RESEARCH REPORT TESCO

Research Report: Tesco



Table of Contents

TASK 13

Research Proposal3

Research question/hypothesis3

Research objectives3

Rationale of the research3

Literature Review3

TASK24

Analysis and interpretation4

Operations Strategy4

TASK 35

Findings5

Operations Planning and Control5

Capacity planning and control5

Supply chain planning and control5

Quality planning and control6

Measurement and Improvement Activities6

Conclusion7

Critical appraisal and Recommendation7

REFERENCES10

APPENDIX11

Research Report: Tesco

Task 1

Research Proposal

Research question/hypothesis

This report researches the following question:

How is operational management helping Tesco gain competitive edge in the supermarket sector?

Research objectives

The purpose of this report is to investigate and analysis operations management in Tesco. The report will mainly go through three aspects of Tesco's operations management: operations management performance objectives, planning and control in use, and measurement and improvement activities. Finally, conclusions and recommendations will be drawn from analysis.

Rationale of the research

Operations Management plays a key role in achieving the main performance objectives of Tesco. Whether the current operation objective is to improve customer service or to increase profitability, the way in which Tesco utilises its resources will have a significant impact. As a consequence, there have been a number of innovative developments in Operations Management that have sought to make use of Tesco resources in a significantly new manner in order to make a big step change in performance. Tesco is a successful example of operations management, however, through our investigation they also have some demerit in their operations management need to be improved.

Research Method

For this study we have utilized the qualitative research approach. Qualitative research is much more subjective than quantitative research and uses very different methods of collecting information, mainly individual, in-depth interviews and focus groups. However, since this research study is a secondary qualitative research the data that has been collected for qualitative analysis has been through an extensive review of literature that has been published in the field in the past few years.

Secondary research is often less costly than surveys and is extremely effective in acquiring information about peoples' communications needs and their responses to and views about specific communications. It is often the method of choice in instances where quantitative measurement is not required.

Literature Review

The Institute for Retail Studies's research (2003) reports that retail industry in the UK is quite competitive, dynamic, and innovative in recent years. And grocery retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda etc. are all compete on price, quality, range, and service in order to strive for business success. Within this intense competition of retail industry, Tesco can stand at market-leading position in recent years has mainly come from its strategies of expanding overseas, shifting to 'higher margin' non-food market and maintaining a strong core UK business (Corporate Watch UK, 2004). And its UK success has been built on low prices, cultivating customer loyalty, unbeatable quality, offering a range of different store concepts and expanding into retailing services (Tesco Plc annual review, 2005). Moreover, according to Business Engine, Inc. (2006), it reports that close control of internal resources and diligent monitoring of all expenditures are also the critical aspects for Tesco to maintain its leading position in the market. Therefore, Tesco's business success indicates that effective operations strategies ...