WALMART INVENTORY SYSTEM

Walmart is one of the worlds leading retail stores,the company has seen a ,it also ranks as the largest cooperation in the world ,the company has recorded revenues pf $315,654 million in the fiscal year January of 2006,with such revenue it comes as no surprise why Walmart is rated as the leading retail chain in the world.

But the question that still remains is how Walmart is able to keep their promises of low prices to their customers and still be making such high revenues.

Walmart relies on extensive databases to help with the management control of the everyday business s operations .The company utilities a number of databases due to the vast amount of everyday needs to be managed .One of the main areas of information management is the inventory management system which is the secret to Walmart unending success.

Walmart utilities an oracle database  which manages all its operations this database is  actually a latest version on Oracles r ware house  management software which is compatible with the radio frequency identification ,these two technologies coupled together help Walmart to increase its inventory management.The oracles database has a networked infrastructure  supplied by Cisco.

The objective to use this automated system was to have the right merchandise at the right place at the right time .

HOW DOES IT WORK ?

Walmart has 36 different departments ranging from apparel and accessories ,jewelery ,lawn and garden center ,electronics ….etc

With the immense variety of products Walmart has to offer  it must implement new technology in order to offer low prices to its customers.

There are stock keeping units which are used to identify items as they arrive and as they are sold in the store.With the single scan at the point of purchase a continuous stream of information Is provided to both Walmart and its supplier s

When the universal product code represented by a series of vertical bars is scanned the following information is written to the Walmart database SKU number name of the product  size of the products selling prices an costs.If the store expects a shortage,the store clerks  or managers can with a hand held computer use Walmarts item locator program to find inventory  elsewhere ,then  a phone call will be made to request the SKU.

 Walmart also utilities a video cart mas the shopper pushes the videocart  through the store information about the department  at hand flashes onto the attached video screen

The cart also helps customers to find items in the store by listing hundreds of products by department and then displaying a ,ap of the store

Data is transmitted to and from Walmart's home office several times a day.

The system is linked to a retail link database which is connected to 2500 of walmart's 10000 suppliers including Warner Lambert

To help both Walmart and its suppliers adjust to shifting demand 65 weeks of sales data for  each item are maintained.

BENEFITS

The inventory management systems is beneficial to Walmart because it

Helps to keep track of incoming and out going stock ,which ensures that there is never a product that is out fo stock completely,and this keeps customers satisfied because they have an assurance that they will find the products they are looking for mo matter what.

 It saves time because everything is automated.

It reduces cost of labor,if the systems was not out into place there would be may employees who have to do the stock counts but now that is all being done by the system.

The Walmart system is connected to its suppliers too,this is beneficial because it helps suppliers to e ready to provide the necessary products and this improves efficiency.

And also helps the suppliers yo  adjust to the shifting demand .

The system also provides a cost advantage over Walmart rivals because of the incorporation of RFID.

In conclusion the initiative taken by Walmart to incorporate information technology into their company is the cause of its high ranking credentials in the world market today.With this system in place Walmart will definitely continue to be the best at what it does.

 SOURCES

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/9517882/Wal-Mart-Database

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/76913444/wal-mart

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/50841032/Wal-Mart

discounts galore....

 

Functionality:

With Jackcow the customer spots a deal they like and they click buy top purchase the cowpon, but the deal is only activated when the minimum number of buyers is reached.

But before all this the customer has to register a JackCow account. This enables them to make coupon purchases and also at the same time get lots of added benefits for example automatic enrolment for lucky draws and added value benefits/services.

Payment requirements involve the use of Ipay88, which is an online payment gateway Which supports a wide range of transactions from credit cards, online transfer such as Maybank2u, CIMBClicks, PayPal and etc.

Within a few minutes of purchase the customer will receive an email confirmation, confirming that their transaction is successful. When the deal reaches the minimum number of buyers, another email will be sent out to the indicating that the deal is now on!

The deals all show up in the home page

There is also an option to like the page of different social media sites

Interface:

The deals all show up in the home page

There is also an option to like the page of different social media sites

Functionality : With Groupon the customer has to click buy to purchase a coupon and then their credit card details are transmitted by SSL directly to a secure electronic vault.

