Analysis of Retail Supply Chain Management

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This assignment provides a comprehensive analysis of retail supply chain management in the UK, focusing on four major retailers: Tesco, Sainsbury's, Aldi, and Lidl. The document examines the use of technology, including Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID), to manage warehouse access and logistics. It also discusses the importance of warehouse management systems in optimizing supply chain efficiency. The analysis highlights the benefits of adopting EDI solutions and RFID technology in managing warehouse access and sending alerts. Furthermore, it provides information on how Aldi is using traffic light queueing systems to limit the number of customers in stores during social distancing measures.

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An executive appraisal
of information

systems on the impact

of business

performance.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.
ALDI Background, Mission and Vision
2.
Why ALDI?
3.
ALDI's Strategy
4.
Information System comparison between ALDI and
competitors

5.
Strategy and Information System timeline
6.
Information System's impacts on business
performance

7.
Current process map and improvements
8.
Advantages, drawbacks and recommendations
9.
Reference list
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ALDI’s Background
1913

First store opened by Anne

Albercht
in 1913 in
Schonnebeck,Essen

Germany(Anonymous,2020)

;

1946

Extended by Anne's sons

Karl and Theo Albrecht in

1946 the
Aldi's name came
from
Albrecht
Discount
(Anonymous,2020;
Rudolph et al, 2012);

1960

The
company was split in 2
subsidiaries Aldi Nord and

Aldi Sud, separation

between the 2 branches

was made
because one of
them (Aldi Sud) was selling

cigarettes and the other

disagreed(Rudolph et al,

2012;Tyler,2018);

1976

Later Aldi developed

overseas and built new

stores, first one opened in

1976 in Iowa,

USA
(According to Aldi.US
website);

1990

By 1990, Aldi Sud joined the

UK market
(Rice,2019);
Nowadays

Aldi Sud has over 35,000

employees and 890 stores

in the United

Kingdom
(Sweney, 2020).
Bogdan-Marian Dragomir
3
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Mission and Vision
Business approach defined by core

values such as
consistency,
simplicity and responsibility
;
Aldi's mission is to continually set

standards
and expand its market
position,
pursuit by improving
quality and distinguish itself from

the other retailers;

In Aldi's perspective the importance

of their customers impact on their

products and operations is the key

to avoid negative feedback;

Following the three principles, Aldi

has developed a culture from its

constantly growth and the build of

a durable reputation
.(ALDI
Corporate Responsibility,2020)

Bogdan-Marian Dragomir
4

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Why ALDI ?
Their products come from checked British farms which are
in line with company's sustainability requirements;

The company aims to minimize the usage of resources as
much as possible;

Aldi policies do not allow their products to be tested on
animals;

Aldi is committed to respect human rights as part of their
corporate social responsibility;

The brand slogan is to "Shop Differently" by providing home
delivery, low prices and selling high quality products.(ALDI

Corporate Responsibility, 2020)

Bogdan-Marian Dragomir
5
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ALDI’s Critical
Strategies

6

Go-to-market strategy - Aldi decided to develop a
business model that allowed them to price his goods

below other food products and to develop a private

label which eventually made them challenge top

discount grocers.

Store location strategy - In order to grasp Aldi's slow and
steady growth and progress, it is
important to
deconstruct its tactical approach to customer

preferences and behavior.

Tricks of the discount trade - Aldi also perfected a range
of discount trading tricks, such as displaying goods

directly on pallets, and has persuaded sellers to repack

their products in packages that optimize pallet space.

Human resources - Aldi pays salaries more than most
other discounter rivals, despite its emphasis on low

prices products, Aldi maintains minimal store

workers
(Chatterjee, S. 2017).
Ali Ismail
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ALDI vs.
Competitors

There is a grocery price war in the UK with
German
discounters Aldi and Lidl Tesco,
Sainsbury's, Asda
and Morrison's. Both
discounters have been in the
UK for years, but
in the past decade they have gain
market
share from their bigger counterparts.

The simple success key of Aldi is low-cost
operations
and an efficient logistics network.
Life is still relatively optimistic for discounters
in
general, but it gets tougher. Opening more
stores
too fast requires a similar revenue
sacrifice.

