Flattener 7 – Supply Chaining

• This involves functions like delivery, sorting, packing, distribution, buying, manufacturing, and reordering. Walmart is the best example of how a company can use information technology to set up and run its own supply chain. Many other use the same approach. By ordering in large volume and having their suppliers ship to one spot, they save money that they can pass on in lower prices. The Walmart trucks are tracked by satellite. Anytime they are near a supplier they pick up goods to save delivery charges.
• Walmart’s warehouse operations are highly automated. Workers picking goods to ship are instructed by voice so they can use both hands. RFID (radio frequency ID) tags have replaced bar codes on pallets. This means that the system can track every box automatically. Walmart has meteorologists who spot storm conditions such as coming hurricanes and shifts deliveries to feature products people are more likely to purchase (beer early, pop tarts later).

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