An Inside Look at the Ups and Downs of Walmart’s Journey

Adi Ignatius

Durante años, Walmart parecía entender exactamente lo que querían sus clientes. Desarrolló complicados análisis de los consumidores y utilizó esos datos, junto con una presión implacable sobre los proveedores, para convertirse en una potencia minorista que vendía prácticamente de todo a los precios más bajos posibles.

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For years, Walmart&#8217;s unrivaled customer research capabilities helped it dominate retailing. Then along came the internet, and Walmart suddenly found itself playing catchup to e-commerce pioneers like Amazon. In 2014 the board appointed Doug McMillon as CEO and gave him an imperative: Bring Walmart into the future&#8212;without sacrificing its longtime strengths.
McMillon, who began his career unloading trucks at a neighborhood Walmart, respects tradition but is impatient for change. In this interview with HBR editor in chief Adi Ignatius, he describes the ups and downs of transforming America&#8217;s largest company. Going digital is a top priority&#8212;which is why Walmart recently paid $3 billion to acquire e-tailer Jet.com. But the company also wants to strengthen the in-store experience. &#8220;The reality,&#8221; notes McMillon, &#8220;is that customers want everything&#8221;&#8212;low prices, convenience, and seamless interactions online and in person. In this new world, all employees, including those on the sales floor, will need to be tech savvy. And the management team can no longer make strategic decisions on an annual or even quarterly basis; &#8220;strategy is happening on a much faster cycle time,&#8221; says the CEO.

“We Need People to Lean into the Future”

Durante años, la incomparable capacidad de Walmart para investigar a sus clientes le ayudó a dominar el comercio minorista. Entonces llegó Internet, y Walmart se encontró de repente jugando a ponerse al día con pioneros del comercio electrónico como Amazon. En 2014, la junta nombró a Doug McMillon CEO y le dio un imperativo: Llevar a Walmart hacia el futuro, sin sacrificar sus puntos fuertes de siempre.
McMillon, que empezó su carrera descargando camiones en un Walmart de barrio, respeta la tradición pero está impaciente por el cambio. En esta entrevista con Adi Ignatius, redactor jefe de HBR, describe los altibajos de la transformación de la mayor empresa de Estados Unidos. Pasarse a lo digital es una prioridad absoluta, razón por la que Walmart pagó recientemente 3.000 millones de dólares para adquirir el minorista electrónico Jet.com. Pero la empresa también quiere reforzar la experiencia en la tienda. "La realidad", señala McMillon, "es que los clientes lo quieren todo": precios bajos, comodidad e interacciones fluidas en línea y en persona. En este nuevo mundo, todos los empleados, incluidos los de la sala de ventas, tendrán que ser expertos en tecnología. Y el equipo directivo ya no puede tomar decisiones estratégicas sobre una base anual o incluso trimestral; "la estrategia está sucediendo en un tiempo de ciclo mucho más rápido", dice el CEO.

&quot;Necesitamos gente que se incline hacia el futuro&quot;

For years, Walmart’s unrivaled customer research capabilities helped it dominate retailing. Then along came the internet, and Walmart suddenly found itself playing catchup to e-commerce pioneers like Amazon. In 2014 the board appointed Doug McMillon as CEO and gave him an imperative: Bring Walmart into the future—without sacrificing its longtime strengths. McMillon, who began his career unloading trucks at a neighborhood Walmart, respects tradition but is impatient for change. In this interview with HBR editor in chief Adi Ignatius, he describes the ups and downs of transforming America’s largest company. Going digital is a top priority—which is why Walmart recently paid $3 billion to acquire e-tailer Jet.com. But the company also wants to strengthen the in-store experience. “The reality,” notes McMillon, “is that customers want everything”—low prices, convenience, and seamless interactions online and in person. In this new world, all employees, including those on the sales floor, will need to be tech savvy. And the management team can no longer make strategic decisions on an annual or even quarterly basis; “strategy is happening on a much faster cycle time,” says the CEO.

"Necesitamos gente que se incline hacia el futuro"

Resumen.

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