Aldi must be on the guard to fight the big
grocery,
Tesco, and Morrison in
particular
(HIPWELL, D., 2017).
Ali Ismail

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Information System comparison between ALDI and competitors
Tan Long Pham
8
Electronic Data

Interchange (EDI)

Increase the efficiency of

communication between Aldi and

its suppliers regarding to

paperwork, invoice. (Aldi, 2020)

Allow Lidl staff view

documents in real
-time and
faster, which could save time

and minimize errors.

(
Transalis, 2020)
Reduce the cost of data transfer and

being more secure and faster to

communicate with suppliers. (
Xie &
Allen, 2013)

Ensure a more secure and faster

way of exchange information

between Sainsbury and their

suppliers and allow systems to

integrate. (Smith, 2019)

Communicate with all suppliers to

have
etter preparation for store
availability. ((
Xie & Allen, 2013)
Radio Frequency

Identification (RFID)

Aldi uses this method in their

storeroom to minimize the loss of

products during business hour.

(Fructidor, 2011)

The system was installed in

their warehouse to enhance

the management of
goods’s
movement. (
Swedberge,
2018)

Using RFID pallets to reduce the

stockout situation and cutting the

replenishment time. (Xie & Allen,

2013)

Adoption of RFID allows

Sainsbury to reduce the time of

scanning each items in their daily

warehousing activities. (Brown &

Bakhru, 2007)

Manage warehouse capacity to

balance inventory levels between

stores. (Xie & Allen, 2013)

Enterprise Resource

Planning (ERP)

The system was used to manage

retail processes at all firm’s

locations throughout the chain

from orders and warehouse

management to store deliveries.

(Edman, 2014)

Enhance the harmony of

communication between the

stores across Europe and

central retail information

system. (Lemmon, 2016)

With the help of Walmart, ASDA has

successfully installed their ERP

system, which reduces year
-end
closing time, streamlines all payment

process and improves reporting

procedures. (Doyle, 2010)

Stores’ computers were

connected with Sainsbury’s

central computer server, which

allows staff of all level to keep

up
-to-date with their daily
operational activities. (Rodrigo,

2012)

Allow staff to manage daily operation

accurately as well as manage the

information flow in the company.

(UK Essays, 2018)

Click and Collect

To prevent the widespread of

coronavirus pandemic, Aldi

launched new campaign to assist

shoppers (
Knapman, 2020)
Lidl installed click and collect

lockers with a QR code which

shoppers scan to open the

compartment holding their

orders (Farrell, 2020)

Shoppers are allowed to either pick

up in store or from a locker or even

from ASDA petrol station, however,

orders must be at lease 25 pound

(
HouseholdMoney, 2020)
Customers can choose to pick up

their orders from a fridge van

which will be parked in the

store’s car park
(Sainsbury,
2015)

Customers simply drive to collect

point and Tesco staff will help to load

products, then customer will receive

electronic delivery note (
Symester,
2019)
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Information System comparison between ALDI and competitors
Tan Long Pham
9
Customer Relationship

Management (CRM)
X
With the launcher of mobile

app, Lidl’s customers have to

register for an account to

receive the loyalty scheme. (Lidl

App, 2020)

With the use of Christmas

Loyalty Card, ASDA easily

capture the information of its

customer regarding their

shopping behaviors. (Gray,

2020)

Sainsbury has cooperated with

Nectar on loyalty scheme in

which shoppers need to log in

Nectar app to see weekly

promotions of Sainsbury.

(Komiya, 2019)

Categorize market segment. and

understand customer purchase

behavior. (Xie & Allen, 2013)

Electronic Point of Sale

(EPOS)
X X X
Improve the efficiency in stores

and reduce the time taken for

applying promotional

campaigns. (Perry, 2009)

Increase the flexibility
for
checkout process as well as

allow staff to focus on serving

customer. (
Tharakaj, 2016)
Decision Support System

(DSS)
X X X X
With the help of business

intelligence, Tesco can easily

explore information and quickly

answer to the business

questions (Tesco Report

Analyses, n.d.)

