Running head: Quality Management

Wal-Mart Quality Management

Wal-Mart Corporation offers a wide variety of products and provides its
merchandise through e-commerce websites. The first Wal-Mart store
opened up in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas. This store was opened up on
Sam Waltons foundations for the lowest price anytime, anywhere. By
the 1970s, Mr. Walton had the store becoming national and
widespread. At this time Wal-Mart had also started selling stocks. The
first stocks were priced at $16.50 per share. Ten years after the first
store had opened, Wal-Mart was now at 51 stores and sales were
around 78 million dollars. By the 1980s, Wal-Mart had expanded to
276 different stores and employed 21,000 people.
Technology also expanded with the store. Wal-Mart replaced
cash

registers

with

computerized

point-of-sale

systems.

These

provided faster and more accurate checkouts. By 1987, Wal-Mart had

also expanded the communication systems. They installed the largest
communication system in the US by connecting all corporate
operations through data, voice, and video. Wal-Mart Corporation has
widely expanded around the world. This provides people with a store
to offer low prices anytime just like Mr. Walton had envisioned. WalMart Corporation is committed to opening stores and providing them
where they are needed so that more communities have the
opportunity to afford lower prices.

Running head: Quality Management

Wal-Mart is a company that has expanded and grown tremendously

since it was founded and opened in 1962. This company uses good
pricing strategies to keep consumers walking in their door and to keep
profits increasing. The Wal-Mart has stayed true to its roots by
continuing to offer everyday low prices. Fortunately for them, they
have opened up multiple stores all over the world and are the worlds
largest retail store.

Today Wal-Mart has 10,800 retail stores in 27

countries under 69 different banners! The Wal-Mart website provides

pictures of the different banner names for stores overseas. There are
Wal-Mart stores in South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Canada. In
the United States alone, Wal-Mart Corporation employs 1.3 million
people. Altogether Wal-Mart employs 2.2 million people. They have
also expanded the Sams Club stores as well. There are now 600
Sams Clubs. Stores around the world such as in Argentina do not
have the same appearance as the stores here in the United States.
However, Sam Walton wanted to provide stores that complimented
each area and culture for the communitys needs.

Product availability
The way wal-mart manages

its

supply chain which including

transportations, warehouses and all functions that filling customer

requests which is reflect the quality of its products. Keeping optimal
product availability is a significant aspect of quality in the retail sector.
Wal-Mart clients find goods they want in stock more often according to

Running head: Quality Management

the retailer's use of radio frequency identification. In addition, walmart offer real-time product availability online to see if your local store
has a product in stock, and its price before customers go, in order to
increase customers satisfaction and save their time.

Fresh Products
Wal-mart leads the retail sector to enhance the Quality of Fresh
Produce by embracing and enforcing the Produce Traceability Initiative
(PTI). They have lately notified their fresh produce suppliers that all
items delivered to their distribution centres must include standardized
case labels. To enhance quality and freshness, wal-mart has employed
produce experts to work along with farmers in the primary growing
regions where the corporate has produce-buying offices.

Total Quality Management

One of Wal-Marts primary advantages in the retail sector is its supply
chain management. A very close working relationship strategy with
the suppliers that wal-mart has developed over years, allowed it to
gain access to merchandise far faster than its competitors do. This is
the same concept that a corporate that is implementing Total Quality
Management (TQM) must be able to work toward as well. A close
relationship with suppliers can allow wal-mart to have greater quality
raw materials at a discounted rate and quicker shipping.

Conclusion

Running head: Quality Management

Wal-marts supply chain management practices resulted in raised

efficiency in operations and better customer service. It eliminated old
stocks and maintained quality of commodities. Radio frequency and
bar-coding technologies allowed accurate distribution of products.
Cross-docking as well served wal-mart to decrease inventory storage
costs. Furthermore, it also helped to decrease labor and other
handling costs involved in loading and uploading of products.

References
Matsa, D. (2009, July 6). Competition and Product Quality in the Supermarket Industry.
Retrieved November 15, 2014, from
https://are.berkeley.edu/documents/seminar/matsa-competition-090706.pdf
LUPO, L. (2013, June 12). Home Magazine Walmart Drives Food Safety Standards.
Retrieved November 15, 2014, from
http://www.qualityassurancemag.com/qa0613-walmart-food-safetystandards.aspx
Strategic Management: A Case study of Walmart Inc. (2009, May 30). Retrieved
November 15, 2014, from http://www.articlesbase.com/strategic-planningarticles/strategic-management-a-case-study-of-walmart-inc-945260.html

Running head: Quality Management