Premium Essay

Tesco Case Study

In:

Submitted By alicelee1808
Words 3140
Pages 13
Journal of Management and Sustainability; Vol. 4, No. 4; 2014
ISSN 1925-4725 E-ISSN 1925-4733
Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education

Analyzing and Evaluating Critically Tesco’s Current Operations
Management
Shuang Zhao1
1

Business School, University of Kent, UK

Correspondence: Shuang Zhao, School of Economics and Management, Inner Mongolia University for the
Nationalities, Tongliao, China. E-mail: honeyzhaoshuang@126.com
Received: August 31, 2014

Accepted: September 20, 2014

Online Published: November 26, 2014

doi:10.5539/jms.v4n4p184

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/jms.v4n4p184

Abstract
This essay analyses and evaluates critically Tesco’s current operations management. The essay discusses from 3 major perspectives namely, operations strategy, operations design and operations management. Firstly, it will show an introduction. The second section will analyze Tesco’s formats and international expansion at corporate strategy level. And then, based on the customer-centric conception, it will discuss the low price policy, cost control, loyalty card strategy, supply chain management, delivery system management and inventory management at the business unit strategy level and functional strategy level. Following this, it will make a comprehensive conclusion and show the strengths and weakness of Tesco’ operations management. Finally, the article will give some appropriate recommendations to Tesco’s sustainable development.
Keywords: operations strategy, operations design, operations management
1. Introduction
Tesco was established by Jack Cohen in London in 1919. Today Tesco is the biggest retailer in UK. It operates in
14 countries across the world and serves tens of thousands of customers every day. The company mainly operates 4 types of store formats in terms of Express, Metro, Superstore and Extra, respectively. In recent years, it also expands its

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Case Study of Tesco

...Case Study of Tesco * Submitted by, Binoy Introduction Tesco was started by Jack Cohan. It was 1st opened at Edgware, North London in 1929. Initially Company had grown and reflected in Retailing. The company floated on the Stock exchange in 1947 with an initial price of 25 pounds. Strategies Implemented 1. The company makes the use of stamps that could be exchanges for cash or goods. So company could build customer loyalty. 2. Cohen’s another strategy was ‘Pile it high and sell it cheap’. 3. After that, they moved to out of towns and started store with more attractive interiors. 4. Another strategy that they had take up that they have started stores at petrol bunks. Overall they made a turn over of 1billion pounds in 1979. 5. In 1980’s they had started new stores and new initiatives to start some other business also. 6. In 1985 they announced healthy eating options with nutritional information and advice on some of branded foods. 7. In 1990’s they moved to undertake other major supermarkets as well. 8. They deal with pharmacies and make tie up with the Royal Bank of Scotland to provide EMI schemes to the customers and also overcome the profit of Levi’s outlet. 9. In the new century they have moved up with Shopping via Internet and home delivery 10. In 1933 through to its finest products as well as a brand called “Free from” for customers with special diatory needs. 11. They also expand their business in Japan...

Words: 411 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Tesco Case Study

...sTUDY ON tESCOUNLOCKING HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT CHAPTER 14: STRATEGIC HRM 14: Case study: Employee relations at Tesco Tesco is the largest multiple retail grocery supermarket stores group in the country, with over a quarter of the grocery retail market. It has a longstanding union recognition agreement with USDAW, the shop workers’ union, and the union claims density in stores of between 60−70 per cent. In 1998 the company signed a partnership agreement with the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW), although this is currently under review, and has just signed a partnership agreement with the administrative arm of USDAW (SATA) for Tesco’s 600 call centre employees. In the mid 1990s Tesco began to see the benefits of trying to secure employee commitment through the process of involvement and communication, and established an Involvement Director who ensures compliance with legal developments in the employee relations field, including consultation and information. It was also concerned that existing union/management arrangements were not conducive to getting the best from staff. The changing external context and particularly the election of a Labour government committed to a partnership approach also influenced the company’s thinking in moving forward. The company saw annual pay negotiations with USDAW as symptomatic of adversarial-style industrial relations and wished to move away from this and the annual ballot on acceptance/rejection of any deal struck...

