1. Where does Walmart’s supply chain start? What triggers Walmart’s Retail Link system to ship goods to local Walmart Stores?

It starts from the Pull and push decisions, that means the need of customer.

In the late 1980s, Walmart developed the beginnings of collaborative commerce using an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)-based supply chain management system that required its large suppliers to use Walmart’s proprietary EDI network to respond to orders from Walmart purchasing managers. This system can provide the information for the ship goods..

In 2012, Walmart purhased Quintiq Inc., a supply chain management tool for improving load assignment and dispatch of trucks for large retailers. Quintiq’s software will enable Walmart’s managers to optimize the loading of its trucks and to reduce the time required to supply its retail stores.

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2. Why is a detailed knowledge of consumer purchases at each store important to Walmart’s success?

EDI system connected Walmart’s largest suppliers to Walmart’s own inventory management system, and it required large suppliers to track actual sales by stores and to replenish supplies as dictated by demand and following rules imposed by Walmart. Walmart also introduced financial payment systems that ensure that Walmart does not own the goods until they arrive and are shelved. By this way, Walmart don’t have an Inventory pressure.

Walmart uses the pull decision that in order to meet the differentiated needs of customers, they are pursuing zero inventory. So the detailed knowledge of customer purchases at each store is important.

 

3. Why can’t other large retailers easily duplicate Walmart’s Retail Link?

 1)Because Walmart adopted the pull and push decision, and it pay more attention to the needs of customers. So it cost much to use an EDI system that would help Walmart without inventory. And the suppliers can use the extranet to know about the planning, and replenishment of the Walmart. But if the other large retailers also want to use it , they need to pay more money to build the system;

 2)By 2012, Walmart’s B2B supply chain management system had mastered on a global scale the following capabilities: cross docking, demand planning, forecasting, inventory management, strategic sourcing, and distribution management. The future of Walmart’s SCM lies in business analytics—working smarter. The Walmart has invested much money for the IS, so the main cost is the system. And in this area , Walmart has morre experience than others.

 So it is very difficult to copy his model.

 

4. Why does Walmart encourage its vendors to learn how to use Retail Link?

Because in this way suppliers can now immediately access information on inventories, purchase orders, invoice status, and sales forecasts, based on 104 weeks of online, real-time, item level data, and this will help Amazon achieve “zero inventory”.