Case Study Of Walmart's Inventory Management Operations

Inventory Management Operations
LOG 503 Mod 1 SLP: Inventory Management
Beverley Lionel 11 March 2018
Dr. Snider

Introduction Walmart
The organization I chose to write about in this paper is Walmart, I will be discussing about the organization structure, its inventory management and procedures, if they uses Vendor managed inventory (VMI) and does the company ensure it has the right inventory at the right time and control the costs. Walmart’s hierarchical functional organizational structure is the ability of corporate managers to easily influence the entire organization. For example, new approaches and techniques made at Walmart's corporate headquarters are directly passed on to regional managers down to the store supervisor.

Walmart takes advantage of the manufacture’s distribution system to deliver the products directly from the warehouses to the stores. Walmart do not store any inventory at any of its distribution centers, it uses the hub and spoke distribution network Mai (2014). Walmart primary mission was to provide its consumers with everyday low prices. They are known to help their customers save money in other to live a better life. The corporate culture in the organization is one that is based on values and morals. Due to the rules and customs they have set in place has won the company respect from its customers, associates and suppliers. Walmart serves the communities in which it operates and builds a business which is dedicated to

Inventory determines important processes such as ordering and replenishment. A firm can inventory services by using the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. Research has found that RFID technology has improve unnecessary inventory significantly. Inventory is said to be a big problem in the retail industry, most retailers focus on what they call perpetual inventory meaning what managers think is on hand verses the actual number of goods in store or in stock (Newswire, 2008).
Corporate Wal-Mart reported that Walmart inventory system is based on its distribution centers. Walmart uses many types of inventory; each type fulfills a certain role in the firm’s inventory and supply chain. However, the following types of inventory are the most notable in Walmart’s practices: Finish Inventory, Transit Inventory, Buffer Inventory and Anticipated inventory. The finished inventory is said to be the most significant in Walmart’s business, these goods are stocked in the stores and are replenished as goods are finished on a regular basis. The second most inventories are the Transit inventory, which refers to goods that are held in transit for days or months. The Buffer and anticipated inventory is used as a small margin of extra goods in case demands fluctuates, the role of this type of inventory is to ensure the capacity of the firm to satisfy sudden