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Wal-Mart Distribution (Place) Strategies

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In SLP03 for your chosen organization, you will discuss its distribution systems. Be sure to refer to the taught materials thereby illustrating your learning.

In that regard, using the issues as subtitles in your paper, please address the following issues:

The Organization is Wal-Mart
MLA Format

12) If your organization manufactures a product or products, describe how products get from manufacturer through the DISTRIBUTION channel to the final consumer.

13) If your organization manufactures a product or products, describe LOGISTICS or how products are transported (land, sea, air, etc.)-- or even how component parts are obtained for manufacturing.

14) If your organization is a retailer, describe the retail PHYSICAL FACILITY. From a distribution perspective iinclude its location, its exterior and interior appearance, and related place issues such as the decision-rules used to decide where products are located in the facility.

15) If your organization manufactures a product or products OR is a retailer, with regard to the product(s) (good(s) and/or service(s)) your organization offers, does your organization have a COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE with its DISTRIBUTION channels or issues? Your answer should be a "Yes" or a "No" followed by your defense of why you chose Yes or No. Be sure to include references to the background materials to support your response.

Please remember: All SLP discussions about competitive advantage must be specific, that is, directed toward each competitor. A simplistic example is that Burger King may have competitive advantage over KFC in terms of location, but it does not have competitive advantage over McDonald's. Of course, you would elaborate more and explain why your organization does or does not have competitive advantage in distribution/place relative to each particular competitor.

P&G bought Gillette in 2005. As an example of competitive advantage, consider where P&G distributes its products (drugstores, supermarkets, mom and pop stores, and convenience stores). Now consider where Gillette sells its products (drugstores, supermarkets, mom and pop stores, and convenience stores). At least from a channels perspective, by eliminating parallel distribution systems, it made a lot of sense for P&G to purchase Gillette.

In addressing the questions, at a minimum use DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY as your heading and use the CAPITALIZED and BOLD words in the Qs as subheadings. Please answer these SLP03 questions by adding two to three pages to your revised paper that combined SLPs 01 and 02 and submit it for grading by the end of this module. Note that you are only graded on the information added to this ever growing paper.
MLA FORMAT

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Solution Summary

Wal-Mart's distribution strategies are examined.

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DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF WAL-MART
With the help of a distribution channel, which is an interdependent organization, products are available to the customers for use or consumption (Channels of Distribution, Logistics, and Wholesaling, n.d.). In this distribution channel, there are various channel intermediaries who help move a product from producer to the final consumer. The distribution channel of Wal-Mart consists of retailers and the final consumer. There are no wholesalers, agents or brokers (Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 2009).
In other words, we can say that distribution channel of Wal-Mart is a retailer channel in which the producer of the product (Wal-Mart) sells the products to the retailers i.e. the different retail outlets of the company, which include discount department stores, supercenters and the neighborhood markets, and the retailers sell the products to the final consumers (Kotler, 2002). There is no role for wholesalers and agents to play in this channel as the Wal-Mart is basically engaged in the retail operations (Channels of Distribution, Logistics, and Wholesaling, n.d.).
The whole buying and selling process and its related negotiations are broken by different distribution channels into various managerial tasks. After having being broken, these tasks are performed by those companies, which have expertise. An ability to compensate the hurdles present within a supply chain is another advantage of the distribution channel (Kotler, 2002).

LOGISTIC CHANNEL OF WAL-MART
Wal-Mart, a beigest retailer has more efficient technique to manage the distribution and logistics channel in comparison to other wholesalers ...

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