Introduction
Supply chain management is the process that an organization uses to "improve the way the company finds the raw components it needs to make a product or service and deliver it to customers (www.supply-chain.org 2006)." There are five basics components of a supply chain management system-plan, source, make, deliver, and return. Planning is the "strategy for managing all the resources that go toward meeting customer demand for the product or service (www.supply-chain.org 2006)." The source components are "the suppliers that will deliver the goods and services the organization needs to create the product or service (www.supply-chain.org 2006)." Make applies to manufacturing the product or the activities necessary to provide the service to the customer. Deliver is the logistics, getting the product or service to the customer (www.supply-chain.org 2006). The last component is return where quality assurance comes into play (www.supply-chain.org 2006). The goal of this paper is to identify the existing supply chain management processes with Wal-Mart as a comparison to other supply chain practices in an effort to recommend changes to the current system.
Wal-Mart's Supply Chain Management
Wal-Mart is one the largest retailing companies in the world. Due to its proficient supply chain management practices, Wal-Mart has been recognized by analysts for its ability to achieve leadership-status. Its supply chain management is backed by the need to meet the demands of customers while reducing costs. The company's success is its ability "to offer a vast range of products at the lowest costs in the shortest possible time. It was all made possible due to Wal-Mart's highly automated distribution centers, which significantly re ...