Walmart: Keys to Successful Supply Chain Management, Research Paper Example

Modern businesses are required to tackle the complexities of international operations. Even local businesses have expanded their reach by participating in some business relationships on the international scale. To ensure that international operations are associated with benefits, many of these companies have altered their operational management in a manner that is conducive to organization and profit. One such advantage that many businesses incorporate into their practice is an increased use of communicative technology to coordinate operations between facilities in different countries. Next, advanced algorithms and computational method have been utilized to improve the quality of the supply chain management, enabling products to be created and dispersed more effectively (Stevenson 53). Last, international operations have allowed for the production of more cost effective products, which has enabled companies to make more product for distribution.

Increasing communicative technology helps enhance the coordination between facilities across the globe. Many international companies need to ensure that their actions are cooperative between their different facilities, to ensure that the goals of the organization are being carried out properly. Modern technology has significantly enhanced the ability for organizations to cooperate in this manner with regards to their supply chain management and product distribution. Video chatting can now occur between executives that are the leaders of various sites to create strategic plans and to determine the success of such plans at their respective locations. Furthermore, screen sharing and shared document editing programs allow these individuals to work on projects with one another as if they are in the same room. Thus, the increased availability of technology contributes to the ability of companies to do business at the international scale. Since the operations of these industries are typically on a large scale, this enhanced communication will help the leadership of the organization be more certain that employees are properly carrying out their work.

The effective use of the supply chain management allows international companies to succeed because optimizing production and distribution will allow more profits to be made. When organizations operate on the international scale, they are better able to select raw goods for purchase from companies where these goods are the cheapest. Furthermore, parts of the product or the final product can be assembled in the countries that are able to do so at a more cost effective price. Thus, the production of products at the international level requires a high degree of research regarding prices and manufacturing costs. Executives can use this information to determine where they should buy their raw materials and where their product should be assembled. It is often found that the cheapest price for such a process involved shipping unfinished products for completion to new countries, so the executive must have access to a wide variety of vendors and have knowledge of laws and pricing in a variety of reasons so this could be accomplished effectively.

Distribution is also complex in the international setting because it is necessary for executives to conduct many of the calculations that are needed for the completion of the product, although this mathematic expertise will be applied to the cost of transportation and storage in the international setting. The routes that finished products will travel, in addition to where they will be stored, and what methods will help them be delivered the most quickly all factor into the decisions that must be made with regards to distribution (Heizer & Render 206).  Often, it is most valuable to consider the relationship between the speed of delivery and its cost. It is beneficial to deliver the products quickly so they can be sold in a timely manner, but this should not be done if the most efficient methods are also the most expensive.

An example of a business that conducts international operations is Wal-Mart. Specifically, many of its products are manufactured abroad and then shipped to its stores. Its products derive from a variety of countries because Wal-Mart is primarily concerned with the ability for its products to be manufactured cheaply (University Alliance). Thus, the store will complete vendor contracts with businesses and countries that have the least expensive resources and manufacturing contracts with those that are able to assemble the product for the lowest price. In terms of distribution, these products are then brought to warehouses across the world, and then brought to the local Wal-Mart store. Since there are thousands of Wal-Mart stores across the globe, these operations are on a large scale (University Alliance). However, Wal-Mart continues to concern itself with saving money so that it could maximize its profits.

Even though a majority of organizations are focused on profitability, it is reasonable for sustainable and profitable international business operations be achieved and improved. Ethical practice is a valuable component of business because many consumers are socially concious individuals that refuse to purchase products and services from organizations that become involved in scandal. One important step that exectives could take to ensure that their business practices are ethical are by investigting the local laws of the areas and to implement checks that these laws are being upheld by their business partners. Lately, attention has been called to the luxury clothing manufacturer Gucci when consumers found that the individuals that make their clothes are working in sweat shop conditions. Many such organizations tend to escape trouble by claiming that they are unaware of these conditions, but it is valuable for them to make it their social responsibility to investigate them. To take the ethics of manufacturing practices a step further, it would be plausible for companies to only enter business agreements with organizations that are willing to uphold safety regulations and workers rights. By doing so, organizations have the ability to withdraw from these contracts if these rights are being violated, and there will be a greater oversight of the care of workers in these situations.

To make practices more sustainable, it is beneficial for organizations to reduce the travel that is necessary in their supply chain and distribution programs. To do so, it is still necessary for members of the exective team to determine the appropriate balance between location and cost, but more emphasis should be placed on shortening the route that products travel. This could be considered a green practice because less fuel will be used to transport the products to their sites across the world. Furthermore, it is important to consider that such practices would not result in a reduction of profits because by decreasing the distance that the products are travelled, they will be more likely to reach the consumers quickly. Therefore, strategy could focus more on quick delivery and excellent service rather than a focus on only the cost of product production. Doing so will increase profitability because more customers will be pleased with the service that they are receiving, which should compensate for the additional money that is spent for acquiring slightly more expensive raw goods.

As the reach of businesses contiue to increase in the international setting, it will remain important for these organizations to better manage their operations and to ensure that they are being conducted in an ethical and sustainable manner. Due to the availability of the Internet and other communication technologies, conducting business in this manner is now easier than ever. However, it is also easier for consumers to retrieve information concerning the business practices of their frequently visited organizations. It is therefore important for these organizations to uphold ethical and sustainable responsibility not only because this will allow them to improve their business practices, but also because this will improve their image in the eyes of their customers. Thus, these actions are valuable for marketing purposes as well. Overall, it is important for businesses to consider that their international presents empowers them with a greater responsibility to the people and things they interact with, whether this is hired or contracted workers in foreign countries, consumers, the public, or the enviornment. By incorporating a greater understanding of their potential positive and negative reach during the design of their operations, implementing social and enviornmental responsibility into business practice will become both easier and more effective. It is reccomended that business continue to put forth initiatives to achieve a greater level of sustainability and ethics and to use this drive to increase profits as well.

Works Cited

Heizer, J., Render, B. Operations Management. Prentice Hall, 2013.

Stevenson, W. Operations Management. McGraw-Hill, 2011.

University Alliance. Walmart: Keys to Successful Supply Chain Management. N.D.

Web. 1 December 2015. <http://www.usanfranonline.com/resources/supply-chain-management/walmart-keys-to-successful-supply-chain-management/#>