Walmart ICMT Strategy: Supply Chain & Technology Review
This paper evaluates Walmart's information, communication, media, and technology (ICMT) strategy and its alignment with the company's core strategic initiatives. Drawing on a SWOT analysis and a review of corporate reports and store-level interviews, the paper examines how Walmart deploys RFID technology, satellite-linked supplier networks, and data management systems to support its "Save Money, Live Better" and "Fast, Friendly and Clean" initiatives. The paper also identifies a gap in Walmart's use of ICMT to address external threats — particularly rising commodity prices — and recommends two quality-assurance technologies, CAPA and supplier risk scorecards, to help the company sustain its competitive position as price advantages potentially diminish.
- Introduction: Walmart background, scope, and research method
- Corporate Mission and ICMT Components: Mission statement and five ICMT system components
- SWOT Analysis: Internal strengths, weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats
- Strategic Initiatives: Project Impact's two core retail initiatives explained
- ICMT Aligned to Organizational Strategic Goals: RFID and supplier networks mapped to strategic goals
- Recommendations: CAPA and supplier scorecards to strengthen quality management
- Summary: Synthesis of findings and future competitive outlook
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- Grounds the technology analysis in a clearly stated corporate mission, giving each ICMT component a strategic purpose rather than describing technology for its own sake.
- Uses a structured SWOT analysis to organize internal and external factors before mapping them to specific ICMT decisions, creating a logical analytical chain.
- Moves beyond description to offer actionable recommendations (CAPA and supplier risk scorecards) that directly address an identified strategic gap — rising commodity prices eroding price advantage.
- Maintains consistent focus on a single company, which keeps the argument tightly bounded and evidence-specific rather than generic.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates strategic alignment analysis — showing how discrete technology choices (RFID tracking, satellite-linked supplier systems) map onto named corporate initiatives ("Save Money, Live Better," "Fast, Friendly and Clean"). This technique requires the writer to move between operational detail and strategic framing, connecting the "how" of technology to the "why" of business goals.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a brief introduction establishing Walmart's background and scope of research, followed by a mission statement and a definitions section. A SWOT analysis forms the analytical core before two strategic initiatives are named and explained. An alignment section then traces specific ICMT deployments to those initiatives. A recommendations section addresses the gap identified in the SWOT, and a summary paragraph synthesizes the argument. Total structure: seven sections, each building on the last.
Introduction
Walmart is an American-based multinational corporation headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. The company was founded in 1962 with the aim of providing discount goods to customers to enable them to live better (Walmart Inc., 2015). It went public in October 1969 to help achieve this vision. Today, the company operates more than 11,000 stores in 27 countries, dealing in a wide range of merchandise including foodstuffs, groceries, clothing, furniture, apparel, toys, and communications technologies (Walmart Inc., 2015). This research was limited to the store in West Hills, California. The company's strategic reports were reviewed, and the store's assistant manager was interviewed to obtain information on the organization's ICMT strategy.
Corporate Mission and ICMT Components
Walmart's mission is to "Save People Money so they can Live Better" (Walmart Inc., 2015). Consumers save money through the company's low selling prices, which it is able to sustain because of its large size and broad scale of operations. The company relies on this mission to achieve its long-term vision of becoming the best retailer in the world in the hearts and minds of consumers and employees. This vision clearly identifies employees and customers as the most important stakeholders. As such, the company strives to keep these groups satisfied and contented — one of the ways it achieves this is by maintaining an innovative ICMT plan that responds to the needs of both groups.
For purposes of this research, the term ICMT is defined as the various media and technological devices used to receive, store, manipulate, or transmit digital information from one point to another. Any ICMT system comprises five major components:
People: The entire system revolves around people, who are responsible for supplying data to the ICMT system and for making judgments based on the output it produces.
Data: The raw material that is input into the system and processed to produce output.
Hardware: The physical components that make up the system, including communication devices needed to send data across networks — such as computers, tablets, and smartphones.
Software: Computer programs that provide step-by-step instructions to get the job done, including word processing software, database software, accounting packages, and customer-relations management software.
Information: The result of data processing — the output from the ICMT system.
References
Fox News. (2012). Again? Walmart rep takes another beating. Fox News LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015, from
International Markets Bureau. (2010). Global private label trends. International Markets Bureau. Retrieved December 16, 2015, from https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/market-prices-and-statistics/food-and-value-added-agriculture-statistics/pubs/global_private_label_trends_en.pdf
Kosasi, S., & Saragih, H. (2014). How RFID technology boosts Walmart's supply chain management. International Journal of Information Technology and Business Management, 24(1), 29–37.
Murray, M. (2015). Walmart's strategic initiatives. About.com. Retrieved December 16, 2015, from
Roberts, M. (2014). Seven technologies manufacturers use for supplier quality management. Quality Digest. Retrieved December 16, 2015, from http://www.qualitydigest.com/inside/quality-insider-article/seven-technologies-manufacturers-use-supplier-quality-management.html
Walmart Inc. (2015). Corporate strategy and mission. Retrieved from https://corporate.walmart.com
Already a member? Log in
Unlock the rest of this paper
135,000+ research papers · AI writing tools · Plagiarism & AI detection
7-Day Pass
Does not renew
Get 7-Day PassMonthly
Renews at $12.99/month until canceled
Start MonthlyAnnual
Renews at $99/year until canceled
Start Annual- Unlimited AI writing tools
- Plagiarism and AI text detection tool
Plan details
Unlimited AI writing tools are for individual, non-automated use and are subject to our Terms of Service and abuse-prevention measures.
TextChecker scans: 3 during the 7-Day Pass, or 5 per month with Monthly and Annual.
Prices exclude applicable tax.
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.