What were the reasons for the adversarial relationship between Wal-Mart and Proctor & Gamble in the past?
Despite the fact that Wal-Mart could not be considered a former rival of Proctor & Gamble (P&G), the relationships between the two left much to be desired several decades ago. Defining the key factor that prevented the organizations from creating a strong partnership one must mention that P&G lacked flexibility and as far too hostile in term of business relationships: “Wal-Mart did not like doing business with P&G. P&G organizations were too complicated and inflexible” (Grean & Shaw, 2015, p. 4).
In addition, the lack of similarities between the operational designs of the organizations was a serious impediment to their cooperation. The companies, however, managed to settle their differences in an attempt to conquer the realm of the global economy.
How does technology play a key role in supply chain integration?
The significance of technology in the development of a cohesive supply chain model and its further integration into the company’s design is truly huge. Seeing that the very concept of a supply chain presupposes cooperation between the partners or the departments of an organization and, therefore, a fast and accurate transfer of information, the choice of technology used for data transfer defines the outcomes to a considerable degree: “Information technology has enabled channel partners to trade goods, share information, and integrate their processes” (Grean & Shaw, 2015, p. 2).
Therefore, it is imperative that every single member of the staff should be provided with access to the crucial company data. The introduction of proper tools for data processing will also have a positive effect on the quality of the goods produced and services delivered (Chen, Chiang, & Storey, 2012).
What were the elements of the 1998–1999 business scorecard?
The 1998–1999 business scorecard contains a fairly small number of elements; particularly, it incorporates the concepts such as the 1996–1998 indices of retail sales, the gross margin, inventory management elements, and the key ratios as far as the Days on Hand (DOH), or the lifespan of the inventory used by the organization is concerned.
Additionally, the characteristics of the company’s efficacy such as the time of products delivery were also included in the balanced scorecard of 1998–1999. The introduction of this element to the balanced scorecard allowed identifying the rates of customer satisfaction, thus, informing the company leaders on the efficiency of the chosen model of items delivery.
Offering a detailed and clear overview of the key aspects of the firm’s performance, the balanced scorecard of 1998–1999 permitted cooperation between Wal-Mart and P&G since it helped focus on the issues that concerned the firms’ cooperation instead of promoting rivalry.
Explain how information sharing changed the inventory levels.
The concept of information sharing literally reinvented the very foundation of running a company. Creating the environment, in which the actions of all company members can be coordinated, it allowed removing most of the misconceptions that used to occur in the business setting. Information sharing helped locate the emerging issues at an early stage of their development and, therefore, address them in a proper manner.
Moreover, information sharing left no room for petty rivalry in the workplace, making every single member of entrepreneurship strive toward a common goal. As a result, the premises for developing strong business relationships could be created and, more importantly, based on the principle of mutual trust.
Reference List
Chen, H., Chiang, R. H. L., & Storey, V. C. (2012). Business intelligence and analytics: From big data to big impact. MIS Quarterly, 36(4), 1165-1188.
Grean, M., & Shaw, M. J. (2015). Supply-chain integration through information sharing: Channel partnership between Wal-Mart and Procter & Gamble. Web.