Information system used in Wal-Mart(part3)

    Cross Docking:   

Wal-Mart has invested heavily in its unique cross-docking inventory system. Cross docking has enabled Wal-Mart to achieve economies of scale, which reduces its costs of sales. With this system, goods are continuously delivered to stores within 48 hours and often without having to inventory them. The manufacturer directly forwarded the goods to a place called the ´staging area. The goods are packed there according to the orders received from different stores and then directly sent to the respective customers.

Lower prices also eliminate the expense of frequent sales promotions and sales are more predictable. Cross docking gives the individual managers more control at the store level.

    Voice-Based Order Filling (VOF)

In1998, Wal-Mart installed a voice-based order filling (VOF) system in all its grocery distribution centers. Each person responsible for order picking was provided with a microphone/speaker headset, connected to the portable (VOF) system that could be worn on waist belt.

They were guided by the voice to item locations in the distribution centers.

The VOF system also verified quantities picked, and could respond to a variety of requests such as providing product detail (type, price, barcode number, etc.)

Information system used in Wal-Mart(part2)

   Point-of-sale system (POS ):

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.

Over one 5 year period, Wal-Mart invested over $600 million in information systems.

Telecommunications:

Wal-Mart use telecommunications to link directly from its stores to its central computer system and from that system to its supplier's computers.

Bar Code Scanning:

The idea of bar code scanning required that industry develop a universal product code (UPC) system, a standard method for identifying products with numbers and coding those numbers as the type of bar code shown in the photo.

Information system used in Wal-Mart(part1)

•     RFID System:   

104 Wal-Mart stores, the company has installed RFID readers at the receiving docks at the back of the building, near the trash compactors and between the back room and the retail floor.

o For the cases of goods that are shipped to the stores with RFID tags, Wal-Mart records their arrival by reading the tag on each case and then reads the tags again before the cases are brought out to the sales floor.

o      By using sales data from its existing point-of-sales system, which is not using RFID, Wal-Mart subtracts the number of cases of a particular item that are sold to customers from the number of cases brought out to the sales floor.

o When a case is brought out to the sales floor, the system      records that it's being put out on the shelves.

o      When the case is read at the trash compactor, the status within the system is changed to "on shelf."

o      Suppliers can get updates on the location of their goods within 30 minutes of the goods movement from one part of the store to another with a 98%read rate.

History of wallmart

Wal-Mart's history is one of innovation, leadership and success. It started with a single store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962 and has grown to what is now the world's largest - and arguably, the most emulated - retailer. Some researchers refer to Wal-Mart as the industry trendsetter. Today, this retailing pioneer has annual revenues of over $100 billion, 3,000 stores and more than 750,000 employees worldwide. Wal-Mart operates each store, from the products it stocks, to the front-end equipment that helps speed checkout, with the same philosophy: provide everyday low prices and superior customer service. Lower prices also eliminate the expense of frequent sales promotions and sales are more predictable. Wal-Mart has invested heavily in its unique cross-docking inventory system. Cross docking has enabled Wal-Mart to achieve economies of scale which reduce its costs of sales. With this system, goods are continuously delivered to stores within 48 hours and often without having to inventory them. This allows Wal-Mart to replenish the shelves 4 times faster than its competition. Wal-Mart’s ability to replenish their shelves four times faster than its competition is just another advantage they have over competition. Wal-Mart leverages its buying power through purchasing in bulks and distributing the goods on its own. Wal-Mart guarantees everyday low prices and considers them the one stop shop.