Earlier this week, SCDigest editor Dan Gilmore gave his perspective on the the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the very first Walmart store in Rogers, Arkansas, which threw open its doors on July 2, 1962. You can find that article here, including some very interesting charts on Walmart's growth and share of the US retail market: 50 Years of Walmart's Supply Chain.

SCDigest Says:

2003: Business Week magazine runs cover story titled "Is Walmart too Powerful?" Story catches major attention, but little really happens from there. What Do You Say? Click Here to Send Us Your Comments Click Here to See Reader Feedback

Walmart's supply chain is legendary, and it has been involved in an incredible number of important supply chain events and innovation.

Below, we present a timeline of key events and initiatives in supply chain and logistics from the start of the company until the present.

1970: Walmart opens its first distribution center. Before then, stores were stocked by vendor direct shipments and wholesalers.

1975: Wal-Mart leases an IBM 370/135 computer system to maintain inventory control for all merchandise in the warehouse and distribution centers, becoming among the first retailers to really tie store and DC inventories together electronically

1980: Walmart reaches $1 billion in sales, achieving that milestone in just 17 years, fastest in US history.

1985: Amid anxiety about trade deficits and the loss of American manufacturing jobs, Sam Walton launches a "Made in America" campaign that committed Wal-Mart to buying American-made products if suppliers could get within 5 percent of the price of a foreign competitor, major signage in the stores, etc. The campaign stays around for a few years, but never really catches on, and is abandoned, as Walmart becomes by far the largest US importer.

1988: After having first pioneered the concept of continuous replenishment (CR) with Schnuck's Markets in St. Louis, Procter & Gamble takes concept to Kmart – which doesn't act. P&G next heads to Walmart, where Sam Walton says if it will help me sell more soap then Yes, he's in. The rest is history.

1988: Walmart opens its first super center, which carries groceries in addition to general merchandise.

1992: Wal-Mart deploys its powerful Retail Link system to better integrate its supply chain. The system provides vendors information on sale trends, inventory levels, and more.

1995: Walmart is involved in the first Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) pilot with Warner Lambert, which shows significant benefits from the practice. (It was actually called just Collaborative Forecasting and Replenishment at the time.)

2000: Lee Scott, who started his Walmart career as a dispatcher in the transportation group, is named CEO. Move sends message about importance of logistics to Walmart's success.

2003: BusinessWeek magazine runs cover story titled "Is Walmart too Powerful?" Story catches major attention, but little really happens from there.

2004: Walmart announces first RFID "mandate" for top 100 suppliers to put RFID tags on cases going to three DCs in Texas by Jan. 2005.

2004: Walmart finds inventories are rising at much faster rates (90+%) versus sales growth than historical levels; leads to "Remix" program that is designed to reduce stock outs and lower inventory by improving the flow of fast moving goods from DC to store. Walmart says it also plans to reduce vendors/SKU counts.

2004: Major documentary on Walmart is broadcast by business network CNBC that opens up some previously hidden areas of company operations and certainly leaves an impression Walmart is a unstoppable machine.

(Supply Chain Trends and Issues Article - Continued Below)