JBuettnerFieldExerciseReport - 1 Field Exercise Report:...

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Field Exercise Report: Wal-Mart
Jenna Buettner
Bellevue University
MBA 675: Operations & Logistics in the Value Chain
February 27 th , 2016

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Introduction
To meet the requirements of the Field Exercise Report, I visited the Wal-Mart
Supercenter located at 4700 North 27 th Street in Lincoln, Nebraska. While there, I met with Josh
Hoage, an Assistant Manager at the location. Wal-Mart is well-known, as it is the largest retailer
worldwide. Wal-Mart began operating in 1962 with just one location in Rogers, Arkansas. Today,
there are over 11,000 stores operating throughout 27 countries (Walmart Corporate - We save
people money so they can live better, n.d.). As Wal-Mart operates from day to day, I learned that
the company relies largely on the material that has been discussed in MBA 675.
Processes, or activities involving inputs and outputs, are present inside the operations of
Wal-Mart. Workers, management, equipment, and facilities are examples of inputs of the
processes occurring at Wal-Mart. The outputs provided by the processes are the goods and
services that Wal-Mart provides to its customers. External and internal customers and suppliers
are present. In Wal-Mart’s situation, external customers are the customers who purchase goods
from the retail stores. External suppliers of Wal-Mart are the suppliers who provide product to
Wal-Mart. Employees of Wal-Mart may serve as both internal suppliers and customers.
Most would agree that at least ten critical decisions of operations management exist. The
ten decisions discussed in course MBA 675 relate to Service and Product Design, Quality
Management, Process and Capacity Design, Location, Layout Design, Human Resources and Job
Design, Supply Chain Management, Inventory, including Material Requirements Planning and
Just-In-Time, Intermediate and Short-Term Scheduling, and Maintenance Management. While
meeting with Mr. Hoage, I discovered that Wal-Mart’s operations utilize each of the ten decision
areas each day.

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Service and Product Design
Wal-Mart offers its customers a large number of services and products. The services
offered at the location that I visited include a Pharmacy, Money Center, Site-to-Store pickup,
Tire and Lube Center, Coinstar service, a Deli, and a Garden Center. In addition, the store is open
24 hours per day. Competitors of Wal-Mart, such as Target and ShopKo, offer similar services.
Wal-Mart’s Money Center and Tire and Lube Center seem to be unique to their store. Not all
Wal-Mart locations offer the same services. Different sizes of Wal-Mart locations offer different
services. Wal-Marts are typically classified as being either a Super Center, a Neighborhood
Market, or an Express Market. The size of the town in which the store is being built and zoning
regulations tend to decide which type of Wal-Mart will be in operation.