2014
The briefing paper for Wm Morrison Jie Fan

2014
The briefing paper for Wm Morrison Jie Fan

Introduction of the supermarket Wm Morrison
Wm Morrisons was founded by William Morrison in 1899, is the fourth largest supermarkets chain located in the United Kingdom. There are four cost-advantage strategies within the operation of the Morrisons (Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC. 2013). Firstly, Morrison manages to operate all of commerce ‘in-house’. In addition, it has its own fresh food factory and operates its own meat processing facilities. Moreover, it has its own transport fleet. Morrison has set up a successful supply chain, which is expected to reduce logistics and warehousing costs. In addition, Morrison also offers good training to its employees to reduce waste. The low price strategy is in good accordance with customer needs, which is beneficial in providing good management structure with reduced cost.
Analysis of the industry and competition statement
In order to make the most advantage out of the limited financial resources and manpower, a cost-efficient operational management is very necessary. The operational management is concerned with operating and controlling a system which takes inputs of various resources and produces outputs of goods and service (Guardian (UK), 2011). In terms of operation, Morrison is managing its own food factory and also building long-term partnership with suppliers. It is providing both branded and own branded products to customers. In this way, it can save a lot of money spent on outsourcing service and purchasing channel. In addition, Morrison is offering reasonable price for all of the branch stores. It provides special offer for some products to maintain competitive advantage. Moreover, Morrison has adopted the combination strategy of advertising and promotion to encourage the sale of certain items, and it makes a reasonable budget for advertising (Bridgwater Mercury, 2012). Besides, Morrison has set up a very strict quality check system, which is beneficial for an efficient management. Morrison regularly gives training to all staff to reduce the waste and improve the service quality. In this way, the strategy brings beneficial and competitive advantages over the long run as the employees are given the knowledge of the efficient performance.
Conclusion
As discussed above, the cost-efficient strategy is very successful in the case of Morrison. The business of Morrison is offering outstanding value and high quality products by taking advantage of cost-advantage strategy. In terms of products and service, Morrison combines the self-owing products with branded products, it offers many selections for customers and promises the quality of every products. In addition, Morrison has provided several services for customers in order to build long-term relationship with public. Morrison has provided customer service and product availability to improve its brand awareness. In terms of cost, Morrison has built some customer-friendly equipment to help the customer with shopping, such as auto check-outs. In addition, Morrison also invested some energy-saving equipment to support its long-term efficient plan, such as controlling light system. Moreover, Morrison provides the staff with regular training, which may have long-term advantage for reducing the cost. The training can make sure that every staff can work in different duties. Morrison takes information about materials, customers and facilities and figure out a cost-efficient plan incorporating and managing these resources. In this way, Morrison manages to provide services and products with high quality but at low price.

Reference 1. Annual Report 2013/14". Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC. 8 May 2014. 2. Morrisons Owners". 4-Traders. 19 October 2014.