BE955 Research Methods Assignment Sample
1. Introduction
In the modern era, there is a huge requirement of effusive Supply Chain Management (SCM) in fulfilling the sources of the retail industry and for that reason, the UK retail industry prefers to establish an effective SCM for the industry. In addition to that, the UK retail industry is growing day by day as it includes more than 300,000 businesses and there are more than 3 million employees in this industry (Brc.org.uk. 2022). Moreover, a trusted report states that in 2019 the entire value of the retail sales was more than £439 billion which indicates that the industry is growing significantly and it will grow more if the SCM of this industry is improved (Brc.org.uk. 2022). The research will elaborate the main implication and importance of effective SCM in the UK retail industry which will maintain the quality of product and control the inventory of this industry.
2. Rationale for the research
Justification for the research
One of the main approaches of the research is to find the importance of SCM in the growth and success of the UK retail industry even though ineffective SCM may harm the growth of this industry. Additionally, if the management of the retail organizations of the UK will not be able to improve the SCM then the production quality of this industry may be decreased which affects the entire industry. It may be stated that there is a positive impact of effective SCM strategies in enhancing the performance of an organization as the effectiveness of operational strategies is totally related to the SCM strategies (Qi et al., 2017).
Significance of the research
The study is extremely important to evaluate the prime impact of SCM in the retail industry of the UK, however, this study is mainly designed to analyse the prime issues of the SCM in this industry. Moreover, the ineffective and improper implementation of SCM strategies may create a negative impact on the growth of the industry, however, this research will also define the key way to solve the prime issues of SCM in the UK retail industry. A literature review will be also formed to answer the research questions which indicate the retail industry of the UK.
3. The objectives and scope of the research
Research aim
One of the main aims of the research is to find out the positive impact of effective Supply Chain Management in the long and short term success and growth of the UK retail sector.
Research questions
- What is the prime implication of effective SCM in the success of the UK retail industry?
- What are the main issues of the SCM in the UK retail industry?
- How may the key issues of the SCM of the UK retail industry be solved and how to improve the SCM of this industry?
Research objectives
- To understand the beneficial impact of effective SCM in the retail industry of the UK
- To evaluate and resolve the prime issues of the SCM of the UK retail industry
- To identify and analyse the proper way to develop the SCM of the UK retail industry
4. Literature review
The Important role of SCM in the UK retail industry
It needs to be implied that SCM generates a positive impact in improving the business of the UK retail industries and ensuring the success of the retail organizations in the country. Moreover, a retail organization may not be able to achieve optimum growth without establishing an effective SCM which may affect the profitability and productivity of the organization. One of the main approaches of effective SCM is to manage the flow of products and ensure the delivery of retail products to the end customers of the company. A retail organization needs to follow the key dimension of SCM which improves the performance of the company by improving the decision making process of the firm and that also provides a competitive advantage to the company (Banerjee & Mishra, 2017).
An effective SCM is always helpful in mitigating or reducing the operating cost of the organization as if the operational cost is reduced then the profitability level of the company may be increased. In the retail industry, there is a huge importance of providing superior customer service as an effective SCM always helps the organization in delivering the final product to customers at the right time. There is an extreme level of competition in the UK retail industry and for that reason, every retail organization prefers to get raw materials at a low price. Moreover, the main approach of the SCM is to find good suppliers who will deliver raw materials at a lower price. The establishment of effective SCM is extremely important for the organisational success of a retail company as it also helps the company in maintaining a healthy relationship with the suppliers and customers of the company.
Analysing the main issues in the SCM of the UK retail industry
It is the main duty of the retail organizations of the UK is to resolve the prime issues of the SCM in order to gain more profitability and sustainability. Moreover, due to Covid-19, the effectiveness of the SCM in the retail industry has decreased which affected the growth of multiple retail organizations. Many food retail brands have experienced and faced logistic issues, however, the logistic issues of the retail industry may not be solved and the gap in the SCM of the real industry will be increased (Lagorio & Pinto, 2021). On a contradictory note, in the modern era, the customer attitude and demand level is changing day by day and for that reason it is extremely difficult to anticipate the demand of customers by a treatable SCM. Additionally, during the Covid-19 there was a huge shortage of raw materials in the UK retail industry which may be considered as one of the main problems of the SCM of this industry. More specifically, during the Covid-19 outbreak, the staff of the retail organization were not able to be physically present which created an adverse impact and decreased the effectiveness of the SCM.
The making ways to develop and improve the SCM of the UK retail industry
The management of a retail organization in the UK needs to understand the importance of effective SCM and for that reason, a proper strategy needs to be executed to develop the SCM in this industry. Moreover, there is a huge requirement of using cloud based software to improve the SCM of the industry as it is extremely useful in managing the inventory by resolving the issues of the SCM. In addition to that, many fashion retailers execute lean management to improve the SCM of the company as it plays a crucial role in managing the global SCM by fulfilling the satisfaction level of customers (Giannakis, Spanaki & Dubey, 2019). Moreover, many retail companies of the world use Radio frequency Identification (RFID) which may help an organization to track the stock levels which is extremely crucial for the improvement of SCM. The management of the UK retail companies needs to invest in the right and effective technology or else it will be extremely critical to develop the SCM of this industry.