Words: 993 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Tesco Case Study

...TESCO CASE STUDY ASSIGNMENT Training & Development October 29, 2013 HOW TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT SUPPORTS BUSINESS GROWTH. 1. Explain the difference between training and development. How have changes in customer expectations affected Tesco and its need to train staff? Training is the process of instructing an employee in their new job so that she/he understands their role and responsibilities and learns to perform the tasks assigned to them so they can perform with ease and efficiency. Training makes an employee more productive for the organization and is concerned with their immediate improvement. Development is an ongoing process that continues beyond training. The focus of the development process is on the person themselves where the focus of training is on the organization. Development is concerned with the making the employee more productive for the future of the organization. Training is for short-term goals of the organization while Development is for the long-term goals of the organization. Customer expectations have changed to ‘one-stop shopping’. Tesco’s original product range of grocery and general stores have diversified to include banking, insurance services, electrical goods, and telephone equipment and airtime. This means customers can now have all their purchasing needs met in one place. Tesco’s aim to expand and diversify means they need to have right employees in the right place at the right time. As Tesco opened new stores in new...

Words: 752 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Tesco Case Study

...HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY Angeles City CASE STUDY: Submitted by: Aquino, Pauline Catherine Catajan, Nikka Camille Garcia, Mary Fe Yza Maniago, Lizette D. Nepomuceno, Anna Bettina S. Submitted to: Mrs. Maria Cristina Naguit September 01, 2014 Summary Tesco is the largest British retailer and is also the world's third largest grocery retailer with outlets across Europe, USA and Asia. The business began in 1919 with one man, Jack Cohen, selling groceries from a stall in the East End of London. Jack bought surplus stocks of tea from a company called T.E. Stockwell. T.E. Stockwell and Cohen combined their names to brand the tea Cohen originally sold TESCO tea. In 1929, the first Tesco store opened in north London. Tesco has expanded since then by a combination of acquisition of new stores, retail services and by adapting to the needs of consumers. Tesco has net profits (before tax) of around £3 billion. Tesco's primary aim is 'to serve the customer'. Keeping existing customers happy is important, as they are more likely to return. This is more cost effective for the business than acquiring new ones. In the UK Tesco now has over 2,200 stores ranging from the large Extra hypermarket style stores to small Tesco Express high street outlets. Tesco's original product range of grocery and general merchandise has diversified to include banking, insurance services, electrical goods as well as telephone equipment and airtime. This move towards 'one stop shopping' means...

Words: 1233 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Case Study Tesco

...race, gender or sexual orientation and age etc. With reference from the article, Tesco has its policy in place to ensure that its workforce has a balance of different people with its main strand for its strategy being “everyone is welcome”. On the other hand, Tesco not only adhere by the law to ensure fair treatment (equality), they establish networks to make sure that it engages with its people. 2. Explain which groups are particularly covered by equality laws. With reference from the article, the groups are mainly those with different sexual orientation (lesbians and gay men), the physically challenged people, Asian groups, women and the old people. They are all covered by equality law to ensure that all of them have equal rights in the society. More than 1000 lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender members works in Tesco. Tesco also help the physically challenged people from organisations like Whizz-Kidz offering them work placements opportunities to give them the experience of working in retail. With Tesco’s established network with Tesco Asian Network, they assist Asians raise the profile of their careers, and with ABC Network, they reach out to the African and black people to help them reach senior positions in the organization. Tesco also helps women by supporting their careers and raising their profile through training, mentoring and career sponsorships. Last but not least, Tesco has a workforce of old people working and sharing their life...

