Strategic Management and Strategic Competiveness

Strategic Management and Strategic Competiveness

The topic for the research paper is the impact of globalization on Wal-Mart. In the 20th century, there were advances in many industrial fields which include means of transportation, industrial development, and communications combined with people willing to work together and to move forward in life has made the world a global village. Companies who have made use of the globalization factors have shown impeccable growth. Wal-Mart has found a way to stand above them all. This essay is intended to look into the crucial business procedures that Wal-Mart has employed and the benefits it has gained through them. This has ensured successful boost in sales around the board due to the globalization occurrence.

Globalization has affected Wal-Mart in being what it has become now, a global corporate giant. Wal-Mart is considered to be the largest retailer of the world. The company has been linked with a variety of other stores worldwide. They also do business in many joint/combined ventures overseas.

Globalization factors have been really profitable in the present years generating revenue of more than 100 billion dollars increase, causing the company to excel its business proceedings up till more than 8% by having more selling space and over 460 new sales retail units (Wal-Mart Annual Report, 2013).

Wal-Mart has a very well organized and efficient logistics and supply chain system. This is a major reason why Wal-Mart gets negotiated prices from suppliers and manufacturers. Wal-Mart has a low pricing strategy that involves importing goods from cheap labor countries. The philosophy of the company is to demonstrate efficiency in logistics and transportation of goods and their distribution with the help of technology. This sound employment of technology has served as a great pillar for globalization ().

Globalization has made it possible for companies to purchase the goods they need directly from the places that offer best quality of goods at the lowest rates .Wal-Mart have a strong belief in getting its goods from everywhere in the world, which is also understood as global procurement. Therefore Wal-Mart can fulfill its promise of saving its customers money.

Outsourcing to international companies is very much possible in today’s time. This implies to the suppliers. More than 80% of Wal-Mart’s global suppliers originate from China. Wal-Mart management believes in procurement of everything at cheapest rates possible. China is known to have the cheapest raw material as well as labor. Therefore many of the Wal-Mart’s goods originate from China ().

Wal-Mart is always on the lookout for better and brighter opportunities in the retail market. India is in their scope to become another prospective supplier for Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart’s vice president John Aden discusses that since India has access to cheaper raw material and labor,