Business Project
Value Curve Analysis Walmart
Walmart in comparison to its competitors excels in supply chain management, financial strength, competitive pricing and strategic physical presence in the region, however Walmart is lacking severely in customer satisfaction and online presence. Walmart ranked as a one when it came to customer satisfaction while Target and Amazon scored 3 and 6 respectively. There is a huge gap in customer care and satisfaction something that Walmart seriously needs to consider if it hopes to remain competitive. Similarly, Walmarts online presence is negligible with it is scoring a 1 in the eCommerce field while Amazon scored a 9. This difference is understandable given the difference in business models of Amazon and Walmart; however Walmart could gain a significant competitive edge if it were to divulge in the field of e-commerce (Chan).
If Walmart ups its game in the cyber arena, it stands to gain a sizable advantage over its competitors as it would then not only be a leader in terms of physical locations but also in online presence. To this end Walmart can for starters begin working on their online profile building a stronger social media presence, making customers aware of sales and other activities being conducted at Walmart stores around the country. Walmart could also incorporate into their strategy the development and launch of an online website that allows for users to shop for products available at Walmart online and have them delivered to their doorstep.
Walmart holds the competitive edge when it comes to pricing as it supersedes its competitors by far, scoring an 8 for low prices while target only scores a 6. This competitive edge not only needs to be maintained, but also offers room for further growth and evolution, in the form of after sales services, a factor not charted in the current value curve. While customer satisfaction charters and an argument can be made that after sales services are a part of customer satisfaction I believe that it is an important enough factor to warrant, it's on the value curve. In terms of after, sales services Amazon not only offers free replacement of faulty products, but even gives complete refunds in case of customers not being satisfied with the products they have bought. It will be prudent for Walmart to consider the incorporation of good after sales services and the setting of higher standards for products that they are selling if they wish to remain relevant in this market.
Walmart tops the charts when it comes to supplying chain management, which means they have a good inventory and stock. What needs to add here is the quality of products that are being sold, while Walmart excels at providing low costs they need to find the right balance between quality and pricing. Quality is another factor that omits in a given value curve, which should in my view incorporates into the chart. The incorporation of quality in the value curve would allow the business to understand better where they stand in comparison to their competitors and allow for further analysis into how and what could be done to improve the quality.
Lastly, it is worth mentioning once more the abysmal state of customer satisfaction at Walmart. The company needs to employ an aggressive holistic strategy on how to tackle the issue in order to maintain their dominance in the market. For improving customer satisfaction HR managers need to be more vigilant about staff they hire, there need to be frequent seminars and training courses on client dealing and the overall atmosphere of the store needs to be improved.
Bibliography
Chan Kim, W. and Mauborgne, R. (2005), Blue Ocean Strategy, Harvard Business School Press.
