Supply chain management is essential to achieve operational excellence, customer happiness, risk mitigation, cooperation, strategic advantage, innovation, sustainability, and social responsibility since it acts as the driving force behind these objectives. It allows firms to successfully negotiate the intricacies of global marketplaces, adapt to difficulties, and capitalize on opportunities, which is critical in guaranteeing organizations’ long-term performance and profitability. This function is essential because it is crucial in ensuring organizations’ long-term performance and profitability.

Over the last several years, Walmart has been subjected to tremendous changes, most of which have been brought about by globalization. As a direct consequence of this, Walmart has broadened the scope of its operations and now engages with a broader consumer base in a variety of locales all over the globe. This growth in new areas has brought many benefits to Walmart, including a reduction in operating expenses and an improvement in the effectiveness of the supply chain. These advantages are a direct result of the firm’s expansion and increased capacity to efficiently manage and improve its supply chain. To deal with the challenges that affected the overall supply chain system during the beginning of the pandemic, some of the actions Walmart took were hiring additional staff to ensure they could move inventory throughout facilities as swiftly as possible and chartered ships to divert shipments through less congested ports these are just a few of the things which were done to assist with dealing with challenges. This paper will analyze the Global Supply Chain Challenges Walmart faced during the pandemic and how it streamlined its SCM processes during Covid-19.

Introduction

In today’s rapidly evolving global marketplace, supply chain management is critical in ensuring an organization’s long-term performance and profitability. Particularly in times of unforeseeable global events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of supply chain management cannot be overstated (Collings et al., 2021). Walmart, one of the world’s largest retail giants, faced several critical challenges in managing its supply chain amid the pandemic. These challenges range from supply chain disruptions, workforce safety concerns, inventory management, and reduced consumer demand (Banker, 2022). Despite these challenges, Walmart adopted various innovative strategies to streamline its supply chain management processes. The objective of this paper is to analyze the global supply chain challenges Walmart faced during the pandemic and how it streamlined its SCM processes during Covid-19. Particularly highlighting the key methods and practices Walmart adopted to optimize its supply chain management processes amidst the pandemic’s unprecedented difficulties. Through comprehensive research and data analysis, this paper intends to shed light on the significance of effective supply chain management in ensuring business continuity and resilience amid unforeseeable global challenges.

Walmart’s Supply Chain Structure Overview

Walmart is renowned for its robust and efficient SCM system, which significantly ensures product availability and competitive pricing for its customers. This intricate network begins with manufacturers, moves through distribution centers, and passes through logistics operations and retailers, eventually reaching consumers. Finally, overseeing and ensuring smooth operations is the company headquarters (Check Appendix 1).

Manufacturers

Walmart has formed potent alliances with thousands of suppliers from all over the world. These partners manufacture products spanning various categories to satisfy the needs of Walmart’s vast and varied customer base. The retailer sources items from domestic and global manufacturers who comply with Walmart’s rigorous ethical and sustainability requirements to secure cost efficiency and top-notch quality (Francis, 2021). The positive relationships allow Walmart to acquire the desired goods at more reasonable prices, thus diminishing expenses along the supply chain and shielding buyers from any extra financial burden. Consequently, consumers reap the fruits of savings that result from these partnerships. However, the unprecedented pandemic proved challenging for many, especially Walmart’s suppliers and manufacturers. They had to navigate several issues to continue doing business, such as workforce disruptions, transportation challenges, and even raw material shortages (Rose et al., 2023). To top it off, they were under immense pressure to ensure their operations continued with little hindrance. Moreover, all changes had to be actioned at lightning speed so that business could go on as normal –