Introduction
E-business is a very important aspect for any business organization that wants to improve on its presence in the market environment. Transformation into e-business is a fundamental and profound component that goes beyond e-commerce to change the technology, structure and the culture of an organization. The speed at which the company can increase its e-business environment presence will determine whether they stay ahead or behind competition in their respective fields. In order to fully understand the importance of e-business, a person has to take into consideration three fundamental basic principles governing e-business which include: the fast outrun the slow, foster click loyalty and leverage customer business intelligence.
Walmart Stores inc is an American multinational retailer that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. This company is the world’s third largest public corporation and is also considered the biggest private employer in the world. It is a family owned business and is one of the world’s most valuable companies. The company has however been unsuccessful in Germany and South Korea. Though, the operations in United Kingdom, China and South America have been very successful.
The first store for the Wal-Mart company was started in 1962 by Sam Walton. By 2011, the company already had more than 700 locations worldwide. The company offers a large range of products ranging from clothing, groceries, jewelry and electronics. The company continues to thrive in the highly competitive market place due to the strategies put forth by the company. E-business has played a significant role towards ensuring that the company remains relevant and is able to provide its customers with the required products more effectively and efficiently. One of the strategies put forward by the management include; big box phenomenon which involves having big stores to ensure customers’ needs are met without a hitch. Low cost leadership is also another strategy being employed by the company with a slogan, “Spend Less, Live better.” Wal-Mart recorded about 3.6% increase in net income as a result of this strategy involving cost cutting. This ensured that the company spent less and in return beat its competitors. Differentiation strategy has also been widely used by the company which involves the creation of unique products and services to customers.
The incorporation of e-business into these strategies has significantly increased the company’s sales since customers can be easily reached and interaction has also been greatly enhanced. E-business ensures interaction between various stakeholders and the company to ensure timely delivery of products and accurate product evaluation. Using e-business has also helped the company to attract more customers through advertisements and real-time inquiries made through the internet.
There is no replacement for knowing one’s customers, markets and resources for formulating a successful strategy. Future research should focus on different models which assess the resource strengths and the weaknesses of any organization. These are things that should be incorporated in the Wal-Mart strategies to ensure that it becomes more successful in future. Having the best strategy is not enough to ensure the success of any given enterprise. There is need for the management to formulate the best way of implementing a given strategy. Unless the strategy is well tailored and implemented, the given company cannot realize its success. Wal-Mart for instance, operates various stores in different formats across the globe. The company also fosters on a culture that rewards and embraces mutual respect, diversity and integrity during their mode of operation. Even though the company mainly focuses on price reduction, the management should ensure that this does not come with a compromise in the quality of the products that they deliver to their customers. When the prices are lowered, usually the profit margin is lowered. Therefore this strategy could work towards ensuring that more customers are attracted but at the same time leading to a relatively lower compensation to all those people involved in the production process which may in turn affect the quality of goods and services offered.
Having numerous stores across the globe is a good strategy for the company. However, the company has not put more focus on the integration of various stores and having one control unit. Therefore it is very necessary for the company to invest in improving their online strategy so that they can improve on their operations and be able to control and monitor all the stores to ensure smooth operability.
References
Charles Fishman. (2006). The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World's Most Powerful Company Really Works—and How It's Transforming the American Economy.
Paul Ingram, Lori Qingyuan Yue, and Hayagreeva Rao. (2010)"Trouble in Store: Probes, Protests, and Store Openings by Wal‐Mart, 1998–2007," American Journal of Sociology July Vol. 116, No. 1: pp 53–92.
Nelson Lichtenstein. The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business (2009).
Sandra Stringer Vance and Roy V. Scott. (1997), Wal-Mart: A History of Sam Walton's Retail Phenomenon (Twayne's Evolution of Modern Business Series) academic study.