And the customer will receive an email confirming that their transaction has been completed. When the discount reaches the minimum number of buyers, the customer will receive another email indicating that the discount is on. Vouchers will be available for redemption within 24 to 48 hours after the discount ends. Groupon will email the customer to notify them when that happens. After the discount ends, Groupon will make the necessary arrangements with the retailer to prepare them in welcoming the customer.

Interface:

The deals all show up in the home page

There is also an option to like the page of different social media sites

Functionality:

With Milk a deal, all the customer does is like the deal they have and then share it with friends, then they can redeem the deal

Basically they have to click "BUY" before the offer ends at midnight. If the minimum numbers of people sign up, MAD will charge their credit card and send them a link to print their MAD Voucher. If the minimum number is not met, the deal is off and the customer won't be charged. 

This site also offers opportunities for Merchants too, all the merchant does is to design an unbeatable deal which will have customers sprawling over it and then the MAD staff of milk a deal will help the merchant to liaise and guide them from preparing the merchant for their feature day through to payment.

Interface

The deals all show up in the home page

There is also an option to like the page of different social media sites

 

Functionality:
With Super deal Every week a Deal at discounts between 30%-90% on is advertised but customers don't have to wait until a minimum numbers of buyers is reached before they can enjoy the discount.
All they have to do is
 Click on BUY NOW.
 Fill in their details
and Proceed to payment, then they have to  Print the e-voucher which will be sent to their email
and the lastly go to the merchant and enjoy their SUPER DEALS within the validity (usually 3 - 6 months)

Interface

The deals all show up in the home page

There is also an option to like the page of different social media sites

Summary

In conclusion to this analysis for the websites above, I think that Super deal is the best, I prefer it because it does not require that the customer wait for the minimum number of buyers be reached, and instead the customer can just redeem the voucher immediately unlike the other 4 sites.

In ranking I would give them the following ratings

1st Super deals 

2nd Jack cow

3rd Milk a deal

4th Groupon

  

Using this kind of group purchasing method is really beneficial ,.for customer it is good because they are able to strike steal deals at lower and affordable prices, for merchants they are beneficial because it  not only promotes the merchants store to the people accessing their website but it even goes further to promote it to others each time the user recommends or shares the page with their friends and family, some people may also go to the merchants store to purchase other items that are not included in the deals o the day ,which will increase the merchants store’s customer base and also give them a greater market share.

Even though these sites are all pretty good they do have their short comings for example,

Groupon is a very slow site to access and the information needed is insufficient for example through multiple attempts to load the page that explains how the site works the page could not load,

Suggestions

Groupon is a very slow site to access and the information needed is insufficient for example through multiple attempts to load the page that explains how the site works the page could not load, A suggested improvement would be to advertise their deals with lesser use of advance multimedia properties and also decrease the picture size to reduce the occurrence of the website taking time to load.

Sunway Group
Established in 1974 the Sunway Group has thrived to become one of Malaysia’s most widely recognized and diversified conglomerates with a multitude of established businesses. Its core businesses include: civil engineering and construction; building materials; trading and manufacturing; quarrying; information technology; property development and investment; leisure, entertainment and hospitality; health care; and education.
Sunway is the only Malaysian organization in the Asia Pacific region that was ranked sixth in the Hewitt-Fortune-RBL Top Companies for Leaders 2007 in recognition of its unflinching commitment to human capital management.
The Group encompasses two Main Board listed companies – Sunway Holdings Berhad (Sunway Holdings) and Sunway City Berhad (SunCity).

Sunway Holdings is an investment operations arm with core businesses in construction, building materials, trading, manufacturing, and quarry while SunCity is involved in the areas of property development and property investment that also comprises hospitality industries.
The Group’s flagship development is the flourishing 800-acre Sunway Integrated Resort City in Bandar Sunway, located just 20 minutes outside the nation’s capital city of Kuala Lumpur. The township is a veritable “resurrection” from a derelict ex-mining land. Its fully-integrated facilities providing the Group's trademark "Resort Living within the City,” has received a host of awards and international accolades. Sunway Integrated Resort City remains one of the region’s best-known tourist destinations.
Underlying this worthy corporate endeavor is the Group's philosophy of ‘business with a heart’- giving back to the community it serves through its commendable corporate responsibility (CR) initiatives chiefly involving Education, Health care and Environment. Some of the more highly regarded CR programmes include the formation of Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah Foundation with an aim to bring high-quality and affordable education to the community and the country; Job Placement Programme for special children; Sunway Safe City Initiative and Recycling Programmes amongst other health care and charitable activities.
Be it transforming wasteland into thriving townships, pioneering innovative construction methods, or realizing the aspirations of a fast developing nation and its connection with the rest of the world, Sunway Group is all about: Turning Vision Into Reality.
  Mission and Vision

Vision

• To be a leading conglomerate providing world-class and competitive products and services that enhances stakeholders’ value.

