Business 313 Forum 7. Business & Marketing Coursework

Strategic Management
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Strategic Management
Strategic management is a key factor in advancing growth in business organizations. Business managers are consistently indulged in developing strategies that can anchor their relevance to customers. It is through strategic management that business organizations utilize their resources efficiently, innovate, and transition through multiple economic cycles. Notably, while some businesses have failed to instill proper and sustainable strategies, others have employed similar opportunities to prosper. Walmart is one of the business entities with an accurate approach to strategic management in its industry. Even with changes in the operational environment, Walmart has maintained its market leadership. This paper discusses Walmart in terms of its position as a supply chain leader in the retail industry and the competition it faces. The analysis is important in exploring what strategies have steered Walmart to its current position besides determining whether Walmart is about to lose its position with changes in the marketing and positioning landscape specifically.
Walmart as a Supply Chain Leader
The high position that Walmart holds in the retail industry is understandable on various lenses. One of the strengths of Walmart’s operations is its business to business (B2B) strategy. The organization understands the value of stakeholder integration to achieve the most efficient supply chain (Roberts & Berg, 2012). Through B2B, a business entity has the freedom to develop a lasting relationship with stakeholders up or down the value chain. Walmart uses a strategy to collaborate with manufacturers and suppliers. The results of such a strategy are evident in the shortened value chain, efficient movement of goods and services, and reduced prices. Walmart remains one of the cheapest retail outlets in the world due to its B2B strategy. It is also worth noting that it is through B2B in the supply chain that Walmart has instilled efficient price discrimination in its sales. The use of coupons is one of the price discrimination platforms that Walmart can easily implement with its sound B2B supply chain strategy in place.
Economies of scale are another factor that could explain Walmart’s successful supply chain. The concept of economies of scale is anchored on the analogy that bigger is better (Kipple, Kipple, & Wherry, 2010). Business organizations with larger sizes are believed to ear little operational and manufacturing costs. Having advantageous economies of scale allows an organization to bargain successfully with its customers. The size of Walmart relevant to its production costs can be explained by its market share. As early as 2010, Walmart had a commanding share of US shoppers with approximately 100 million shoppers weekly (LSBF Global MBA, 2010). That translated to approximately 1/3 of the US population. The organization also garnered revenues averaging approximately $440 billion with...