Walmart's sustainability strategy and global business operations analysis

Wal-Mart's Global Business Situational Analysis

Wal-Mart's operations throughout the years have been centered on various factors including sustainable, cultural and global consciousness. As the company continues its journey towards sustainable products and dealing with ethical dilemmas relating to its environmental claims, sustainable, cultural and global consciousness continues to be important aspects of operations. This consciousness requires awareness of economic trends, socio-cultural factors, communication and technological trends, and opportunities and trends in the market. In essence, Wal-Mart's sustainability journey across all operations could become unsuccessful without awareness of these important factors that could affect its operations and productivity.

Economic Trends

Wal-Mart's journey towards delivery of sustainable products and meeting environmental claims of its products is affected by some economic trends. The company needs to be conscious of these economic trends in order to provide sustainable products that in turn contribute to increase sales and more revenues for the company. One of the economic trends that could impact Wal-Mart's marketplace is e-commerce growth, which is largely brought by increased Internet usage (Trefis Team, 2011). The growth of e-commerce could impact the firm's marketplace because of the development and use of better online portals that facilitate easy search and purchase functionality and shopping promotion. Secondly, Wal-Mart's marketplace could be impacted by unpredictable market conditions, especially in emerging markets where it operates. The unpredictability of the market in turn generates tough economic conditions, which affect business operations. Third, the demand for new sustainable products is an economic trend that could impact Wal-Mart's marketplace through impacting its product development processes. Currently, the company faces the need to develop and utilize a reliable, science-based system for environmentally-friendly products given that customers in today's marketplace are more conscious of sustainability and environmentally-friendly products.

Socio-cultural Trends/Factors

Apart from economic trends, Wal-Mart's quest towards sustainability is also impacted by socio-cultural trends or characteristics of its market. One of the socio-cultural trends or characteristics of Wal-Mart's market is the presence of a relatively potent and demanding customer base, especially in the United States. Customers in Wal-Mart's market across the globe have become increasingly powerful as they demand certain kinds of products. For instance, the company's product sustainability strategy was initiated following customers' interest in and demand for affordable, sustainable products (Hyatt & Spicer, 2012). Secondly, the company's market is characterized by cultural changes and demographic shifts in the external environment. As a result, Wal-Mart always faces the need to adapt its stores in a manner that reflects the operational environment. When designing its operations, Wal-Mart needs to consider several factors including age, gender, income, and occupation of its customer base. The third socio-cultural trend or characteristic is unpredictable customer preferences and generational differences that affect retail businesses.

Communication and Technological Trends

The first communication and technological trends that could impact Wal-Mart's marketplace is increased Internet usage. As customers are increasingly using technological devices for communication, better online portals have emerged and are utilized by customers for their shopping experiences. The revolution of the Internet has made it easy for businesses to promote online sales, which in turn enhances the purchasing power of customers. In addition, increased Internet usage implies increased competition in Wal-Mart's marketplace. Secondly, the company's marketplace could be impacted by the development and use of sophisticated information systems. The third technological trend is the emergence of automated self-checkout, which has become more common in retail stores in order to enhance speedy customer service (Thibodeau, 2013). These systems could impact the marketplace through enhancing customer convenience and choice, which in turn affects retail operations. With regards to Wal-Mart's sustainability journey, the communication or technological trend that could affect its marketplace is the need for a reliable, science-based system for sustainable product development, which has contributed to unsuccessful sustainability initiatives or efforts (Hyatt & Spicer, 2012).

Trend-OT Links

The global economic, socio-cultural, and communication and technological trends are linked to opportunities or threats currently faced by Wal-Mart. While e-commerce growth and the increased demands for sustainable products are threats to Wal-Mart, they provide an opportunity for the firm to enhance its operations by increasing its market presence by providing sustainable products. However, the unpredictability of the market is a major threat that could hinder Wal-Mart's global expansion initiatives. The presence of a strong and demanding customer base and unpredictable customer preferences are threats to Wal-Mart's successful operations since it enhances the purchasing power of customers. On the other hand, cultural changes and demographic shifts are not only threats but opportunities for Wal-Mart to develop products that meet customers' needs. The increased internet usage, sophisticated information systems, and lack of a science-based system for sustainable product could threaten Wal-Mart by increasing competition and contributing to unsuccessful sustainability efforts. However, Wal-Mart could capitalize on the opportunities provided by these business factors to enhance operations and profitability.

References

Hyatt, D.G. & Spicer, A. (2012, December 4). Walmart's Sustainability Journey: Defining Sustainable Products (A). Retrieved from University of Arkansas website: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=scmtwscp

Thibodeau, P. (2013, January 16). Walmart, Jobs and the Rise of Self-Service Checkout Tech. Retrieved February 11, 2017, from http://www.computerworld.com/article/2494214/retail-it/walmart -- jobs-and-the-rise-of-self-service-checkout-tech.html

Treffis Team. (2011, April 29). Key Trends Impacting Wal-Mart. Retrieved February 11, 2017, from http://www.nasdaq.com/article/key-trends-impacting-walmart-cm73529