TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose– The costs in higher education are increasing and need to be controlled. This paper aims to demonstrate what lessons higher education could learn from Wal‐Mart's reasons for its financial success with its focus on efficient and effective supply chain management (SCM) best practices.Design/methodology/approach– Wal‐Mart's best practices in SCM were investigated through a secondary data literature review.Findings– Wal‐Mart's best practices in SCM can be categorized into four segments: strategic concepts, logistics and distribution, information technology, and supplier collaboration. The company's technology, outsourcing, and collaboration practices are particularly useful in higher education.Research limitations/implications– The adoption of Wal‐Mart's best practices was investigated for only one service industry (higher education). Future research could apply these practices to other service industries, such as hotels and transportation.Practical implications– Higher education is looking for best practices to help control costs and can learn from Wal‐Mart's best practices.Originality/value– Past research has focused on applying the best practices of other colleges and universities to higher education. Benchmarking Wal‐Mart's best practices can add further value to the sustainability of higher education.
VL  - 9
IS  - 2
SN  - 1467-6370
DO  - 10.1108/14676370810856323
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/14676370810856323
AU  - Comm Clare L.
AU  - Mathaisel Dennis F.X.
PY  - 2008
Y1  - 2008/01/01
TI  - Sustaining higher education using Wal‐Mart's best supply chain management practices
T2  - International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 183
EP  - 189
Y2  - 2024/04/23
ER  -