Great BSS0586 Strategy Global Competitive Environment Sample
Introduction
The retailer’s organization in the UK has been facing a severe threat because of the rising concern of COVID-19. The increasing danger of the pandemic has resulted in severe losses for retailer organizations. The UK retailers have faced a fall of 19% in sales due to the outbreak of the pandemic.
This assignment would address the various strategies that would be helpful to sustain the performance of UK retailers. The study would focus on the strategies adopted by Tesco to deal with the rising threats of COVID-19. The pandemic citation has shown a massive downfall in sales among Tesco.
The assignment would focus on how the external strategic environment is leaving a profound impact on the economic position of Tesco.
Background of the Company
Tesco is one of the most famous UK retailers. The company has been providing customers with goods and services with a reputation and honesty. The company sells goods like furniture, clothing, toys, electronics, books, etc. The company also renders financial, telecom, and internet services.
The headquarters of Tesco is located in Hertfordshire, England. Tesco has been declared to the third-largest retail company in the world in terms of gross revenues. As estimated in 2019, the revenue of Tesco was 18.1 billion.
Tesco was founded in 1919 by Jack Cohen. He started this company as a group of market stalls in London. Since the 1990s, Tesco has faced immense changes and improvements. After the 1990s, Tesco tried to enter the international market.
Tesco expanded its market globally with collaboration from 11 other countries, other than the UK. Gradually, Tesco grew its areas of operations and production as well (Rosnizam et al. 2020) The company started to provide customers with ample options in books, clothing, furniture, and other goods and services. Along with the retail business, in 2013, Tesco also decided to operate in various restaurants and cafes to expand its business from retailing.
Current Strategies implemented by the Company
The current strategies which are implemented by the renowned retailer Tesco, due to the Covid-19 are:
Management of the Supply and Distribution
Due to the covid-19 impacts, Tesco has introduced the solutions of lean management in its supply chain mechanisms. Tesco has applied the techniques of the path-breaking like sales data, primary distributions, and the continuous relishing for making its supply chain management much more efficient which has lowered to 15% from 30% due to the pandemic.
People have not been taking home deliveries or coming to the shops for buying therefore there have been gaps in the supply chain. Gaps in the supply chain are created because the distribution has lessened in Tesco (Gereffi, 2020).http://Great BSS0586 Strategy Global Competitive Environment Sample Therefore lean management increased supplies which led to the management of productivity during a pandemic.
Adjustment of Online Retail
Tesco has been operating its online operation and has to change its policies since the crisis of the pandemic has hit hard. Due to the pandemic, Tesco shows that their traffic management of the goods has been hampered as the picking capabilities and numerous products have been spoiled. Tesco, therefore, had started online deliveries of groceries to consumers (Power, Doherty, Pybus & Pickett, 2020).http://Great BSS0586 Strategy Global Competitive Environment Sample
People can purchase more by sitting back at home. Online business of retail had raised the business of Tesco by 40% during the pandemic. There have been online channels set up by Tesco where the customers can print their choices and the needs of the products
Segmenting the production for customers
Due to the pandemic, Tesco has segmented its customers for the distribution of the products. First and foremost Tesco is supplying food for deceased patients suffering from Covid-19. Tesco’s strategy is to distribute light foods to the people.
It has been supplying nutritional foods for older people and for women who are having problems due to the lack of calcium and to increase immune power in the body. (Wood, Coe & Wrigley, 2016).http://Great BSS0586 Strategy Global Competitive Environment Sample As the market has been under threat, therefore Tesco has even started to provide baby foods and distribution the water supply to the homes.
Social Distance Measures
Tesco has adopted the social distancing campaign for the pandemic. For this step, the staff in Tesco will keep a note of the number of staff who have been coming into the store. Tesco has intricate new measures for these like, floor markings, one-way isles, and protective screens
These screens have been installed to protect both the staff as well as the customers. There has been an arrangement of separate entry and exit points for the customers while they are coming for shopping. Tesco has made a distribution of the hand sanitizers for free which is the most kinetic strategy amidst lockdown
Future Strategic Options to be Implemented by the Company
The situation of COVID-19 has triggered a concern because of the downfall of sales in the retail industry. Stabilization of the revenues and increment of sales is very significant in Tesco to successful organizational growth (Baker, Bloom Davis, Kost, Sammon & Viratyosin, 2020).http://Great BSS0586 Strategy Global Competitive Environment Sample Considering the pandemic situation, the management of Tesco has decided to formulate specific future strategies that would help them to carry out business effectively. The strategies are as follows:
Cost Savings Strategy
It is one of the essential strategies that Tesco will be implemented in the industry to retain business. The management of Tesco is willing to cut down product costs as much as possible. The management considers that by cutting down the costs of production, the company would have been able to increase the profit margin.
