Wal-Mart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Wal-Mart - Essay Example In the initial stage, Wal-mart was only tracking pallets and cases coming to one distribution center but the plan was to expand to cover 100 suppliers across US by the end of 2006 (Tutorial-Reports, 2005). They would then roll out the technology internationally. The entire plan was based on achieving a completely error-free, fool-proof transparent supply chain. To achieve this, Wal-mart planned to install RFID readers at the distribution centers and stores, and buying equipment for printing tags. The plan envisaged was so intense that suppliers could not escape using this technology. Wal-mart also wanted to gradually work on tracking recalls. The idea behind the entire plan was to gain competitive advantage over others in the sector. Within two months of the deadline indicated by Wal-mart, RFID system was installed at 104 Wal-mart stores. Within 30 minutes the suppliers could obtain the data through its Retail Link extranet website. By the end of February 2005, Wal-mart stores using RFID had received 23,753 tagged pallets and 663,912 cases, and taken over 5 million tag reads (IDTechEx, 2005). However, about half of the top 100 suppliers felt that there was lack of knowledge of RFID integration and hence decided to set up the systems themselves. While it was possible to read the tags on cars and on conveyors in distribution centers, it was difficult to read the RFID tags on fully loaded pallets. Successful reads was only 63% which was not acceptable by Wal-mart. They wanted nothing less than hundred percent. By October 2005 Wal-mart had achieved success to the extent that they could monitor stock levels which resulted in 16% reduction in out-of-stock status. Moreover, the out-of-stock items that carried the EPC could be replenished there times faster than items that were still using the standard barcode technology. It was also possible to avoid excess inventory as manual orders reduced. Based on the initial success Wal-mart set further timelines that by the end of 2006 more than 1000 stores, clubs and distribution centers would be covered under the program. They would have more than 6090 suppliers participating by the end of 2007. They conducted briefings and seminars to share knowledge back and forth. The suppliers that had gone live in 2005 also shared their learning with other organizations. The success of the RFID technology depends upon collaboration with partners and suppliers. This is critical for time-sensitive goods (Songini, 2006). It can enable Wal-mart to look at the items store by store and evaluate the cause of low sales. This would further enable Wal-mart to sit down with the partners and determine how to enhance sales. The value of RFID technology also depends upon the type of product involved. It would help to know how long the perishable goods have been in the supply chain. It can also help tag the response to new products introduced while also preventing theft. However, all their efforts did not fetch the desired results as the public was wary of privacy concerns. Chances of abuse of information from tracking the product tags were high. While the Wal-mart stores could items in the stores in the US, they could not kill the tags at the checkout. What was essential was to have kill switches that would disable the chips at the checkout counters (Tutorial-Reports, 2005a). Wal-mart argues that if the kill switches are installed it could block the radio waves before reaching the RFID reader devices. Moreover, they insist that the RFID tags do not collect any additional information about the customer but the future of the RFID techn

Business Letters Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Letters - Essay Example We believe at offering the best services to our clients and thus we oftenly conduct an evaluation for the cleaners with the help of the clients they serve. We highly uphold integrity and so we encourage our clients to communicate directly to us in case of any misconduct from the employees. Further, we encourage our clients to communicate to our office before making any kind of payment. We also do not accept cash payments and thus encourage our clients to make cheque deposits to our bank account that is indicated in the brochure. Kindly inform me of availability of a vacant room in your newly constructed mall. Our business has been in operation for over ten years, with branches in many parts of the country. This has enabled us to serve customers from different parts. We have therefore been considering opening a new branch and we are hopeful that opening an office in your building will enable us serve the customers in the area that have not been able to access our services. It is our belief that our banking services will benefit even the newly opened businesses within the mall. We are willing to pay the set amount of rent and adhere to the set standards of payment. We considered security purposes also and arrived at a conclusion that the mall will be an ideal place for our new office. It will also be ideal due to the short distance from the mall to our headquarters thus reporting to the headquarters will be easier. We will also be in a position to advertise our services to a big number of people. Kindly contact us therefore for an availability of a vacant office and inform us of the appropriate time for us to come and check get more information about the terms of payment of rent. Thank you in advance. I would like to express our company’s interest of supplying pure drinking water to your office. Our company has been delivering water to the nearby offices for the past