Walmart 1998 Annual Report Download - page 14

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here was a time when
Wal-Mart associates, like
their counterparts at other
retailers, spent much of their time
simply trying to keep track of
inventory. They manually counted
items and filled out endless order
forms in the hope that, eventually,
the paper trail would lead the right
products back to their shelves.
But today, thanks to Wal-Mart’s
industry-leading information tech-
nology, computers handle most of
those chores, far faster and more
efficiently than a paper-based sys-
tem. Wal-Mart leads the retail
industry with its
version of a “just in
time” supply sys-
tem in which
computers track
every product and
automatically
alert warehouses
when it’s time
to restock the
shelves.
Now, associates who spent their
days filling out forms can spend
that time serving customers.
This kind of improved efficiency
at the individual level can be seen
every day among 825,000 Wal-Mart
associates worldwide. In the stores,
where the rubber meets the retail
road, Wal-Mart customers benefit
directly from the company’s tight
focus on continuing to improve its
operating strategy.
“Focus is the key,” said Thomas
M. Coughlin, Wal-Mart’s Executive
Vice President of Operations. “As a
company, we have to stay very
intense about the things that are
most important in our business -
our customers, our associates and
our shareholders, who often are
one and the same person.”
In the stores, where strategy
rolls up its sleeves and goes to
work, some of our most visible
strategic initiatives include the
improved management of assets
and inventory, stronger-than-ever
merchandising initiatives and con-
tinuous development of informa-
14
COVER REPORT: MAKING THE GRADE
Despite a 12 percent increase
in sales in 1998, the company
saw only a 4 percent increase
in inventories, saving about
$1.4 billion. This makes more
capital available for
productive uses.
SHORTHAND
Improvements in asset management, inventory control and
technology will keep Wal-Mart earnings growing steadily.
Managing
for Results
T
T
T
Top photo: Bobby Martin, President of the International Division, and Mark Hansen, President of
SAM’S Club. Lower photo: H. Lee Scott Jr., President of the Wal-Mart Stores Division,
and Thomas M. Coughlin, Executive Vice President of Operations.