label slp 1 OPM 500 for session long project, analyze OM perspectives organization. You choose list: 1. Walmart Costco 2. McDonald's 3. Amazon. 4. Dell 5. United Parcel Services For SLP paper, identify introduction, discussion, conclusion section: 1) The organization's main line business, 2) How inventory managed organization, 3) How inventory management practices improve customer satisfaction / reduce costs. SLP 1 OPM 500

Wal-Mart is the greatest retailer in the United States and it has managed to gain and consolidate its strong competitive position as a result of a well developed and implemented strategic endeavor. Nevertheless, its business model has not always been successful and the economic agent has been faced with tremendous criticism. The organization has for instance been accused of exploiting its staff members, paying minimum wages and asking them to put in long hours. Also, the company was accused of sacrificing quality and responsibility in the name of the lowest price (Greenwald, 2005).

More recently, Wal-Mart has intensified its efforts to reposition itself as a socially responsible member of the communities in which it operates. In spite of the accusations to which it has been subjected, the retailer is a model of business success and this status has been attained through the development and implementation of a successful business model. One specific component of this business model was the management of the inventory.

2. Discussion

At a general level, inventory management is understood...

The role of inventory management is to maintain a desired stock level of specific products or items" (Toomey, 2000). At Wal-Mart, the management of the inventory is an extremely complex process which has to focus on both product features, as well as customer demands. The complexity of inventory management at Wal-Mart is given by elements such as the perishable nature of some products, the stern nature of other items, the changing consumer demands or the origin of the products retailed by the company.
In a context in which the competing retailers require up to a week to restack their shelves, Wal-Mart ensures that their shelves are continually filled with all necessary products. Therefore, the Wal-Mart customers are constantly able to find the desired items on the store's shelves. This creates high levels of satisfaction as the clients can continually rely on Wal-Mart as their source of the necessary commodities.

The mechanism which allows the company to generate customer satisfaction is constructed on the premises of three day cycles of inventory management in order to ensure that the products quickly reach the shelves. And the three days indicate not only the time in which the product reaches the shelves from the Wal-Mart warehouses, but from the very manufacturer.

Information plays a crucial role in the inventory management at the largest American retailer. The first step is that of notifying the warehouse of…