Introduction

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Table of Contents

Introduction. 3

Discussion. 3

Conclusion. 5

Reference list 6

Introduction

Sam Walton, one of the founders of Wal-Mart, has started his company with an innovative idea of IS and IT strategy. His business practice is quite unusual which makes the brand different from others. Nowadays this is one of the leading companies across the world. Executives of Wal-Mart continue their belief to achieve many targets which are traditional and follow all philosophical ideas that same legacy made. However, they keep relying on traditional ideas and they never forget to update themselves with continuously changing technology.

Discussion

IS Strategy

Figure 1: Three pillars of IS strategy

Source: (Siltaloppi, Rajala & Hietala, 2020)

Business strategy: The idea that Wal-Mart has made to grow its business is no doubt one of the major reasons for this incredible growth of the company. The success of Wal-Mart is not only for its strategic management but also the innovative ideas they thought that are implemented in the proper way. According to many entrepreneurs, Wal-Mart is a great reputed company near its customers, employees and society (Sahni et al., 2021). Their morality and belief in Sam Walton was also a noticeable reason for the growth of the company. With a view to maintaining their position in the market, executives of Wal-Mart carefully followed the guideline for management given by Walton. Wal-Mart has to understand that maintaining good and reliable relations with customers and giving respect to their expectations is one of the biggest keys to success. This philosophy helps his company a lot. It gives his special focus to fulfilling the desire and acceptance of customers every moment. Sam Walton also made a policy named by America, through this policy, buyers and all merchandise managers were encouraged to stock those products which were made in America. This policy increased Walton’s reputation throughout America. Wal-Mart also does not forget to focus on the possible effects that the environment may face. Some prototype stores were opened in various places of America which were environmentally friendly. Recycling facilities and education regarding the environment were available in these stores. It also adopted many facilities in very low-cost areas. All offices and stores were built focusing on the economical side and well furnished that easily attract customers. Wal-Mart negotiates the best and proper price for vendors and also expects the best product from them. Purchasing agents of Wal-Marts are very dedicated to the company. Their first priority was to maintain good relations with vendors and purchase qualitative products. In such a way they built mutual respect with all who are associated with the company. 

Information strategy: Another greatest execution by Walton is to enrich, train and enrich all his employees. It believes that without accepting and thinking about the ideas of employees and other associations the company will not be better ever. The display which includes the tagline in every Wal-Mart shop makes us understand that all associates and employees are valuable to them. Some amount of savings of every associate and employee are sometimes used to build new construction of the company and its IS strategy. It indicates the moral sense and love of all associates for the company.

Organisational strategy: Wal-Mart never believes in such profit where workers lose their jobs which is a part of organisational strategy. One of the most important approaches taken by Wal-Mart to generate business is building strong relationships with both workers and suppliers, capitalising on every opportunity that saves cost, encouraging all employees to increase work spirit. Wal-Mart stores are operated based on the philosophy of everyday low prices (Silva & Fernandes, 2019). The strategic rule was that Wal-Mart came out as the leader of the industry because it was better to maintain its cost by which they can succeed in saving customers. It continues to focus on key business processes, managing centrally and investing high to get payback for the long term. Wal-Mart is considered a leader in the industry to test, adapt and apply an edge cutting business approach. Walton proved itself as an imaginative leader and is well known for its capability to learn from the failure and success of its competitors. Some famous companies said that Wal-Mart strengthened the strategies which are copied from other reputed organisations.

IT Management structure

The purpose of installing new technology is not only making more profit but also focusing on how employees succeed in retail business and make themselves more efficient.

Cross-Docking System: Wal-Mart has invested in the inventory system of cross-docking which has helped Wal-Mart to achieve its economic scale and decrease the cost of sales. Using this system products are delivered to stores within 48 hours. The lower price also has removed the cost of sales promotion (Tao et al., 2019). A Cross-docking system enables managers to take individual responsibility for them. A company that has a transport system assists Wal-Mart to supply goods within 48 hours which increases the chance of doing the fastest business many times higher than its competitors. 

Advanced Computing: The largest and most sophisticated computer systems among private sector organisations are also available at all the stores of Wal-Mart. The highly advanced processors of these computers help Wal-Mart a lot to stock each and every data in a proper and organised way and also help the company to quickly adapt to any changes in the market. Advanced Communication: Wal-Mart also has a very advanced satellite system to hold smart and super improved communication systems (Price, Green & Suhomlinova, 2019). It is the largest private satellite system which has made a huge difference from other such organisations.

Leveraging technology: Wamart is one of the earliest companies which has implemented leveraging technology in order to make a record of all distribution centres, the company has built this system to take record ofs all the data of proctor and gambles . Through this system, Wal-Mart can track all the movements of goods in or out from the stores. 

Conclusion

Wal-Mart is a perfect example that shows how a company can be run profitably besides maintaining employee’s interest. The future of Wal-Mart is depending on how it can maintain its strategies in the long run. The market is always changing, how a company adapts to this continuously changing market should be the main target for any company. It is therefore important to solve any market problems and make strategies accordingly. It is also important to take care of and respect customers if a company really wants to sustain itself in such an incredibly competitive business market. If Wal-Mart can maintain its all smart strategies then there is no doubt that Wal-Mart will remain one of the leading companies in the next century.

Reference list

Price, C., Green, W., & Suhomlinova, O. (2019). Twenty-five years of national health IT: exploring strategy, structure, and systems in the English NHS. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 26(3), 188-197. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocy162

Sahni, P. S., Singh, K., Sharma, N., & Garg, R. (2021). Yoga an effective strategy for self-management of stress-related problems and wellbeing during COVID19 lockdown: A cross-sectional study. PloS one, 16(2), e0245214. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245214

Siltaloppi, J., Rajala, R., & Hietala, H. (2020). Integrating CSR with business strategy: a tension management perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 1-21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04569-3

Silva, M. Z., & Fernandes, F. C. (2019). The influence of contingencies factors strategy and structure in the enterprise risk management in a hospital. Gestão & Produção, 26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-530X2315-19

Tao, L. E. I., Zhou, Y. A. N. G., Zicun, L. I. N., & Zhang, X. (2019). State of art on energy management strategy for hybrid-powered unmanned aerial vehicle. Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, 32(6), 1488-1503. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cja.2019.03.013