The management believes that cost savings will be the real fuel behind the future growth of the organization. Tesco reveals that the ongoing cost efficiency would lead to future investments for Tesco (Grigorescu, & Zaif, 2017). Tesco is following Dave Lewis’ turnaround plan to overcome the difficulties beyond 2020. The management has offered a strategy of cost leadership strategy.
Cost leadership strategy is the strategy where the costs of production will be minimized. The minimized cost level would incur huge and profitable investments in the future. Therefore, Teco will be using renewable resources. The resources which can be used over and over again will reduce the pressure of buying costs on Tesco (Rosnizam et al. 2020). Moreover, Tesco would reduce the workforce and employ only trained and skilled candidates to cut down the costs of training and developing procedures.
Zero-Carbon Business Strategy
Zero-Carbon Business Strategy is a path-breaking business strategy that will be implemented by Tesco. Tesco has decided that its operations would have zero traces of carbon within 2050. This strategy will be undertaken by keeping in mind the situation of COVID-19. The harsh environmental practices by the industries are leading to pandemic mutation. These situations are, eventually, leaving a destructive impact on the sales of the organization.
Therefore, Tesco has decided that it would not use any trace of carbon to reduce environmental pressure through its operations. Tesco has agreed that there will be the use of carbon within the operational activities. Tesco is focusing on the Go Green strategy for its production purposes. Tesco desires to remove every trace of carbon from its operations by 2050 (Chocholáč, 2017).http://Great BSS0586 Strategy Global Competitive Environment Sample The employee and the suppliers will be coming up with lower carbon product designs. Tesco will make sure that it produces 100% renewable energy by 2050.
Discount Strategy
The advent of the pandemic situation has led to a fall in sales. Consumers are reluctant to buy anything other than essential food and household items. Therefore, Tesco has formulated a discount strategy to increase its sales in the future. The prices of the goods and services will be reduced and offered to the customers.
The company will be willing to provide a tremendous amount of discount on the entire item that they approach for their customers. Other unimportant and luxurious things have faced a downfall in sales because of the whole lockdown situation. Thus, the management of Tesco has decided to inflict discounts so that the customers are attracted to the luxurious and non-essential goods.
The management of Tesco believes that the discount strategy would also bring a future direction for the supply chain. The main goal of this discount strategy is to increase customers’ footfall in the stores. The lockdown period has given rise to an increasing amount of inventory in the organization. The discount strategy will help Tesco in the easy implementation of stalk clearance.
Tech Investments to boost efficiency
Tesco is looking forward to increasing its investments in the technological field. Tesco values the power of technology and advanced machinery in production. Technology and advanced machinery help the organization in rendering better services to the customers (Gillingham, Knittel, Li, Ovaere & Reguant, 2020).http://Great BSS0586 Strategy Global Competitive Environment Sample
Moreover, the improved technologies can perform the work of the employees during the lockdown period. Therefore, Tesco has decided to increase technology investments in the future. In the future, Tesco is determined to invest in robotics and artificial intelligence technology.
Through these advancements, the world pressure on employees would be reduced. The investments in robots and artificial technology would help to maintain precautionary safety measures like social distancing in the future. Therefore, tech investments are one of the most critical future strategies for Tesco.
Analysis of the Future Strategies
Strategies
Cost saving strategy
The cost-saving strategy that Tesco has been adopting for the conduction of the business is helpful. The advantages of this strategy are it helps in the reduction of the cost whenever there has been some kind of crisis just like the pandemic.
In Tesco, this strategy has been helpful in providing more encouragement to the labor welfare schemes. It helps in the improvement of the men-management relationship in Tesco (Pradelli, Graf, Pichard & Berger, 2018). Additionally, it helps in the deliverance of the goods to the customers at much cheaper prices.
The disadvantage which has been lining of this cost-saving strategy is that it leads Tesco to much higher growth. This cost-saving strategy in Tesco can lead to the spreading of negative vibes between the employees and the management. The cost-saving strategy can make d deterioration in the quality of the products which have been sent to the customers. Therefore fall in quality can decrease the rate of costumes.
Zero-carbon business strategy
The advantage of the Zero Carbon business strategy through which Tesco has been getting eventual benefits is that: It has helped in the improvement of the efficiency in Tesco’s distribution of the supplies.
Tesco has been planning for the reduction of carbon so that the products can be free of the chemicals and dust which can act as a threat to the lives of the people. The raw material inputs can likely be controlled through this process and the energy consumption can also tend to be lower.
The disadvantage which Tesco has been likely to suffer is that Tesco can naturally fail in the maintenance of the carbon offsets which have been needed at a rate of 305 for the production of the products.
