Project Planning

Introduction

The overall approach to planning projects originally initiates planning in terms of analyzing and evaluating the project tasks that are important to complete the project on time and budget. However, in order to achieve such goals, it is essential to focus on the project coordination with respect to all the parties engaged in the project integration. It also includes a great number of project systems implementation that should meet the objectives of the companies. Therefore, it makes a great sense to take advantage of the project management instruments in order to organize the project structure and make sure that everything goes as expected (Kleiman, 2011).

The other aspect of concern is the project process plan that should be investigated in detail for the purpose of controlling the project execution at all the project phases. At the same time, it is important to acknowledge that project managers should pay a special attention to the need to reduce any possible conflicts with the aim of minimizing their existence as a whole. Consequently, in order to meet all the requirements of the project, it is essential to achieve mutual understanding between all the project members. Besides, the idea is to put all the team members in the position to work in the multidisciplinary environment. As a result, such projects will have the most chances for success (Project Management, 2010).

The given research focuses on the project management in terms of a real project planning to establish a Wall-Mart store in Dubai. It also considers all the business concepts, especially the marketing strategy that is positioned as the project plan implementation. It includes all the concepts that are required to develop the best possible project planning case scenario, which is based on the true data from the Wal-Mart Corporation. Overall, the project planning for the establishment of the Wal-Mart store in Dubai will also be based on all the project planning phases such as “phase management, planning, control, team management, communication, procurement and integration.” The coordination of the project execution will be established on the project system integration plan in accordance with the project structure. It will also address the ways to avoid the project failure by means of the explicit control of the Wal-Mart Store Establishment Project (PMI, 2013).

Findings

Insights on the Wal-Mart’s International Project Planning Strategy

It is important to acknowledge that the international project strategy implementation of Wal-Mart is to address the implications of the target customers, including the broadening of locations by means of the best executive leadership practices. It also refers to the heritage initiatives, hunger and nutrition, charity, and overall economic empowerment of women. As a result, it leads to environmental sustainability in the target market and the overall appreciation of the target community that define the further growth opportunities of the company in other international markets (Leavy & McKiernan 2009).

Wal-Mart focuses on developing innovative solutions in order to create a personalized experience for each customer in terms of the global e-commerce. This is accomplished through social media and mobile personalization that seek to provide target customers with both fulfilment and assortment. The areas of focus for Wal-Mart are the international markets of South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Central America, Chile, China, India, Japan, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. The leadership of the company in these target markets could be explained with the explicit application of the best leadership practices that seek constant improvements in the executive management operations, interactions between the board of directors and community members (Strickland, Thompson, Peteraf & Gamble 2013).

The core implications of the international project strategy implementation is the focus of the business on the development of the most demanded target market segments, including the Wal-Mart stores in the United States and 27 other countries in the international market, Sam’s Club warehouse membership, and global e-commerce solutions. The overall idea of the strategic implementations for customers is to save money and live better. Everything is managed with the use of principles of ethics and integrity due to which Wal-Mart achieved its leading position in the target market (Levinson 2010).

Overall, the international project planning strategy of Wal-Mart stores is to improve access to the products that it sells. The idea is not only to focus on online and in-store sales but redefine the ability to sell merchandise by combining both retailing options. In this case, one of the options of concern is the location of the stores. It should be placed in the area convenient for target customers in the penetrated markets. Therefore, in order to take advantage of the strategic benefits, there is a need to create a strong relationship between Wal-Mart stores and target customers. It could be managed by improving their lives with high-quality products offered at reasonable prices (Light, Kiddon, Till, Heckler, Mathews, Hall, & Wacker 2012).

Such an approach to the international project planning strategy saves both time and money and creates the demand associated with the retailing choices of target customers. In this way, Wal-Mart stores are able to meet the expectations of target customers and reinforce the message of their intent to improve customers’ lives. It is also important to acknowledge that such a strategic approach only works when there is trust, integrity, and value that Wal-Mart stores offer to the target market. As a result, it goes beyond the compliance to the stakeholders and regular customers. Since the strategic implications for the global expansion of the company continue, it is more important for the greater sustainability of Wal-Mart stores and its community (Sloman & Hinde 2007).