It is extremely essential for the retail industries to forecast the demand of the entire customer level and in this case the successful implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be impactful in forecasting the demand. One of the biggest benefits of using AI in the SCM of the ritual organization is it is also useful in tracking the delivery of customers which ensures the right time deliveries. Furthermore, the use of the automation of SCM is increasing day by day as an effective SCM may be considered as one of the most effective keys to achieving success for a business. On a special note, there is a massive and positive implication of using E-logistics and E-SCM in order to improve the competitive advantage of a business as this process has a link to IT technology (Erceg & Sekulowska, 2019).
5. Methodology
5.1. Research philosophy, approaches and design
Research philosophy
In this research process the positivism philosophy will be used which is immensely essential in alleviating the prime importance of effective SCM in the organisational success of the UK retail industry.
Approach to theory development
The deductive approach will be executed in the research process as this research approach is generally based on multiple specific hypotheses which is extremely impactful in designing the entire study. Moreover, if there is an occurrence of clear and transparent variables then it will be easy and suitable to develop deductive approaches according to the testable hypotheses (Klein & Müller, 2019).
Methodological choice
Methodological choices refer to the data collection and data analysis process which will be used in a study as in this research qualitative data analysis method will be executed for the further development of the study.
Research strategy
Research strategy is an essential part of the research an interview will be conducted as well as scientific journals and articles will be selected to collect the secondary data. In addition to that, without the proper designing of research strategy, a study may not be formed which may affect the results of the research process.
5.2. Main data collection and analysis techniques
Data collection and data analysis are the most important elements of a research process as it has been observed that these processes need to be conducted in a professional manner for getting optimum results. In addition to that, a secondary data collection method will be implemented for the research process and this data collection is extremely essential for thematic data analysis. The main features of the secondary data collection process are that it is mainly gathered by anyone else and this data may be reused for the development of new research questions (Martins, Cunha & Serra, 2018). Along with that, the research process is mainly based on qualitative analysis which is an innovative process to analyse the collected secondary data. Moreover, the interview process may be conducted and 4 operational managers from different retail organizations of the UK will be participated in the interviews. It needs to be stated that the opinions and thoughts of research respondents will be analysed by using thematic data analysis. Additionally, some scientific journals and research papers will be gathered regarding the SCM of retail industry which will be also used for thematic analysis and it is useful to identify the main issues of the SDCM in the retail industry of the UK.
6. Expected outcomes/contributions
It may be implied that the study is immensely innovative and it is extremely relevant to recognize and identify the importance of effective SCM in the organisational success of the UK retail industry. One of the prime characteristics of the study is it also identify and resolve the current issues which are involved in the SCM of the UK retail industry, On the other hand, the study is extremely useful to understand the impact and advantage of digital transformation in the SCM of the UK retail mandatory as the proper implication of AI, machine language may improve and increase the efficiency of the SCM. More specifically, three is a positive association and link between the use of digital tools in the SCM and improving the effectiveness of SCM of the UK retail industry which influences the higher productivity and performance of the retail organization. It is the duty of the retail organization to develop an effective SCM model which plays a crucial role in reducing the operational cost which results in the operational effectiveness of retail organizations.
7. Timeline for completion
| Term | Months/Session | Research Actions |
| Spring term | Last of the March to first of the April | Research questions, objectives and aims of the research |
| Summer Term 1 | From the first half of April to the middle of July | During this session, data collection will be conducted. Furthermore, a research draft will be also dispatched to the research authority and supervisors for the proper authentication of research activities |
| Summer Term 2 | From middle of July to mid half of the September | During this time a research feedback will be sent and some changes will be implemented according to this feedback. After the feedback and entire verification process the dissertation will be submitted. |
Table 1: Proposed timeline for research
(Source: Self-created)
During the research process many problems and issues may occur while it needs to be resolved by preparing a proper contingency plan. Moreover, the research timeline is mainly by following the approaches of a cross-sectional study.
References
Banerjee, M., & Mishra, M. (2017). Retail supply chain management practices in India: A business intelligence perspective. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 34, 248-259.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2015.09.009
Erceg, A., & Damoska-Sekulowska, J. (2019). E-logistics and e-SCM: how to increase competitiveness. LogForum, 15(1).http://doi.org/10.17270/J.LOG.2019.323
Giannakis, M., Spanaki, K., & Dubey, R. (2019). A cloud-based supply chain management system: effects on supply chain responsiveness. Journal of Enterprise Information Management.https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-05-2018-0106
Klein, G., & Müller, R. (2019). Quantitative Research Submissions to Project Management Journal®. Project Management Journal, 50(3), 263-265.https://doi.org/10.1177%2F8756972819840141
Lagorio, A., & Pinto, R. (2021). Food and grocery retail logistics issues: A systematic literature review. Research in Transportation Economics, 87, 100841.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.retrec.2020.100841
Martins, F. S., da Cunha, J. A. C., & Serra, F. A. R. (2018). Secondary data in research–uses and opportunities. PODIUM sport, leisure and tourism review, 7(3).https://doi.org/10.5585/podium.v7i3.316
Qi, Y., Huo, B., Wang, Z., & Yeung, H. Y. J. (2017). The impact of operations and supply chain strategies on integration and performance. International Journal of Production Economics, 185, 162-174.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2016.12.028
The UK retail industry. Brc.org.uk. (2022). Retrieved 15 January 2022, from https://brc.org.uk/climate-roadmap/section-1-context/12-the-uk-retail-industry/.
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