It has been seen that reduction of carbon can lead to an increase in the emission in Tesco which can likely harm the quality of the products and the items. Therefore reduction of the carbon can stand to be unfruitful.
Discount strategy
The advantages of using the discount strategy for the future business of Tesco have various benefits. There are various kinds of groceries, and organic foods in the stirs of Tesco which have been impossible to purchase for the customers (Zhao, Pan & Chen 2018).http://Great BSS0586 Strategy Global Competitive Environment Sample
Therefore many times those respective products are unable to get sold and the profit of the products of Tesco falls down, Therefore Tesco has planned to apply the discount strategy so that all the products can be purchasable for the consumers freely and all products can be sold as well.
The disadvantage which has been seen from the discount strategy is that the quality of the products can get hampered because due to the adjustments of the discount the cost of buying the raw materials for the products can be lessened.
Tech investments to boost efficiency
The advantage of the tech investments for the future business regulation of Tesco is that: Tesco has been getting the accession of increasing the speed of production. Tesco can get efficiency in manufacturing as well as distribution. Innovation of the
Tesco can likely expand which can bounce up the structure of the sales and its eventual policies. It has been helpful in balancing the expenses in the products of Tesco (Grant & Yeo, 2018). The expansion of the business is much higher for Tesco.
The disadvantage which can be seen from it is that Tech investments can only be offered when the company is having direct selling option and its peak time. Tech investments are not commendable
if there has been a shortage in departments like production and manufacturing. Tech Investments has to be managed with an ingrained software that Tesco has been unable to provide.
Selection of the Feasible Strategy
The company TESCO is a big retailing brand and due to the divide outbreak, it has faced certain difficulties in operation. Here, in this case, the Tech-Investment to Boost Efficiency Strategy can be used for the organization to increase the performance of the company amidst the overwhelming loss that has been caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
The technological advancement and strategy building can be used by TESCO. The particular strategy seems to be more feasible and adequate for the organization to revive the loss for long-term effects than the cost-control measure which can provide difficulty in the longer run.
Four different strategies have been mentioned in the strategic options of the company and it has been observed from the paper that the particular strategy of using the particular strategy can bring better performance and operational benefit for the same.
The company is already using various technological tools to increase efficiency in the market and the effectiveness of the tools is immense in the organizational affair (Tassey, 2020).http://Great BSS0586 Strategy Global Competitive Environment Sample
Hence, using the strategy to welcome even advanced technological devices and tools such as Artificial Intelligence usage or the Internet of Things can be used to even empower the organizational affair and increase productivity and efficiency.
The technological tools can be used in different affairs of the company such as Customer Service Operations, Inventory, and Supply chain management, Cost and accounting-related affairs, In-store facilities, and also for production center management can be considered under the technological usage (Edström, & Klinger,2020). TESCO can invest in technological tools to minimize the additional and unwanted costing and to increase the level of efficiency in the company and also meet the demands of the consumers in the long run.
Hence, with advanced technological advancement, the company can effectively improve its efficiency level within the organization. Even though the initial cost can be high for the investment, it can be said that with adequate planning of implementation strategy the organization can increase the performance of the particular strategy in practice. Hence there is a need to use a strategic framework that can effectively implement the strategy into practice.
Planning the Feasible Strategy
Here Porter’s Generic Framework can be used in order to implement the investment in the technological areas to boost the efficiency of the company.
| Cost Leadership
· TESCO can switch to local suppliers for the raw materials which are required for the production and customer supplies through the help of new and advanced AI-based and GPS-based devices that can track the suppliers. This will minimize the cost of transportation yet maintain efficiency. · In order to keep track of the details of the suppliers and their authentication blockchains can be used as it can also help in tracking the quality assurance of the products. |
Differentiation
· Amidst the COVID-19 situation, the company TESCO can use different health checking technologies that are more advanced than the regular ones. The technology will not only check the temperature of the people who are working or coming to purchase, but it will keep track of the same. · This particular technologically advanced system will provide the organization a benefit of competitive advantage and help the same to showcase the differences it bore compared to the competitors (Carniel, Gastaud, & Dalle, 2019). · Attractive payment methods and flexible payment processes can be helpful for the customers to analyze and increase their differences with the existing marketers. |
| Cost Focus
· Through this particular strategy, the company can increase its inventory management most efficiently and with the help of the same, the costing for supply and the costing for delivery of the products at a lesser time span which can also help the organization to provide more discounts and offers to the segmented customer sections (Arena, et al.,2018). |
Differentiation Focus
· The company can highlight the differentiation strategy to increase its correlation with the segmented customer. As if the segmented customers are aware that the organization cares for the customers and keep track of their health and COVID-19 update, they can come to the organization instead of going to the other competitors who do not have such a strong technological tool. |
This must be the process of how the organization will invest in technologies. However, there must be a plan to implement the investment strategy in a chronological process to ensure that the performance and goal can be achieved.
