Introduction to Competitive Advantage in Information Systems

Key Takeaways

• Wal-Mart demonstrates how a physical product retailer can create and leverage a data asset to achieve world-class value chain efficiencies.
• Wal-Mart uses data mining in numerous ways, from demand forecasting to predicting the number of cashiers needed at a store at a particular time.
• To help suppliers become more efficient, and as a result lower prices, Wal-Mart shares data with them.
• Despite its success, Wal-Mart is a mature business that needs to find huge markets or dramatic cost savings in order to boost profits and continue to move its stock price higher. The firm's success also makes it a high impact target for criticism and activism. And the firm's data assets could not predict impactful industry trends such as the rise of Target and other upscale discounters.