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. …
