Mark,
While it is true that many suppliers created their own problems, both
Walmart & Home Depot do in fact beat up their suppliers. Extra fees.
Delivery hassles. Invoicing issues. It is a catch-22: everyone wants to
sell at Walmart to get at the eyeballs, but at what cost? Why do you
think toy makers have tried to go around Walmart?
If you want to take lessons from them:
- learn from their lousy employee relations (turnover rates as high as 300%)
- be impressed with their automation
- match their execution
- acquire its focus and strategy
- have a similar corporate story
Wal-Mart conquered common retailing and business issues through a
relentless emphasis on cost-control and execution.
“By focusing constantly on trying to become more operationally
efficient, Wal-Mart sets itself apart from its competitors,” writes
Bergdahl. “Wal-Mart isn’t successful because of its strategies so much
as because of its lockstep tactical execution of those strategies.”
[from Michael Bergdahl, author of /What I Learned From Sam Walton: How
to Compete and Thrive in a Wal-Mart World]/
But remember that you are not selling a commodity like Walmart.
There are many more lessons on Walmart here
(http://www.rad-info.net/newsletters/walmart16.htm) and in numerous
books, including Price Wars: A Strategy Guide to Winning the Battle for
the Customer by Thomas J. Winninger
"How can anyone compete against Wal-Mart? As Bergdahl explains in an
early chapter, price is not the answer. Because of Wal-Mart’s
efficiencies and buying power, retailers can often buy products at
Wal-Mart for less than they can get it from a distributor. The key to
success involves finding a niche, and providing value-added service,
based on intimate customer knowledge. Wal-Mart’s only Achilles heel is
its inability to address specific customer requirements, although that
weakness is masked by the “10-foot rule” and similar policies. Each
associate is required to help, or at least smile at customers, if they
are within a 10-foot radius."
That's my 25 cents anyway.
Regards,
Peter Radizeski
RAD-INFO, Inc.
marketingideaguy.com
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