Words: 1110 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Case Study at Tesco Hrm

...Introduction Tesco is the largest British retailer and is also the world’s third largest grocery retailer with outlets across Europe, USA and Asia. The business began in 1919 with one man, Jack Cohen, selling groceries from a stall in the East End of London. Jack bought surplus stocks of tea from a company called T.E. Stockwell. T.E. Stockwell and Cohen combined their names to brand the tea Cohen originally sold – TESCO tea. In 1929, the first Tesco store opened in north London. Tesco has expanded since then by a combination of acquisition of new stores, retail services and by adapting to the needs of consumers. Tesco has net profits (before tax) of around £3 billion. Tesco’s primary aim is ‘to serve the customer’. Keeping existing customers happy is important, as they are more likely to return. This is more cost effective for the business than acquiring new ones. In the UK Tesco now has over 2,200 stores ranging from the large Extra hypermarket style stores to small Tesco Express high street outlets. Tesco’s original product range of grocery and general merchandise has diversified to include banking, insurance services, electrical goods as well as telephone equipment and airtime. This move towards ‘one stop shopping’ means customers can meet all their purchasing needs from one place. Tesco has also expanded its customer base through its Tesco.com website which attracts one million regular users. As the company has grown, so has its workforce. From one man and a stall, Tesco now has...

Words: 2764 - Pages: 12

Free Essay

Tesco Case Study

....How does Tesco create value in its international operations? First , the company devotes considerable attention to transferring its core capabilities in retailing to its new ventures, 2) the company hires local managers and support them with a few operational experts from the United Kingdom, 3) the company’s partnering strategy in Asia is a great asset because the companies Tesco has teamed up with are good and have a deep understanding of the markets in which they are participating, 4) the company and its partners bring equally useful assets to the venture which increases in the probability of success, and 5) the company focuses on markets with good growth potential but that lacks strong indigenous competitors. 3. In Asia, Tesco has a long history of entering into joint venture agreements with local partners. What are the benefits of doing this for Tesco? What are the risks? How are those risks mitigated? Tesco is able to share ideas and use ideas from the Asian companies. The risk is that the companies involved could pull out, steal Tesco ideas, or fail and leave Tesco with debt. The risk is mitigated by Tesco being involved only 50/50. 4. In March 2006, Tesco announced that it would enter the United States. This represents a departure from its historic strategy of focusing on developing nations. Why do you think Tesco made this decision? How is the U.S. market different from others Tesco has entered? What are the risks here? How do you think Tesco will do? ...

Words: 376 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Tesco Case Study

...Marilynn Black Tesco Case Ashford University BUS620: Managerial Marketing (NAC1244A) Dr. Susan Sasiadek 11/05/12 Tesco is one of the world’s leading retailers with over 2100 supermarkets, in Europe, US and South East Asia. The group has interests in grocery, non-food items, financial services and telecommunications. It is committed to reducing prices for customers and offering the best value. It seeks to help customers spend less. In 2007, sales were £42,633.4 (mill) and it experienced sales growth of 21.9%. Tesco has over 400,000 employees (Tesco plc, 2010). Tesco Company has attributed an increase in performance and productivity to the use of this model (Tesco plc, 2010). Tesco is an international retailer with a global presence in over 14 countries and a major share of the UK retail market and a consumer base exceeding 260 million people (Child, 2002). Considering the utter size and operations of the organization, it is essential that it deploys a strong strategic performance management structure in order to improve and reinvent itself continuously. The recent financial crisis put Tesco under the pressure when its customers by seeking reduce its expenses switched to cheaper alternative supermarkets as Lidl, Asda and Aldi. According to the has poor results in this market segment, and in order to maintain their market share, the company has tackled the problem by releasing 400 low -cost new ranges of food and products on their shelves. Tesco had to change...

Words: 996 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Marketline Case Study Tesco

