Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain

Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain Description

In 2007, Walmart was sourcing approximately $750 million in seafood annually. Although output from the world's fisheries had declined to 3 percent of production levels in the year 1900, the company's volume of seafood business was growing at roughly 25 percent per year. Against this backdrop, Peter Redmond, vice president for seafood and deli, believed that continuity of supply was the single greatest long-term issue facing the seafood network. To help address this challenge as part of the company's recently-announced sustainability strategy, Walmart set a goal to transition to selling 100 percent MSC certified wild-caught seafood by the end of 2011. To accomplish its goal of selling only certified wild-caught fish, Walmart would have to work through its suppliers to increase the number of fisheries and processing plants in the MSC certification program. This case describes MSC certification and the salmon supply chain from the point of view of one of Walmart's tier-one seafood suppliers. It provides enough detail that students should be able to make recommendations regarding how should Walmart rationalize its seafood supply chain to reduce costs and promote sustainability.

Case Description Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain

Strategic Managment Tools Used in Case Study Analysis of Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain

STEP 1. Problem Identification in Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain case study

STEP 2. External Environment Analysis - PESTEL / PEST / STEP Analysis of Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain case study

STEP 3. Industry Specific / Porter Five Forces Analysis of Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain case study

STEP 4. Evaluating Alternatives / SWOT Analysis of Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain case study

STEP 5. Porter Value Chain Analysis / VRIO / VRIN Analysis Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain case study

STEP 6. Recommendations Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain case study

STEP 7. Basis of Recommendations for Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain case study

Case Analysis of Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain

Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain is a Harvard Business (HBR) Case Study on Organizational Development , Texas Business School provides HBR case study assignment help for just $9. Texas Business School(TBS) case study solution is based on HBR Case Study Method framework, TBS expertise & global insights. Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain is designed and drafted in a manner to allow the HBR case study reader to analyze a real-world problem by putting reader into the position of the decision maker. Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain case study will help professionals, MBA, EMBA, and leaders to develop a broad and clear understanding of casecategory challenges. Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain will also provide insight into areas such as – wordlist , strategy, leadership, sales and marketing, and negotiations.

Case Study Solutions Background Work

Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain case study solution is focused on solving the strategic and operational challenges the protagonist of the case is facing. The challenges involve – evaluation of strategic options, key role of Organizational Development, leadership qualities of the protagonist, and dynamics of the external environment. The challenge in front of the protagonist, of Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain, is to not only build a competitive position of the organization but also to sustain it over a period of time.

Strategic Management Tools Used in Case Study Solution

The Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain case study solution requires the MBA, EMBA, executive, professional to have a deep understanding of various strategic management tools such as SWOT Analysis, PESTEL Analysis / PEST Analysis / STEP Analysis, Porter Five Forces Analysis, Go To Market Strategy, BCG Matrix Analysis, Porter Value Chain Analysis, Ansoff Matrix Analysis, VRIO / VRIN and Marketing Mix Analysis.

Texas Business School Approach to Organizational Development Solutions

In the Texas Business School, Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain case study solution – following strategic tools are used - SWOT Analysis, PESTEL Analysis / PEST Analysis / STEP Analysis, Porter Five Forces Analysis, Go To Market Strategy, BCG Matrix Analysis, Porter Value Chain Analysis, Ansoff Matrix Analysis, VRIO / VRIN and Marketing Mix Analysis.

We have additionally used the concept of supply chain management and leadership framework to build a comprehensive case study solution for the case – Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain

Step 1 – Problem Identification of Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain - Harvard Business School Case Study

The first step to solve HBR Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain case study solution is to identify the problem present in the case. The problem statement of the case is provided in the beginning of the case where the protagonist is contemplating various options in the face of numerous challenges that Seafood Walmart is facing right now. Even though the problem statement is essentially – “Organizational Development” challenge but it has impacted by others factors such as communication in the organization, uncertainty in the external environment, leadership in Seafood Walmart, style of leadership and organization structure, marketing and sales, organizational behavior, strategy, internal politics, stakeholders priorities and more.

Step 2 – External Environment Analysis

Texas Business School approach of case study analysis – Conclusion, Reasons, Evidences - provides a framework to analyze every HBR case study. It requires conducting robust external environmental analysis to decipher evidences for the reasons presented in the Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain.

The external environment analysis of Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain will ensure that we are keeping a tab on the macro-environment factors that are directly and indirectly impacting the business of the firm.

What is PESTEL Analysis? Briefly Explained

PESTEL stands for political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors that impact the external environment of firm in Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain case study. PESTEL analysis of " Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain" can help us understand why the organization is performing badly, what are the factors in the external environment that are impacting the performance of the organization, and how the organization can either manage or mitigate the impact of these external factors.

