Logistics SLP Mod 2/3

Supply Chain Management: According to researches, Wal-Mart is lauded to have a well established communications system operating in the retailing industry. It has a state-of-the art SCM method that applies advanced communication technology that connects through its retail centers, distribution stores, headquarters and all suppliers of their goods and services. The organization applied the use of IT to enable it to use bar codes for inventory tracking. This also facilitated Electronic Data Interchange that made it to have direct links with its stores. Besides it actualized the installation of satellite contact systems to synchronize all the activities of its supply chain  HYPERLINK "/casestudies/catalogue/Operations/Wal-Mart-Supply%20Chain%20Management-IT-Internet-Operations%20Case%20Study.htm" \o "Wal-Mart's Supply Chain Management Practices (B): Using IT/Internet to Manage the Supply Chain - Operations Case Study - Page4" A supply chain is defined as a structural linkage of market players in a given industry. It helps to ensure the process of production, sale and delivery of goods to the end user is successful. This process involves a chain of retailers, distributors, suppliers, transporters and warehouse. There are three components that Walmart has designed in order to improve its services in the market. These components are efficient manufacturing, supply chain and distribution. Supply chain ensures that raw materials reach the manufacturer, who in turn transforms them into finished goods. Goods and services from Walmart is passed through its supply chain to the Distributor who eventually distributes the final product to consumers through retailers. The supply chain may also be used to refer to the way in which various processes supply to each other. Such an example is the application to Walmart’s finance structure and internet technology. In this modern society, Walmart endeavors to have an strategic and effective supply chain in order to effectively compete in the market. Besides Walmarts business strategy that defines its way forward, its efficient supply chain dictates how the company operations can be done in order to attain optimal efficiency. The process that oversees coordination of the flow of resources (materials, information and finances) from the supplier to the consumer is referred to as supply chain management (Luttrell, 2010).  "Supply chain is often defined as the reach from the supplier's supplier to the customer's customer. Defining and mapping the supply chain may uncover opportunities for quick cost reductions, but supply chain management provides a different type of cost reduction opportunity. It's a sustained over-time means to savings. It's what happens after the quick cost-saving initiatives have been tried. When the CEO asks for more savings, supply chain management is what comes next. It takes time to put into practice, but continuously applied, supply chain management has the potential to yield sustainable savings sought by CEOs’’ (Nagurney, 2006). In this paper, we are going to examine a technological supply chain in Walmart. We will analyze the supply chain design of Walmart and discuss ways in which optimal efficiency can be achieved in the organization. We consider two partners in business, wh...