...MarketLine Case Study Tesco plc Case Study How Tesco Became the UK's Largest Retailer Reference Code: ML00001-041 Publication Date: December 2011 WWW.MARKETLINE.COM MARKETLINE. THIS PROFILE IS A LICENSED PRODUCT AND IS NOT TO BE PHOTOCOPIED TESCO PLC CASE STUDY © MARKETLINE THIS PROFILE IS A LICENSED PRODUCT AND IS NOT TO BE PHOTOCOPIED ML00001-041/Published 12/2011 Page | 1 OVERVIEW Catalyst Tesco is the largest retailer in the UK and dominates the UK food and grocery market, accounting for almost a third of all grocery sales. This case study examines the factors that have led to the growth of the company as the UK’s number one retailer. Summary In 1995, Tesco overtook Sainsbury’s to become the UK’s largest retailer. Since that time the company has grown from strength to strength, widening its lead year on year.  The unrivaled success of the Tesco Clubcard in building customer knowledge and generating loyalty has been fundamental to the rise of Tesco.  The company has created a powerful brand and a number of valuable sub-brands including store, product and service brands.  Tesco’s grocery product brands tend to center around a three-tier branding system, allowing the company to appeal to a mass market.  Tesco has been a forerunner in the price competitive environment of the UK food and grocery market, utilizing its economies of scale to lead price wars with other supermarkets.  The company has grown inorganically, buying out various independent grocers...

Words: 4232 - Pages: 17

Premium Essay

Ecommerce Case Studies

...----------------------- eCommerce Case Studies Case Study 1: Amazon Amazon, originally called Cadabra, was launched by Jeff Bezos in 1995. It was set up during the dotcom boom of the 1990s with an unusual business model - it did not expect to make a profit until after at least four years of business. While other dotcom businesses grew rapidly, Amazon slowly built strong foundations. Finally, at the end of its fourth year, it made a $2.5 million profit. In 2005, it made a profit of $359 million and in 2006, $190 million. Amazon's most famous for selling books, but the company also sells a wide range of products from CDs to small kitchen appliances such as coffee machines. Sales in books from traditional stores have reduced recently and Amazon has often been blamed for `stealing' their sales. Amazon provides an enhanced experience for its customers. For example, when a customer logs in they see a personalised page with suggestions of products they might like. Amazon does not just provide the products, but includes customer reviews, detailed product descriptions and other information to help customers to select the right product for them. There are facilities to create a wish list and a wedding list: customers create a list of products that they would like and pass this on to family and friends to let them know what to buy for a wedding gift or other occasion such as a birthday. For more information, visit the Amazon site, especially the About Amazon and Help sections...

Words: 1099 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Study and Communication Skills

...Introduction Reading problems stem from several sources. First, the student may not be able to read the words themselves. Indeed, word decoding development and discrepancies are the concern of many researchers and educators, predominantly for younger children and children with learning deficits. However, this concern has sometimes led to the abandon of the corresponding item of word decoding: sentence comprehension. It is clear that many readers be deficient in adequate reading abilities and knowledge to appreciate the sort of texts that encompass their classroom lives. World knowledge is mostly cooperative to considerate text genres such as narratives or novels. But students need domain-specific knowledge to understand their textbook material. Here in this assignment it is going to be discussed about the reading strategies and how it helps in communication in the businesses 1.1 All information about the natural or social world is based on the text data surrounded. School, work and the success of our social order depends on the capability to realize the material. Many children and adults are still under pressure to understand the text data. Following are some techniques to make them understood: Reading strategies Before reading Preview text type and text features: students should be thinking about what's going to read it before reading. Also, graphics, hyperlinks, and the information will be aware of what kind of writing. (www.ft.co.uk) Four corners and staying guide:...

Words: 3601 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

Contemporary Organizational Behaviour

...Antwi, I.K. and Bello, M.A. (1993). Motivation and Productivity in Academic Libraries: A Case Study of Tre Abubaka University Library, Bauchi, Nigeria. Library Management, 14(5), 27-34. Benson. S. G and Dundis. S. P (2003) Understanding and motivating health care employees: integrating Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, training and technology. Journal of nursing management, 11(6), 315-320. Bolino, M.C. and Turnley, W.H. (2008). Old Faces, New Places: Equity Theory in Cross-Culture Contexts. Journal of Organisational Behaviours, 29(2), 29-50. Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., and Snyderman, B. (1959). The Motivation to Work, John Wiley and Sons. New York: Crowell. Lucas, R. and Lammont, N. (1998). Combining work and study: an empirical study of full-time students in school, college and university. Journal of Education and Work, 11(1), 41-56. Koontz, H. and Weihrich, H. (2008). Essential of Management. Delhi: McGraw-Hill. Maslow, A.H. (1945). Motivation and personality. 2nd edition. New York: Harper and Row. Maslow, A.H. (1970). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper and Row Mohsan, F., Nawaz, M.M., Khan, S.M., Shaukat, Z., and Aslam, N. (2004). Are Employee Motivation, Commitment and Job Involvement Inter-related: Evidence from Banking Sector of Pakistan. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(17), 226-233. Nawaz, S.A.S.M. (2011). Employee motivation: A study on some selected McDonalds in the UK. African Journal of Business Management, 5(14), 5541-5550...

