Walmart's Adoption of Electronic Data Systems

Walmart
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Institution
Date The adoption of information technology and globalization has influenced global economy. The traditional department store industry has declined as the large-scale supermarket chains have increased their retail market shares. Wal-Mart uses a low cost model and was founded in Arkansas in 1962, and is now found in other parts of the U.S and is now the biggest private employer in the country. Additionally, Wal-Mart has expanded beyond the US and operates in more than 8000 stores in 15 countries globally, with more than 2.1 million employees and 200 million visitors per week. Wal-Mart has become competitive by leveraging its large distribution system reliance on electronic data system as well as effective marketing strategies, but the retail giant faces problems in its business model. Wal-Mart’s logistics, supply chain and management service improve efficiency in service delivery. If Wal-Mart was a country, it would be ranked as the 26^th largest in the world behind Austria (Lecavalier, 2010). As the largest global retailer, the company has diversified its products and diverse operation allows Wal-Mart to mitigate the risks of depending on few markets. Additionally, Walmart's distribution centers are as important as the stores. The company's domestic sales network includes more than 100,000 suppliers, 147 distribution centers, two data centers, US transportation infrastructure (mainly publicly-funded highway systems), and 7,200 tractors., 53,000 trailers, 7,950 drivers and more than 85,000 employees. Walmart is still expanding even in emerging markets and the growing expansion of storage network,  and the company’s also adapts to local market conditions, making the retailer more resilient and Walmart has  explored experimental stores highlighting the management’s willingness to meet customer needs. Walmart is working on developing online stores. Online stores can bring more revenue for Wal-Mart, and the e-retail industry is growing and since Walmart is a low cost retailer, it will attract more price sensitive shoppers while improving delivery speeds (Bustillo & Fowler, 2009).  Increased online traffic is expected to garner higher sales and profitability for the retailer and Walmart has an opportunity to attract online shoppers. More and more people choose to do shopping in online stores, which is a convenient option. Online shopping has affected the small and large businesses with many operating online stores for customer convenience. Walmart has its own advantages to develop online stores, and has plans to acquire social media start-ups to improve its e-commerce business outside the U.S. especially in China. Despite being a large retailer serving the domestic and international markets, the retailer faces many problems....