Wal-Mart and Target's quality management compared

Solution Preview

Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart's Philosophy and why this helps to produce competitive products

Sell products that people want to buy at low prices.
This philosophy wins Wal-Mart the psychological advantage that it is a store for everybody. In 2009 these strategy resulted to US$ 14.33 billion in net income.
Use of a sophisticated technology
This allows the company to have efficient operations, sales tracking, and reduces inventory turnaround by making their suppliers partners as they get the needed information in real time. It modernized its stores in the 1970's by integrating bar-code scanners at its registers and involving suppliers in the sharing of information.
Customers are the core of the business.
Managers also systematically receive input from their employees to respond to customers' needs and their changing desires.
They also oversee the acquisition of inputs, control of conversion processes, and disposal of goods and services to determine where there is a need for improvement.
For Wal-Mart owners, this means making sure their decisions will produce the desired goals with minimum labor, expense, and materials. Successful implementation of this system is perhaps the major reason why Wal-Mart is able to offer customers good variety of products and services at affordable prices.
In order to attract a variety of local customers, Wal-Mart used the business strategy known as "Store of the Community."
This led to the creation of a marketing campaign using commercials with ethnically diverse employees and shoppers, speaking about their personal experiences dubbed in their native tongues. An example where this strategy has been successful is the Wal-Mart Canadian market, at least in Vancouver, which has a multitude of commercials in several languages such as Italian, South Asian, and Cantonese in order to match the native tongue of the local prospects.

TARGET
Target's Philosophy and why this helps to produce competitive products or services
All employees live the brand promise.

Target does have the advantage of a concise, catchy, customer-focused statement?"Expect More. Pay Less"?that is constantly supported throughout the organization.
Quality is embedded in the entire sourcing strategy.
In hard-good lines, Target works with more than 3,000 factories. This large network of suppliers and factories requires constant hands-on efforts by Target Sourcing Services (TSS) teams.
Complexity abounds in this sourcing scenario: New products are constantly being considered, seasonal items add pressure for the team, and at any given time, a factory is responsible for multiple ...