Business Strategy of Walmart

Organization Selected Walmart is a multinational retailing corporation that owns and operates many discount department stores, grocery stores, and hypermarkets. The company was established in 1962 by Sam Walton, and it has headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas (Walmart, 2017). In January 2017, Walmart had 11,695 stores and clubs in twenty-eight countries (Walmart, 2017). Although I am directly connected to the company, information pertaining its business processes is readily available on their website. Moreover, Walmart is a multinational and thus there are lot of articles on the internet regarding its business processes. Organization and Implementation Strategy Intimacy with the customers is the best implementation strategy for Walmart (Treacy & Wiersema, 1997). Using this strategy, Walmart would seek to get close relationships with the customers which lead to high customer loyalty (Treacy & Wiersema, 1997). Process Selected. Marketing in Walmart is the operational process that I have selected to analyze. Marketing in Walmart aims at passing benefits such as low prices, improved service and offers of products to clients (Walmart, 2017). The marketing process begins when the company is acquiring commodity from its suppliers and ends when the products and services reach to clients. Marketing majorly involves the marketing department that arranges offers, discounts, and strategies to ensure low prices for the goods. Significance. Marketing is the central part of Walmart that helps in developing a competitive advantage for the organization over the competitors through low prices, brand assortments, and ensuring satisfactory customer service (Walmart, 2017). Moreover, marketing lets the company increase its market share and therefore the executives would care about any changes in the process that would assist them to get a larger market share. Scope. Marketing in Walmart mainly involves the marketing department and the clients of the organization (Walmart, 2017). However, the purchasing department is also a stakeholder in the process as it must bargain for products and services to ensure that the clients benefit from low prices, offers, and discounts such as ‘Black Friday. (Walmart, 2017)’ The top management need to make sure that the necessary resources are availed to the marketing department. Clarity. Segmentation is one of the processes where the company identifies its customers based on gender, age, level of spending, and interests (Bergh, Thijs, & Viaene, 2014). Targeting is another process through which the company defines its current market share and any potential market. In addition, Walmart comes up with strategies to ensure that it retains the current market share and attracts the potential ones. Positioning is another process in marketing where the company gains a competitive advantage using its low prices for products and services (Treacy & Wiersema, 1997). Marketing also involves applying tag lines. Walmart uses the tag line ‘save money, live better’. (Walmart, 2017). All the activities above are performed mainly by the marketing department. Besides, marketing provides a marketing vision and mission. Given process involves the guidance of top management. Outcomes. An increase in the market share is one of the major goals that Walmart seeks to achieve within its marketing strategies (Walmart, 2017). The marketing processes give the company a competitive advantage that makes the clients prefer Walmart to its competitors. Walmart also aims at becoming a recognized brand regarding low prices for products and excellent customer service. Marketing helps the organization to achieve the goal by coming up with relevant taglines. Strategic Justification Reason to Undertake a BPM Project. Marketing is a core business process in Walmart. Therefore, it is important for the company to take a BPM project in marketing because it influences a product to deliver and the core service cycle (Treacy & Wiersema, 1997). Moreover, the BPM project will ensure that the marketing processes will be built on specific standards that will translate to excellent customer service and hence, increase its market share (Bergh, Thijs, & Viaene, 2014). Thus, the BPM project will assist the company in achieving its marketing goals specifically increasing its market share, gaining a competitive advantage and superior brand recognition. Alignment of the Process to the Company Strategy. Marketing in Walmart supports a strategic choice in the implementation of the BPM project because it involves the stakeholders including the clients who are the main reason why the company exists (Bergh, Thijs, & Viaene, 2014). The objectives of the process also involve the clients and help the company to gain a competitive advantage in its industry. Therefore, marketing is one of the processes that ensure survival and growth for Walmart. Marketing processes operate in accordance with the customer activity and approach in the BPM model. Treacy and Wiersema admit two competitive requirements in given plan which include a quick movement in developing markets and efficient operations as markets mature gradually (Treacy & Wiersema, 1997). Marketing process in Walmart ensures that the company continually retains the current market share and gains potential customers (Bergh, Thijs, & Viaene, 2014). References Bergh, J. v., Thijs, S., & Viaene, S. (2014). Transforming through Processes: Leading Voices on BPM, People, and Technology. Cham: Springer Publishers. Treacy, M., & Wiersema, F. (1997). The Discipline of Market Leaders: (Choose Your Customers, Narrow Your Focus, Dominate Your Market). Saint Paul: Highbridge Publications. Walmart. (2017). Our Locations. Retrieved from: http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/locations/united-states#/united-states