Words: 422 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Icici Gd Topics

...ANNEXURE   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Case Study 1: Technology changing the face of education -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Technology is changing rapidly with new innovations and discoveries being made across the world. The change has touched our lives, directly and indirectly. One of the core aspects of an individual’s life is education and today, technology through the availability of expansive data and information is bringing about a revolution in this world.   Technological advances like e-learning, internet; educational cds, digital classrooms, etc. are being embraced by several educational institutions to provide the students with large amounts of relevant information. The institutions today can have classes with lecturers from across the world or even virtual classrooms where skills and learning can be put to practical use to the extent unimaginable a few years back. Also, the delivery of the information through these mediums is in a much more interactive and creative manner than textbooks, resulting in there being a shift in the culture of learning from ‘memorizing’ to ‘understanding’.   The usage of technology has already become an integral part of higher education and has been rapidly trickling down to touch the students at the beginner level. Recently, a school in Mumbai informed all the students from medium school onwards to purchase...

Words: 1336 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Tesco Marketing Case Study

...Evaluate the Tesco marketing (distribution) channels Marketing-channel decisions are one of the most critical decisions that Tesco needs to make because the chosen channel could profoundly affect all other marketing decisions. Intensive market research would need to be performed by analysing customer needs, establishing channel objectives and identifying and evaluating the major alternatives to be able to decide which type of channel is suitable. Tesco uses their Club Card to retrieve customer buying habits to tailor their marketing channels more effectively. For example to get customers into the store, Tesco gives out vouchers to targeted individuals and their product interests. Three of the most important trends are the growth of vertical marketing systems, horizontal marketing systems and multichannel marketing systems. All marketing channels have the potential for conflict and competition resulting from such sources as goal incompatibility, poorly defined roles and rights, perceptual differences and interdependent relationships. Horizontal Conflict: Occurs among firms at the same level of the channel. For instance, some Toyota dealers might complain the other dealers in the same city steal sales from them by pricing too low or by selling outside their assigned territories. Or one hotel franchise might complain about other operators overcharging guests or giving poor service, hurting the overall franchise image. Vertical Conflict: Conflicts between different...

Words: 267 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Strategy Case Studies

...beginning of the 21st century, its CEO/ Chairman, Yang-Ho Cho undertook various transformation initiatives - for instance, improving service quality and safety standards, technology integration, upgrading pilot training, better business focus; putting in place a professional management team, improving corporate image through sponsorship marketing, etc. He gave a new corporate direction in the form of '10,10,10' goal. However, Korean Air is held up by a slew of challenges. Among which are inefficiencies of - Chaebol system of management, possible clash of its cargo business with its own shipping company, limited focus on the domestic market and growing competition from LCCs. How would Korean Air manage growth as a family-owned conglomerate? The case offers enriching scope for analysing a family business’s turnaround strategies, with all the legacy costs involved. Pedagogical Objectives • To discuss the (operational) dynamics of Korean Chaebols - their influence/ effects on the country’s industrial sector and the economy as a whole • To analyse how family-owned businesses manage the transition phase - from a supplier-driven economy to a demanddriven economy • To identify all the possible reasons for Korean Air ’s turbulent times and assessing whether they are controllable or not • To critically evaluate Korean Air ’s transformation efforts - in terms of growth, productivity and cost cuts, especially the efficacy of '10,10,10' goal in a family-run business • To identify various challenges...

Words: 71150 - Pages: 285