Case Study: World$$s leading Retail Chain Store

Walmart is the largest merchandise retail chain store in the world. It has over $11,100$ stores in $27$ countries. Walmart$$s inventory management is a key success factor in the firm$$s ability to grow to its current position as the leading retailer in the world. Walmart$$s success in managing its inventory is partly due to the effective implementation of the vendor$-$managed inventory model $($VMI$).$ In this model, suppliers access data from Walmart$$s information system, such as data on current inventory levels and the rate at which certain goods are sold. Suppliers decide when to send additional goods to Walmart, while the company monitors and control the actual transit of goods from warehouses to the stores. Walmart$$s vendor$-$managed inventory has the benefit of minimizing delays in the movement of inventory across the supply chain. This benefit is achieved because suppliers can directly access data about the inventory of their goods at Walmart stores. Another beneficial effect of using the vendor$-$managed inventory model is the minimization of costs in inventory management activity. Walmart does not need to spend for extra personnel to manage each supplier$$s goods. Instead, this financial and human resource expense is directly passed on to the suppliers.

Using the knowledge you have acquired in this course, advice on question one $(1)$ and two $(2)$:

Q$\mathrm{.}1$

a$)$ As a Warehouse expert, prepare a four $(4)$ paged report advising on which other inventory management models they can opt for to enhance the company$$s customer service levels putting VMI model aside

b$)$ In a two $(2)$ paged report, describe how Walmart managers can curb down stock expiries in their supply chain operations

Total $25$ Marks