Walmart 2012

Introduction Walmart has more than 10,020 retail units which is spread across 28 countries and operates under 60 banners. It sells both by brick and mortar (traditional stores) and Brick and click (e-commerce) formats. The average size of each Walmart store is more than a 1, 00,000 (1lac) square feet. Its store operations are categorized into following. 1. Walmart discount stores 2. Walmart super centers 3. Walmart neighborhood markets Walmart express stores Marketing Mix: Product and branding strategies (appropriate service strategy if the company has a consumer orientation).Walmart is a multinational retailer; in short it has every product or a brand which a person could see in his day to day life. The broad range of product categories include movies, crafts, gifts, college essentials, Electronic items, home appliance, jewellery, photo centre,   toys, outdoor living, funeral, grocery, video games etc Pricing strategies. Walmart business model doesn’t include manufacturing of any product; it procures products across the globe in large quantities in order to enjoy benefits of economies of scale. This makes price of Walmart to offer products at 15% lower price than other retailers.Walmart uses different pricing concepts to get focus of the customers and compel a purchasing behaviour through discount strategies. Sam Walton coined the term â€Å"Always lows prices† and â€Å"Everyday low prices†; according to this each product is offered at different discount prices based on the time and demand of the hour. The consumer electronics are offered at a very low price compared to other retailers. Supply chain strategies (how they place the product in the market). Walmart has been able to assume market leadership position primarily due to its efficient integration of suppliers, manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution to stores.Its supply chain strategy has four key components: vendor partnerships, cross docking and distribution management, te chnology, and integration. Walmart’s supply chain begins with strategic sourcing to find products at the best price from suppliers who are in a position to ensure they can meet demand. Walmart establishes strategic partnerships with most of their vendors, offering them the potential for long-term and high volume purchases in exchange for the lowest possible prices. Suppliers then ship product to Walmart’s distribution centers where the product is cross docked and then delivered to Walmart stores.Cross docking, distribution management, and transportation management keep inventory and transportation costs down, reducing transportation time and eliminating inefficiencies. Technology plays a key role in Walmart’s supply chain, serving as the foundation of their supply chain. Walmart has the largest information technology infrastructure of any private company in the world. Its state-of-the-art technology and network design allow Walmart to accurately forecast demand, track and predict inventory levels, create highly efficient transportation routes, and manage customer relationships and service response logistics.Wal-Mart’s supply chain management strategy has provided the company with several sustainable competitive advantages, including lower product costs, reduced inventory carrying costs, improved in-store variety and selection, and highly competitive pricing for the consumer. This strategy has helped Walmart become a dominant force in a competitive global market. As technology evolves, Walmart continues to focus on innovative processes and systems to improve its supply chain and achieve greater efficiency. Integrated marketing communications.Walmart's Integrated marketing communication is their   approach to achieving the objectives of a Marketing campaign , through a well coordinated use of different promotional methods that are intended to reinforce each other. Integrated marketing includes discipline communications advertising, public relations personal selling   and sales promotion. These methods help the corporation bring a better understanding to the consumer   this way they we will know which products best fits the consumers needs. Walmart usually does this through the tv commercials,online website,and weekly circular.Their tv commercials usually show items that are popular and are at a cheaper price then their competition this helps them to get better sales. http://stylesmar100-blog. blogspot. com/2011/11/chap-16-integrated-marketing. html Promotional strategy. Walmart has its own in-store promotional activities which includes sales promotions through product bundling and its pricing strategies. The online store of Walmart earns major revenues from through customers placing online gifts. The pricing strategies adopted by Walmart like â€Å"Everyday low prices†, â€Å"value of the day† increases the sales turnover.The online store uses strategies to pull customer by attractive slogans like ‘Grab it before it’s done’ which pushes customer to take a purchase decision immediately before the deals get expired. The company's presence in domestic and international markets. Walmart operates stores in 27 countries under 69 different banners. Learn more below about our store formats around the world. Walmart began building Supercenters in 1988 – a decision that led us to become the nation’s largest grocer. Today, there are more than 3,000 Supercenters in the U. S. Each store is about 182,000 square feet and employs bout 300 associates. Today, we operate more than 600 discount stores. There are now about 200 Neighborhood Markets in the U. S. The company's vision and execution of strategy that set its direction. Wal-Mart's advertised mission statement and its advertising slogan are the same: â€Å"We save people money so they can live better. † â€Å"If we work together, we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone†¦weâ €™ll give the world an opportunity to see what it’s like to save and have a better life. † The company's plans for growing and servicing its customer base.In order to fulfill its mission, Wal-Mart has developed some unique, policies, principles, rules, processes and procedures, the sum total of which form the Wal-Mart stores corporate culture: 4. Open Door Policy – Managers' doors are open to employees at all levels 5. Sundown Rule – Answering employee, customer, and supplier questions on the same day the questions are received 6. Grass Roots Process – Capturing suggestions and ideas from the sales floor and front lines 7. 3 Basic Beliefs & Values – Respect for the Individual, Service to our Customers, Striving for Excellence 8. 0-Foot Rule – Making eye contact, greeting, and offering help to customers who come within 10 feet 9. Servant Leadership – Leaders are in service to their team Wal-Mart Cheer – An actual struc tured chant that was created by founder Sam Walton to lift morale every morning http://www. usanfranonline. com/wal-mart-successful-supply-chain-management/ http://www. marketing91. com/marketing-mix-walmart/ http://retailindustry. about. com/od/retailbestpractices/ig/Company-Mission-Statements/Wal-Mart-Mission-Statement. htm