The other important implication of growth is the speed at which the expectations of target customers change, taking into consideration the application of the best leadership practices. The next phase of the international project planning strategy is the application of the so-called enterprise-wide approach. It refers to the use of the Internet, modern technologies, and mobile solutions in order to present target customers with the ability to shop at Wal-Mart. The idea is to improve the quality of products by adding more value to all the available offers. It also requires discipline to mix the capital and invest in the growth opportunities in the penetrated market, especially in e-commerce (Richey & Ponte 2011).

The purpose is to improve the performance of the company when entering new markets in all its segments. The combination of the merchant skills, pricing policies, high level of services, and high quality of products is the major key to achieve success in the global market sales. In addition, it makes sense to think creatively as in the example with Sam’s Club, which has made a great contribution to improve the business performance and its position in the target industry. At the same time, the use of technologies allows to create a network and a community in one place due to the constantly expanding assortment of goods that are highly demanded by target customers (Larry Light Arcature LLC & Joan Kiddon Arcature LLC 2009).

The next aspect of concern is the investment initiatives, especially in e-commerce, and the overall growth of the international square footage, which brings astonishing results. For example, Wal-Mart is expected to invest approximately $1.5 billion in 2016 into digital innovations and e-commerce solutions. It will also add around thirty net retail square feet internationally in 2016 as accelerated investments. The capital expenditures will also be improved by over $13 billion by the end of 2015. The capital investment will be approximately $13 billion in 2016, which also includes e-commerce solutions, annual spending, and moderation of the growth for the physical Wal-Mart stores all over the world. Therefore, it is expected to achieve the growth in the net sales of up to $20 billion (Wal-Mart Corporation 2015).

The changes in the world of today offer drastic long-term and short-term opportunities to serve target customers in a great variety of most enthusiastic ways. It is expected to be increased in 2016 by applying the best leadership practices used in the penetrated markets, which also include the assortment of products and services. Therefore, Wal-Mart will increase customer choice with the leading price ranges and quality of its offers in the global market. As a result, it will have a positive impact on the environment of the company in terms of achievement of the expected net sales in the fiscal year, which will be followed by foundation of the priorities of the financial management of the company in 2016 (Wal-Mart Corporation 2015).

Therefore, the international project planning strategy will be to set new priorities for investment in brand building in the penetrated markets by means of deploying capital for e-commerce solutions and the physical growth of the footage in its stores all over the world. It will also have a positive impact on the improved performance of the company by meeting its targeted metrics of profits. It is expected that the current international project planning strategy will be applied successfully in the next three to five years and will increase the overall growth of the business by up to forty percent. It is expected that the investment initiatives in the capital and operating costs for e-commerce solutions will also produce favourable outcomes for the business by 2018. It could also increase net sales by approximately 5 percent in the next several years. The negative implications of such growth are expected to be minimized with the help of modern technologies that will optimize digital e-commerce solutions (Ryan 2014).

Wal-Mart’s Strategic Project Planning Experience in the Global Markets

The experience of growth due to the constantly improved international project planning strategy could be perceived in the context of the United States and other global markets, Sam’s Club, and the updates in e-commerce solutions (Powell 2012). Refer to their details below:

