No other mass retailer or trading community -- domestic, foreign, or global -- has developed a system even close to WalMart's capabilities in supply chain and distribution management and optimization. From 1987 to 1993 WalMart spent over $700 million on its satellite communications network, computers, and related equipment. However, the possibility of competitors having allocated significant resources to developing state-of-the-art data warehouses that, like WalMart's, go beyond collecting point-of-sale data to drive replenishment. The new data warehouses address …showed first 75 words of 967 total…

…showed last 75 words of 967 total…sell foreign products to consumers who would prefer the local products. The threat of competitors is quite strong as they have to compete with the European stores who have established themselves there well before WalMart's arrival. However, the new IT will give them the ability to determine which products are in most demand in which locations and then switch the order levels with suppliers accordingly, thus avoiding any losses and in fact guaranteeing a profit.