In Class 17, guest speaker, Carson Woo talked about the importance of information technology and using it to collect data for analyzing one’s organization. It left me pondering which company is successfully using I.T. to grow and make its business more profitable. As it turns out, more than just the world’s largest retailer, Walmart has successfully implemented technology into its strategies. Ever since the establishment of the universal bar code, power slightly shifted from manufacturers to retailers. As compared to other companies, Walmart has been able to adopt sophisticated technology that exploits the information behind the bar code, helping develop ways to monitor its inventory and more efficiently manage its supply chain. This management information system is called “point-of-sale”:

“a computerized system that identifies each item sold, finds its price in a computerized database, creates an accurate sales receipt for the customer, and stores this item-by-item sales information for use in analyzing sales and reordering inventory.”

(Source: Prenhall)

Besides Walmart’s ability to efficiently handle information, it is able to recognize which products are selling slowly to prevent overstocking. This also links to Mahesh’s lecture on supply chain management, since this coordination allows the VP of Operations to operate at the lowest possible cost. I think many would agree that Walmart’s investment of over $600 million[i] in information systems enabled the company to take gigantic leap forward.

References:

Wilbert, Caroline. “How Wal-Mart Works.” HowStuffWorks. HowStuffWorks, Inc., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. <http://money.howstuffworks.com/wal-mart.htm>.

“Walmart.” Information Systems – Useful Cases. Prentice-Hall Inc., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. <http://www.prenhall.com/divisions/bp/app/alter/student/useful/ch1walmart.html>.

Photo Credits:

Walmart. N.d. Photograph. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. <http://socinnovation.wordpress.com/2010/12/10/sustainable-food-supply-systems-represent-important-social-innovation/>.