Thursday, September 17, 2009
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton, and by 1969 it was incoporated. 3 years later it was listed on the NYSE. Since then the company has not stopped growing. Using new technology is what pushed Wal-Mart over the top as a Fortune 500 company.
Technology
Technology
- Universal Bar Code- Wal-Mart was one of the first companies to use the bar code to track it's inventory using the bar code. Using the bar code it "cut the fat out of its supply chain"; meaning since the bar code kept track of the supplies then, Wal-mart did not have to spend excessive money on supplies in which they already had.
- Internet- Wal-Mart has used the internet as sort of a test dummy for its products. It puts items on the internet that one can not buy at the stores to see how well it sells. If the item sells well then it has the opportunity to make it to the stores; if not then the item will either remain online or be completely taken off the Wal-Mart product list.
- EDI-(Electronic Data Interchange) This is another new technology Wal-Mart implemented in its company. This is the use of basically e-mail to interchange information between organizations. This can be very helpful because by sharing information between organizations, the company can learn more about what is working and what is not in certain areas.
After reading several articles on Wal-Mart I came to believe that the technology they used is very much responsible for their success as a company. The companies use of Internet and Bar Code helped it successfully supply their customers.
Comments:
<< Home
A good post.
Using the UPC in new ways was the first great innovation that set Wal-Mart on the its path of growth and profitablity. Of course, the innovations you are mentioning are now ancient history. What's next on the horizon?
Post a Comment
Using the UPC in new ways was the first great innovation that set Wal-Mart on the its path of growth and profitablity. Of course, the innovations you are mentioning are now ancient history. What's next on the horizon?
<< Home
