Question

1. How has Walmart used its supply chain management systems to lower costs and outperform the competition?

2. How can Walmart use the retail data it gathers to improve the activities involved in promoting and selling products to customers as well as providing customer service and nourishing long-term relationships?

3. How can companies like Walmart benefit from combining their SCM and CRM systems into one integrated information system?

Answer 1

Part 1

Walmart is biggest retailer in the world in terms of inventory capacity and it is possible due to its robust supply chain management. The reason for the efficiency of the supply chain management is because of the following reasons.

a) Few links in ths supply Chain Management

- The products are directly delivered from the manufactuers to the store resulting in fewer number of intermediaries, Walmart has developed closer relationships with its suppliers by developing alliances and involvement with the manufcturers to directly send their products to the warehouses of Walmart

b) Collaboration with manufactureres and strategic partnerships

Walmart has developed a strategy of business to business marketing where the manufacturers are responsible to maintain their products in the Walmart warehouses. It has developed a Vendor Managed Inventory which has helped in the efficient deployment of its goods.  

c) Use of Efficient sales information system

It operates a sales and inventory data warehouse for every customer to gather the right amount of information for every customer, and for each and every store and it also refreshes it every hour for the most accurate information.

Part 2

Walmart uses an efficient sales information system in which it uses for targeted marketing for specific goods. The database contain details of the buying behviour of the customers which it utilizes for understanding the type of product which can be pitched to the person.

It is based on the buying behaviour of the customers insted of sending mass mails which are not relevant to the customer. The best of companies indulge in the greviances of th customers and try to understand the painpoints and work to improve them.

They also develop many kid of programs such as loyalty program in which they indulge the customers for developing a buying trend which helps to better understand the value of investments.

Part 3

Walmart and other companies can benefit a lot from integrating the systeme together and forming a marketing information system. Marketing information system produces accurate, sufficient, and timely information about marketplace developments with respect to customers, prospects, distributors and dealers, competitors, suppliers, and various stekeholders for better implementation of the same.