• Details on Wal-Mart in the United States: In 2014, Wal-Mart increased its anticipated capital investment by approximately $600 million, thus having almost $7 billion for the accelerated openings of around 150 new Wal-Mart stores. In addition, it is expected to open around 250 new small stores by the end of 2015, which will carry over twenty new units as of 2016. The recent assessment of the customer preferences and overall demand for products and services illustrates that target customers are dependent on the new stores for many personal reasons. It ideally aligns with the neighboring markets and their international format that is currently in place for the increased brand recognition, high quality of products and services, and convenient location for the Wal-Mart grocery stores, irrespective of their square footage. Therefore, it is important to make thorough investments in the future growth of the penetrated markets based on the customer involvement procedures in 2016. The major goal is to increase access to the products and services with respect to the needs of target customers. Therefore, the return on investment is expected to be up to $7 billion at the end of the 2016 fiscal year. Such a forecast comprises improvements in the new stores and their models, conversions, logistics, e-commerce solutions, locations, additional units, use of modern technologies that will altogether help expand Wal-Mart retail stores to the neighborhood markets. It is in the plan to open around seventy new supermarkets across more than two hundred penetrated markets in 2016 (Wal-Mart Corporate 2015).
• Details on Wal-Mart in other global markets: As of 2015, the capital expenditure is expected to be up to $4.5 billion with approximately 14 million square feet in the fiscal year. Having opened several new stores in the penetrated markets, the company has managed to minimize the capital expenditure up to $3.8 billion with about 10 million square feet accordingly. In 2016, Wal-Mart plans to invest in the growth of its neighborhood markets with the allocated capital expenditure close to $4 billion. The new stores that are scheduled to be opened in 2016 will add 13 million square feet. This will continue building the sustainable growth of the company across its major target markets. It is expected to be achieved with the help of innovations, competitive advantages over other national retailers, winning project planning strategies for the e-commerce growth strategy, and unique experiences for target customers in all the online and offline channels (Wal-Mart Corporate 2015).
• Details on the Sam’s Club: The first half of 2015 was rather successful since Wal-Mart opened around twenty new clubs with the approximate spending of $1 billion that was aimed at sustaining the international project planning strategy. Wal-Mart also remodeled up to sixty clubs in the past six month. Yet, there are plenty of improvements anticipated by the end of 2015. It is expected to expand the Health and Wellness Solutions Centre through the improved shopping experiences, leveraged efficiency of the labor force, and strong sales. In 2016, Wal-Mart plans to open additional twelve clubs in the penetrated markets that are also aimed at improving the location of the stores and their modeling. It is expected to be managed by the decreased capital expenditure of up to $0.8 billion in the 2015 fiscal year. It will also have a positive return on investment from the position of membership opportunities for target customers and the capabilities to merchandise in the target markets. It also refers to the effective use of the accelerated digital technologies, improved physical locations of Wal-Mart stores, and expanded brand capabilities (Wal-Mart Corporate 2015).
• Details on Global E-Commerce: The international project planning strategy is aimed at delivering the best e-commerce solutions that are supported with the assets of the company to target customers and using the global technological platform. It is perceived that the new generation of the Wal-Mart network will be more rapid and efficient in creating new capabilities to improve the experiences of target customers. It is expected that the physical Wal-Mart stores will have a strong influence in the penetrated markets due to the distribution centers and convenient locations of stores in the network countries. In such a way, Wal-Mart optimizes its shipping and decreases the transportation costs across the network in the new target markets. Therefore, in order to continue the growth of the Wal-Mart network, it is expected to increase the capital spending from $1 billion in 2015 to $1.5 billion in 2016, which will be aimed at supporting the digital initiatives and global e-commerce solutions (Wal-Mart Corporate 2015).

Conclusions

Success and Effectiveness of Wal-Mart’s International Project Planning Strategies

Wal-Mart faces various risks when penetrating a new target market. For this reason, the international project planning strategy of the company is managed to determine the preferences of target customers in different countries by better understanding their needs through the existing demand in the foreign economies. Therefore, by merging with the existing national retailers, Wal-Mart could gain the knowledge of the local markets and take advantage of governmental policies and taxes, which drastically increases its revenues. Overall, the company could have a strong market performance due to the prediction of the customer preferences based on the existing government regulations and local economies as a whole (The Economist & Ellwood 2014).

Therefore, the use of the international project planning strategy is a choice that takes advantage of the core competencies of the company in the global market. It continues to offer products without a strong pressure on their costs. Simultaneously, by acquiring the existing retailers, Wal-Mart better understands cultural differences and can meet the needs of the customers of a specific country. It can also refer to the best leadership practices that are applied in the international project planning strategies. In this case, the customers can live better while paying less for the similar products due to the great distribution and differentiation strategies. It is also enhanced with both cost of logistics and supply chain management as well as with the use of effective inventory project management strategies. As a result, target customers are offered the same products at lower prices while not having a negative impact on the profits of the company. Instead, the use of discounts and global retailers allows Wal-Mart to purchase the goods from different vendors in bulk and at low prices (Tybout & Calder 2010).

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