SCDigest Editorial Staff

Wal-Mart has quietly unleashed almost 10 of its corporate buyers to author commentaries in blog-like fashion on a new web site called Check Out (http://checkoutblog.com/default.aspx).

SCDigest Says:

Feedback from one plant on some problems with a given material or vendor could be related in a blog that other sites could access. Or, a procurement manager could report on a recent vendor site visit, or trends he or she sees in a product category, etc. What do you say? Send us your comments here

The bloggers are buyers or merchandisers in a number of product categories (e.g., “gadgets” or “lawn and garden”) who went through detailed training in how to blog effectively and, one assumes, guidelines on what not to write.

The New York Times recently reported that the blog is “unfiltered,” and cites a few mild examples of buyers critiquing products.

However, an SCDigest review of the site finds that in practice, there is actually very little critiquing of products. Promotion is the more common thread, along with sharing some personal details in blog-like tradition.

Examples:

• A recent post from Gadget blogger Ryan Halford: “Knowing that times are tough, we were able to work with one of our supplier partners to offer what I think is a first, a 2GB Laptop for under $500!!!” (Which in part shows the risk of blogging, as Halford undoubtedly meant a 2 Gigahertz, not Gigabyte, machine.)

• From Gaming blogger Joe Muha: “We just bought a bunch of Rock Band. You already know how HUGE this game is. It will start shipping Monday and we should have about 60 units of the various platforms in each club within the next week or two. The key to this bit of information is that we are priced just under $150.00.”

(Sourcing and Procurement Article - Continued Below)

(Sourcing and Procurement Article - Continued)

It’s unrealistic to expect retail corporate buyers to aggressively critique vendor offerings, for at least three reasons: (1) they would be critiquing the merchandise they had decided to stock on store shelves; (2) vendors would go ballistic over unfavorable reviews; and (3) it could potentially impact Wal-Mart sales revenue – which simply isn’t going to happen.

There are some things on the site about product trends that might be modestly useful for consumers. And at least for now, consumer responses to the blog posts seem to be uncensored. In response to the laptop post, for example, one reader comments that Best Buy has been offering a sub-$500 machine for weeks. On the same topic, another consumer wrote that “As I looked at the inventory, what I found is that it is mostly dud stock that ranges from 1 year to 2+ years old.”

Leveraging the Idea?

Many corporations now do some form of blogging, but generally these are from execs to the masses. The Wal-Mart approach though may trigger related approaches for buyers in other companies.

For example, an internal blog by buyers might provide useful information for users across the enterprise. Feedback from one plant on some problems with a given material or vendor could be related in a blog that other sites could access. Or, a procurement manager could report on a recent vendor site visit, or trends he or she sees in a product category, etc.

The advantage here, of course, is that buyers can speak much more freely, as an internal communication not a public one, though history shows that buyers would need to treat almost everything as if it had the possibility of going public. If you write a blog criticizing a supplier, you can expect that blog will find its way into the supplier’s hands before too long.

What’s your take on the Wal-Mart buyer blog site and idea? How do you think the concept can be potentially put to use for buyers/procurement managers in other areas? Let us know your thoughts at the Feedback button below.