Fined for arriving early? Walmart puts its suppliers on notice

A new initiative by the mega retailer will penalize vendors for goods delivered improperly, early, and late as it improves efficiency and performance, as well as goes head-to-head with its Amazon.com Inc. rival.

Walmart's program, called "on-time, in-full (OTIF)," is the retailer's latest push since it implemented bar codes to track inventory and sales in 1983. The OTIF plan of action intends to reduce overstock and keep shelves stocked.

In this post in the American Journal of Transportation on July 12, 2017:

“Suppliers went crazy at first, but they all figured out how to implement it and it helped them as much as it helped Walmart,’’ says Dale Rogers, a logistics professor at Arizona State University. “This is just the next one of these things.’’

Learn more about Professor of Supply Chain Management Dale Rogers.