| Goal | Tenure | Activity |
| COVID-19 tracking tools for customers and employees. Using a flexible payment mode of the company’s own. | 2 months | Investing in an advanced technological tool to ensure that the employees and customers are treated accordingly and the services are provided accordingly. |
| Supply chain and inventory management through AI-based apps | 4-6 months | The inventory tracking and local suppliers’ identification can help out the company efficiently minimize the costs that are made through advanced AI-based and GPS-based apps. |
Hence, with this particular planning process and strategy the company can effectively implement the Tech-Investment Strategy as a particular strategy can provide the company long time benefits and also increase its profitability over time.
Value Proposition of TESCO
Figure 1: Value Proposition
(Source: Mohd Satar, Dastane, & Ma’arif, 2019)
The idea of Value Proposition has three different dynamics to cover. The value proposition is the idea or value an organization is likely to create amongst the customer base and segments of the company.
From the above discussions and the earlier discussion on the performance of the retail industry in the UK market in the context of COVID- 19 outbreaks. It has been observed that the industry has suffered due to various reasons and with technological investment, TESCO can indeed help in creating value through technologies.
Gain creators, Pain relievers through different products and services can be the strategy of the company to increase efficiency.
It can be said that the advanced technological tools that can check the symptoms and not only the temperature and can keep a record of the customers are one of the advanced technological tools that can be used by the company TESCO in order to ensure that the pain of the customers can be met.
The company can provide services to an individual who has suspicious symptoms that can be delivered services (Reznikova, Rubtsova, & Yatsenko,2020). This record-keeping and addressing them can help out the organization improve its performance and become one of the values creating a retailer that is preferred by the customers.
Also, the company can effectively improve the inventory and the supply chain of the company to ensure that the customer segments get all the services within time and at a discounted rate which can be given in the time of the COVID outbreak.
It has been observed that the main objective of the company is to create a positive impact on the consumers so that the sales of the company can go up. The advanced technological tool will help out the company minimize fixed costs and therefore, they can provide improved discounts and offers to all the customers with good quality and timely delivery.
The advanced technological use can help out the organization TESCO to create an improved value in the customer segments and make sure that the value helps the customers to minimize their issues and can also take care of their priorities and health, unlike other retailers.
Technological efficiency and investment are, therefore, beneficial for both the organization and its customer segments. Value Creation is one of the major areas of concern for TESCO that can help in channelizing payment actions as well as the customer benefits and also the supply and distribution process.
Recommendations
Here a few recommendations would be made that will benefit the UK-based retailer TESCO to improve its performance in the market and dilute the loss that has caused the industry as well as to the country itself.
Hence, the recommendations are mentioned below,
Using technology as the main area of operation in the business organization
As in the COVID-affected situation, the demand for manual power has decreased it has become evident that online services and technology-based operations are becoming more effective than manual operations. There are different online retailers that are getting an advantage in the time of social distancing.
TESCO also has online services yet they are not as effective as the other only online service providers. Hence, with the help of new and advanced technological updates, the company can make online services much more value-creating than mere online service providers (Ramazio, 2019).
Also, the company can improve the other areas such as the company providing the customers the benefit of using different payment methods depending on the level of purchase, but it can be advanced to every customer at every level to use all the payment methods. Even customer services and other operations can be switched to the technological spheres than manual programming.
Increase efficiency and cost-effectiveness alongside technology
It can be said that despite the technological advancement that can provide long-term efficiency and good performance, it can also provide the organization TESCO a partial advancement, hence, the company must take different other strategies as mentioned in the paper to improve its feasibility in operation and advancement.
An improved cost-leadership approach or Zero-Carbon business strategies can be effective for the company to increase the level of feasibility and totally overcome the loss that has been imposed by the global pandemic. Also marketing processes and operational strategies are also needed to be considered for increasing the competitive advantage of the company.
Customer value can be created without harming the profitability of the company in the UK market. Hence, it is essential for the company not to depend on one singular strategy but use the others along with it to ensure improved feasibility.
Conclusion
This assignment reveals certain strategies that retail organizations might undertake due to the advent of the pandemic situation. The pandemic situation has resulted in a fall of 19% in sales in UK retailers. The assignment analyzes the sales and market conditions of the retailers with reference to Tesco.
The report shows how Tesco has been formulating strategies in order to facilitate sales and revenue growth. The strategies have been analyzed and the most suitable strategy has been chosen to increase the organizational revenues of Tesco.
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