pre-Sales to
Post-Production. U.S: Apress, 2018.
Wei, L. Project Management Institute, 2010. 8 December 2018.
Wilson, Randal. Mastering Project Time Management, Cost Control, and Quality
Management: Proven Methods for Controlling the Three Elements that Define Project
Deliverables. U.S: FT Press, 2015.