Mission

• To provide innovative quality products and services that exceed customers’ expectation. • To continuously attract, retain and develop Human Capital. • To achieve market leadership and operating excellence in every business segment.

Market industry

The sunway group falls under the tertiary service industry, since it specializes in the provision of services that are found within the tertiary sector.

Focus area

The sunway group is a conglomerate which spans into a diverse group of business activities and sectors,its core business include civil engineering and construction; building materials; trading and manufacturing; quarrying; information technology; property development and investment; leisure, entertainment and hospitality; health care; and education.

But the main focus of this project is the Information technology department which has a colossal range of systems that are all pioneered by different companies within the sunway group.The system of interest for this company is the [ end-to-end systems integrator (si) which is a system that is overseen by sunway computer services which specializes in IT infrastructure, business solutions and systems integration services provider

Brief description of sunway computer services
Sunway Computer Services is an established Systems Integrator (SI) with more than 25 years of proven track record helping customers meet their enterprise goals and accomplish their business objectives with cost effective and strategic IT solutions.  As a trusted Systems Integrator, Sunway Computer Services has extensive experience on end-to-end systems integration projects, virtualization projects (such as Test and Development, Business Continuity, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and Data center Consolidation), networking & storage management projects, and others.  We are one of the few Systems Integrator to have a pool of multiple skills certified Consultants to support our customers directly in the Central and Northern Malaysia.

Planning and task scheduling

◄ March	~ April 2011 ~					May ►
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12 Conduct surface research on company back ground and focus area	13	14	15 Do brief research on the service industry and findout competitors of the comapny	16
17	18	19 Do research on the chosen system in full(Findout all operation basics)	20	21	22 Document system operations basic	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30

The plan to gain information for the project will be to use articles and also the company websites to get sufficient information on the company and all the basic operations of the system..

The human race has seen the world move from an industrial revolution characterized by manufacturing and industrial work, where tasks were labor intensive and of manual form to provide tangible services to a more weightless,border less economy which can be termed the as a digital economy if you like.And so the big question that arises is what sparks the difference between these two concepts. Old Economy:This concept defines an industrialized economy which is characterized by manufacturing and the provision of tangible services Digital Economy: The new economy or digital economy is more of a convergence of communication computing and information meaning revolves around the coordination of networked computing technologies and new business models to provide intangible services information innovation and creativity in expanding economic potential. Which means while the other exploit labor and is focused of delivering tangible goods and services the other is more of a virtual approach to things. According to (E. J. Malecki, B. Moriset 2008) The digital economy represents the pervasive use of IT (hardware,software,applications and telecommunications in all aspects of the economy ,including internal operations of organizations (business,government and non profit) It is of no doubt that in todays modern society the Digital economy is the dominant of the two,and as such we have seen many organisations turn from the old economy to the new ,some organisations are setup with a basis of the digital economy and are thriving on it. Examples of such organizations include Law Depot.com This is one of the organisations that has managed to prove that almost everything that is done in the real world can be done on line.Lawdepot.com is an e-commerce company that specialises in the provision of legal documents. Like similar legal document service providers, LawDepot is not a law firm; rather, the company is a provider of self-help software designed to assist users in helping themselves instead of involving lawyers who usually charge huge amounts to prepare legal documents for people. Through Law depot the customer interacts with the software interface on the website to create documents they want. These documents are of various forms from title deeds, wills , real estate contracts and many more. With the introduction of this kind of service provision the company has to be up to date with any amendments in the legal documents it also has to follow any trends in legal documentation that are set by the governments of the countries it resides. The organisation does not have to change any of the designs it is only interested in providing the document for the customer in an online basis Law Depot is really digitally inclined because with it in place consumers are able to access documents they any at any time ,not only that they also have a customer care portal where consumers are able to get a guide to assist on how to create the forms all the way to understanding the content of the forms.