1. Nature of Business Environment Wal-Mart offers a wide variety of products at competitive prices to add value and reduce costs, making it the strongest company in the retail industry. Over the years, Wal-Mart has attracted the attention of many analysts due to its enormous international success and its ability to target a wide range of buyers. Wal-Mart is a discount retailer founded by Sam Walton in 1962. This company has grown into a retail giant with over 11,000 stores worldwide in Canada, Brazil, Argentina, the United Kingdom and China . When Walton founded Wal-Mart, his business strategy was to make everyday products available to everyday consumers at affordable prices. Wal-Mart's business strategy always remains the same: its main goal is to provide its customers with what they want, when they want it, and where they want it. This convenience is what has made Wal-Mart an internationally recognized brand. Wal-Mart is a huge retail powerhouse capable of maintaining its competitive advantage by reducing costs and maximizing shareholder wealth. Wal-Mart's strength lies in its deep and diverse supply chain, recognized as one of the best business management control systems. The company competes by offering low prices, made possible by comprehensive supply lines that allow managers to shop for the cheapest prices when determining which products should fill store shelves. Wal-Mart's ability to effectively use supply chain management has given it a competitive advantage over its competitors such as: Target, Costco, Kmart, Real Canadian Superstore, Dollarama, etc. All of these rival companies have similar corporate structures to Wal-Mart - Costco is a warehouse store offering wholesale services...... middle of paper ...... layout, promotions and inventory provided. Wal-Mart needs to place its website on the same platform as its supply chain management platform. Wal-Mart is starting to catch on by responding to user surveys. It recently renovated its website for the holiday season, redesigning the layout and increasing the quantity of products offered. Plus, it recently offered free shipping with no minimum order amount. Wal-Mart's supply chain management system must ensure that not only its individual stores have the required inventory, but that designated online shopping warehouses also have it to meet the demands of online shoppers. As with any management accounting tool, businesses are always looking to continually strive for perfection in the business process. Wal-Mart is no different in continually seeking to improve its supply chain management system.