Wal-Mart’s successfully integrated supply chain and the necessity of establishing the Triple-A supply chain in the 21st century

Abstract

Aim/purpose - The main purposes of the paper are to analyze features creating a Wal-Mart's successful integrated supply chain that contributes its dominant position in the retail market and identify issues existing in Wal-Mart's supply chain. Then some suggestions will be mentioned for Wal-Mart to establish the Triple-A supply chain. Methodology - This paper is based on literature studies for reviewing Wal-Mart's integrated supply chain and designing an ideal Triple-A supply chain. Findings - The key findings indicate that it is necessary to build the Triple-A supply chain for not only Wal-Mart but also firms in the 21st century and in order to achieve an ideal supply chain, firms need to redesign its supply chain towards an integrated supply chain with three capabilities (agility, adaptability and alignment) in which aligning incentives can be seen as the most important component. Research implications/limitations - This research confirms that an integrated supply chain will be the first vital pre-requisite for a firm to improve the supply chain performance and achieve an ideal supply chain. However, a main limitation is that findings are only based on the literature. Contribution - It is suggested that in order to build a successful supply chain that enhances both short-run and long-run competitive advantages, firms should follow the idea of designing an ideal Triple-A supply chain with three capabilities including agility, adaptability and alignment, in which aligning incentives among participating partners can be seen as the most important feature.