Paula Rosenblum Contributor

In April, Walmart executives acknowledged it has an inventory management problem: the company lost $3 billion in 2013 sales due to out of stock merchandise while its inventory grew at a faster rate than its sales. Even though the company cited poor weather, higher than expected tax rates, and an economically challenged customer base as its chief challenges, the inventory problem certainly contributed to its lower earnings for the quarter ending April 30.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/paularosenblum/2014/05/22/walmart-could-solve-its-inventory-problem-and-improve-earnings/