GREEN - A sustainable competitive advantage advantage

Wal-Mart is not the first and most obvious brand that comes to ones mind when one thinks of sustainability or green, BUT over the recent past the buzz around Wal-Mart's efforts have been phenomenal. Clearly the PR agency of choice has done wonders and the coverage has put Wal-Mart above the effort of retailers like Whole Foods.

WMT's efforts on developing and maintaining a sustainable supply chain network is truly noteworthy and a great lesson for the up and coming partners, suppliers and competitors - The Greening of Wal-Mart's Supply Chain.

Some nuggets for the readers.

Implementing New Supply Chain Strategies
1. Identifying Goals, Metrics, and New Technologies
2. Certifying Environmentally Sustainable Products
3. Providing Network Partner Assistance to Suppliers
4. Committing to Larger Volumes of Environmentally Sustainable Products
5. Cutting out the Middleman
6. Consolidating Direct Suppliers
7. Restructuring the Buyer Role
8. Licensing Environmental Innovations

Three Traps to Avoid
1. ncreased costs
2. a sub-optimal product assortment
3. criticism of factory labor conditionsIdentifying Goals, Metrics, and New Technologies