How to do PESTEL / PEST / STEP Analysis? What are the components of PESTEL Analysis?

As mentioned above PESTEL Analysis has six elements – political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal. All the six elements are explained in context with Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain macro-environment and how it impacts the businesses of the firm.

How to do PESTEL Analysis for Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain

To do comprehensive PESTEL analysis of case study – Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain , we have researched numerous components under the six factors of PESTEL analysis.

Political Factors that Impact Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain

Political factors impact seven key decision making areas – economic environment, socio-cultural environment, rate of innovation & investment in research & development, environmental laws, legal requirements, and acceptance of new technologies.

Policy Making Impact on Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain

Government policies have significant impact on the business environment of any country. The firm in “ Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain ” needs to navigate these policy decisions to create either an edge for itself or reduce the negative impact of the policy as far as possible.

Data safety laws – The countries in which Seafood Walmart is operating, firms are required to store customer data within the premises of the country. Seafood Walmart needs to restructure its IT policies to accommodate these changes. In the EU countries, firms are required to make special provision for privacy issues and other laws.

Competition Regulations – Numerous countries have strong competition laws both regarding the monopoly conditions and day to day fair business practices. Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain has numerous instances where the competition regulations aspects can be scrutinized.

Import restrictions on products – Before entering the new market, Seafood Walmart in case study Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain" should look into the import restrictions that may be present in the prospective market.

Export restrictions on products – Apart from direct product export restrictions in field of technology and agriculture, a number of countries also have capital controls. Seafood Walmart in case study “ Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain ” should look into these export restrictions policies.

Foreign Direct Investment Policies – Government policies favors local companies over international policies, Seafood Walmart in case study “ Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain ” should understand in minute details regarding the Foreign Direct Investment policies of the prospective market.

Taxation & Regulation Impact on Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain

Corporate Taxes – The rate of taxes is often used by governments to lure foreign direct investments or increase domestic investment in a certain sector. Corporate taxation can be divided into two categories – taxes on profits and taxes on operations. Taxes on profits number is important for companies that already have a sustainable business model, while taxes on operations is far more significant for companies that are looking to set up new plants or operations.

Tariffs – Chekout how much tariffs the firm needs to pay in the “ Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain ” case study. The level of tariffs will determine the viability of the business model that the firm is contemplating. If the tariffs are high then it will be extremely difficult to compete with the local competitors. But if the tariffs are between 5-10% then Seafood Walmart can compete against other competitors.

Government Scheme & Subsidies Impact on Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain

Research and Development Subsidies and Policies – Governments often provide tax breaks and other incentives for companies to innovate in various sectors of priority. Managers at Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain case study have to assess whether their business can benefit from such government assistance and subsidies.

Consumer protection – Different countries have different consumer protection laws. Managers need to clarify not only the consumer protection laws in advance but also legal implications if the firm fails to meet any of them.

Political System & Stability, and its Impact on Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain

Political System and Its Implications – Different political systems have different approach to free market and entrepreneurship. Managers need to assess these factors even before entering the market.

Freedom of Press is critical for fair trade and transparency. Countries where freedom of press is not prevalent there are high chances of both political and commercial corruption.

Corruption level – Seafood Walmart needs to assess the level of corruptions both at the official level and at the market level, even before entering a new market. To tackle the menace of corruption – a firm should have a clear SOP that provides managers at each level what to do when they encounter instances of either systematic corruption or bureaucrats looking to take bribes from the firm.

Independence of judiciary – It is critical for fair business practices. If a country doesn’t have independent judiciary then there is no point entry into such a country for business.

Government attitude towards trade unions – Different political systems and government have different attitude towards trade unions and collective bargaining. The firm needs to assess – its comfort dealing with the unions and regulations regarding unions in a given market or industry. If both are on the same page then it makes sense to enter, otherwise it doesn’t.

Economic Factors that Impact Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain

Social Factors that Impact Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain

Technological Factors that Impact Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain

Environmental Factors that Impact Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain

Legal Factors that Impact Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain

Step 3 – Industry Specific Analysis

What is Porter Five Forces Analysis

PESTEL stands for political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors that impact the external environment of firm in Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain case study. PESTEL analysis of " Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain" can help us understand why the organization is performing badly, what are the factors in the external environment that are impacting the performance of the organization, and how the organization can either manage or mitigate the impact of these external factors.

Step 4 – SWOT Analysis / Internal Environment Analysis

Step 5 – Porter Value Chain / VRIO / VRIN Analysis

Step 6 – Evaluating Alternatives & Recommendations

Step 7 – Basis for Recommendations

References :: Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain case study solution