Data science is applied at Walmart Labs to sourcing, order/shipment preparation, transportation, last mile/routing/scheduling, and last mile order pick up. Applications include queuing and linear programming.

Check out this Medium article for an informative and high-level overview of how data science applications improve the efficiency and effectiveness of complex supply chain management at Walmart.

This post is based on the Medium article, Data Science in Walmart Supply Chain Technology, by Mingang Fu, November 1, 2018. Image source: Prasit photo/Getty Images.

Discussion Questions:

1. Describe how queuing theory is applied to Walmart’s supply chain management.

Guidance: Many students have not considered queuing applications beyond the typical retail service examples. Note that queuing theory is being applied by Walmart to solve last mile order pickup problems.  The instructor could illustrate queuing concepts and terms from the textbook by further discussing the queuing example provided in the article.

2. Describe the application of linear programming in Walmart’s transportation management.

Guidance: Students may not be familiar with more complex linear programming problems such as mixed integer applications.  The instructor may choose to introduce more advanced linear programming methods or simply illustrate with this article the utility of linear programming. Continue reading →