Warehouse Management

System (WMS)
X X X X
Allow Tesco to well
-control and
standardize their distribution

centers nationally and globally.

((Tesco Report Analyses, n.d.)
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Strategy and Information System timeline
THI DIEU TU NGUYEN
10
1913

1948

Mid
-1960s
1976

1990

ALDI decided to go overseas

by reducing operating costs

and product prices strategy.

ALDI’s brick
-and-mortar
stores were built to operate

efficiently (Reddy, 2017).

Albrecht's sons Karl and Theo

took over the business and

expanded throughout

Germany.

The stores were called

"Albrecht Discount”.

ALDI was divided

into 2 groups: ALDI

Nord and ALDI Sud.

ALDI Sud joined the UK

market.

90% of ALDI’s products were

their own
-labelled goods
(Reddy, 2017).

2000

ALDI applied EDI to

efficiently communicate

with their suppliers (Aldi,

2020).

2014

2020

ALDI used ERP system to

manage their retail

processes (Edman, 2014).

ALDI has introduced the

"traffic light" system and new

“Click and Collect” campaign

to assist shoppers (Young,

2020; Knapman, 2020).

First store was

opened by Anne

Albercht
in
Germany.

(Tyler, 2018)

ALDI plans to have 1,000

UK stores by 2022

(Hegarty, 2017).

2022
2004
AlDI
opened Scottish
Distribution Centre, stocking

over 200 items that you

cannot be found in the UK

(ALDI Careers, 2020).

2011

ALDI adopted RFID to

improve their stock control

(Fructidor, 2011).

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TAN LONG PHAM 11
Information System Impacts On
Business Performance Of ALDI
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Current business process
THI DIEU TU NGUYEN
12
Product flow

Information and

knowledge flow

Data transaction

Supplier

Store visit
- Customer
selects grocery

Store
Warehouse
Customer pays at

Check
-out till
EDI
EDI
RFID
RFID RFID
Click and Collect

Order and pay online
-
Customer picks up from store

(
Xie and Allen, 2013)
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Recommended business process
THI DIEU TU NGUYEN
13
Product flow

Information and

knowledge flow

Data transaction

Supplier
StoreWarehouse
Customer pays at

Check
-out till
EDI
EDI
RFID
RFID RFID
Customer

selects grocery

Click and Collect

Customer picks up

from store

Customer pays at

Self Check
-out machine
Store visit

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Drawbacks of
Information
System
ERP implementations sometimes take longer than Planned, over budget and with an elevated
rate of
failure (Panorama, 2015)

ERP implementations frequently override budgets and lack internal expertise (Panorama, 2016).

55% to 75% of all ERP ventures failed to achieve their targets (Sullivan, 2015)

Implementations
of ERP are difficult and have high rates of failure (King & Burgess, 2006), putting a high
demand on organizational
resources.
The
key challenge was organizational barriers, especially the lack of human capital (Babaei, Gholami
&
Altafi, 2015)
User
training must be given, and top management must pay attention to emerging technologies for the
effective implementation of
ERP. (Almajali, Masa’deh & Tarhini, 2015)
In an exploratory analysis of the implementation of ERP in a telecommunication company, it
was found
that
a key challenge was organizational barriers, especially the lack of human capital (Babaei, Gholami
&
Altafi, 2015)
Shariq Irshad
14
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Challenges and problems (Chugh, Sharma and
Cabrera, 2017)

15
Shariq Irshad
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Recommendations
Tan Long Pham
16
increase customer’s satisfaction.
allow staff to concentrate on serving customers (Tharakaj, 2016).
Self
-checkout system
enhance consumerism.
understand customer’s behaviour and make improvements (Xie & Allen, 2013).
Loyalty scheme

optimize space and supply chain management.
inventory transparency and traceable materials (Tredaway, 2020)
Implement Warehouse Management System

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Thank you !
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References
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Careers (2020) ALDI Careers: About us. Available at: https://www.aldirecruitment.co.uk/about-us/ [Accessed 01 November 2020].
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ALDI
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ALDI
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