Intro to Lowe's

The purpose of this report is to research, analyze and review the operations management used by Lowe’s Home Improvement. This report will cover the major aspects of the company’s operations including the operations strategy, quality and performance of their operations, and operations systems. Also, this report will analyze Lowe’s operations and provide any recommendation that can improve quality and performance.

Lowe’s is in the retailing industry which consists of the sale of merchandise from a store location. Retailers are at the end of the supply chain. First, manufacturers produce the product and then sell it to a wholesaler. The retailer buys from a wholesaler in large quantities for lower prices to sell to the customer for profit. The retail industry involves a lot of inventorying and supply chain management. Without good operations management, retail stores don’t last very long because they might not be returning a profit. Lowe’s has been constantly improving its operations strategy, as well as management of operations such as inventory management and supply chain management. The Lowes management team insists their operation always undergoes improvements and changes to ensure the best quality and performance. Recently, Lowes made a huge operational decision and is closing 20 underperforming stores in 15 states and cut 1,950 jobs to allow operations management to focus on more profitable locations. Lowes also just released it will only open 10 to 15 new locations annually instead of its previously stated 25.

Lowe’s Home Improvement, founded in 1946, is a company that specializes in home improvement. From a small hardware location to the second largest home improvement retailer in the world; Lowe’s has come a long way. Now, Lowe’s operates 1750 stores nationwide and Mexico and Canada. The stores are comprised of 40,000 products in 20 different product categories. These range from appliances to tools, to paint, lumber, and nursery products. Lowes offers the world’s leading brands such as Kichler lighting, Porter-cable tools, John Deer lawn tractors, Whirlpool, and Samsung appliances. Lowe’s prides itself with their special 10% Everyday Low Price Guarantee. Approximately 238,000 employees make up the Lowe’s team. Thanks to its 15 million shoppers each week, Lowes made a whopping 47.2 billion in sales in 2009, ranking 47th on the Fortune 500 list.