Walmart to Create Own Angus Beef Supply Chain

Retail giant Walmart has ventured into the meat industry in an effort to supply its grocery stores with quality Angus beef. Walmart has developed a supply chain that can deliver prime Angus beef to its customers. The supply chain involves a reputable pool of feedlot, slaughterhouse, and packaging factory. With this, Walmart promises to deliver hormone-free Angus beef. Growth hormones, which facilitate weight gain in cattle, are deemed potentially dangerous. Walmart’s Angus beef products will come in steak and roast cuts, and they will be sold in about 500 southeastern Walmart branches in the United States. This business venture is Walmart’s response to customers who are demanding to know where its products come from. The company believes that creating its own supply chain of Angus beef will put its customers’ minds at ease about product quality. Nonetheless, because of the high demand for beef, Walmart said that it will still obtain some Angus beef products from its existing middlemen. This will ensure that Walmart has a steady supply of Angus beef and will allow the company to consistently deliver quality products. According to an analyst, there is a rising trend among businesses in which a company takes on the role of other producers or manufacturers in its supply chain. In fact, Walmart’s Angus beef supply chain is not the first time that Walmart cut out its middleman. Last year, the company opened a dairy processing plant in Indiana to produce its own private-labeled milk. In spite of the trend, some experts believe that this kind of venture is risky and that Walmart might struggle to keep up with demands.