Walmart China Case

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Questions for Wal-Mart Case Study 1) What specific challenges does Wal-Mart face with its distribution center and store placement? Operating in China posed several challenges to Wal-mart which were mainly due to inefficiencies of their supply chain and country infrastructure. Some of which have been identified as the following: * Lower than expected fill-rates (order completeness) from some products supplied to the DSD (direct store delivery). In contrast with U.S. only 40% of Wal-Mart China’s sales were supplied via its distribution centers. Fresh products such as bread, fish, vegetables and fruits along with some electronic goods and high-value items were sent directly to the supercenters. Shipments from individual suppliers arrived at the supercenters throughout the day. * Orders fulfillment to distribution centers required several weeks from when the order was placed to its delivery. Lead times between order placement and receipt of goods was pretty high contrary to DSDs. This problem was mainly due to poor transportation infrastructure or requirement for inter-distribution center movement. * High rate of products return. Distribution centers received six to eight truck loads each week of products returned from stores due to obsolescence, slow sales or quality problems. * High-in stock rate. Based on Wal-mart internal data, company’s in-stock rate was in the high 90s, which was significantly higher than the industry average of 90% in 2003. Although estimated inventory rate was consistent with national average of 25 to 40 days. * Product inspections at distribution centers were reduced to none or sampling. When Wal-mart DCs first opened in China, all cartons received from vendors were opened. Tighter government regulations and improvement in supplier reliability made them change product inspection policy. How can it

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