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Walmarts Core Competencies

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Wal-Mart’s Core Competencies Wal-Mart is a company that has taken its core competencies, which are the capabilities the firm emphasizes and performs especially well while pursuing its vision (Ireland, Hoskisson, Hitt, 2008), and turned them into competitive advantages. Core competencies must satisfy four characteristics in order to be a competitive advantage. These advantages, according to our text, include: *valuable, *rare, *difficult to imitate,*nonsubstitutable. Wal-Mart’s Core Competencies: 1. Culture- One core competency Wal-Mart has is its culture. Wal-Mart’s employees are hardworking, efficient, and process oriented. In the video “The Age of Wal-Mart” it pointed out that Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, called …show more content…

Lower stock means a higher inventory turnover rate. This is another competency that is rare and difficult for Wal-Mart’s competitors to imitate. 4. Relations with Suppliers- Wal-Mart has in place a system that helps to achieve their goal of lower prices. This Information Technology system includes computers, networking, and internet that cuts inventories and waste and helps with speedy delivery. This system also helps Wal-Mart to keep in constant contact with suppliers by transferring the data that suppliers need so they know what Wal-Mart needs. Wal-Mart also works with suppliers to improve their production and squeezes the best prices out of its supplier. The video referred to Wal-Mart as the customer’s agent. All of this focus Wal-Mart puts on suppliers reduces costs and lowers prices. Wal-Mart’s technological/logistical leadership remains unmatched by competitors (Web, 2005). 5. International Growth- The video pointed out that internationally Wal-Mart has just scratched the surface and has lots of room for growth. Expect to hear more from Wal-Mart about where we’re going in emerging markets like India and China (Gogoi, 2007). Wal-Mart is committed to being a global company and feels like expanding internationally will drive growth and hopes to add 500,000 jobs worldwide in within the next 5 years (Clifford & Rosenbloom, 2010). Brazil,

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