Supply Chain Management Case Study 2022

2020
Supply Chain Management
Case Study of M&S
Student Details

SCM 1
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Company Overview...................................................................................................................2
Supply Chain and Logistics Management System at M&S.......................................................3
Challenges in SCM in Retail industry........................................................................................4
Role of RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification Technology)....................................................5
Sustainable practices in Supply Chain Management.................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
The management at organisations is required to focus on the customer needs and
requirements within the industry in order to achieve organisational success. The supply chain
management is effectively focused on ensuring that the activities within the organisation are
effective and are as per the strategic goals and objectives of the organisation. The
organisations within the industry effectively focus on the industry developments and
competitor’s practices and ensure that they are able to contribute towards the change
management within the industry.
The analysis is focused on analysing the supply chain management effectiveness at Marks
and Spencer and identifying the challenges that the M&S or other organisation within the
industry deals with. Such analysis helps is effectively analysing how the supply chain
management can be improved within the organisation and its effectiveness can be ensured.
The report also analyses the organisation’s practice in ensuring sustainable practices within
the supply chain management and ensuring the achievement of social and environmental
goals and responsibilities.
Company Overview
Marks and Spencer Plc (M&S) is one of the largest brands in British clothing and food retail
industry. The organisation has its headquarters in London. The organisation was established
in 1884 and started its business operations as a food retail store that was focused on providing
the household goods, toys and other retail products. The organisation, later on, focused on the
acquisition of a clothing brand within the industry, and through such practice, it entered into
the fashion business. Marks and Spencer at present deals over 1463 stores across 57 nations,
and is focused on providing the customers with the quality products and delightful shopping
experience (Britannica, 2020).
The organisation effectively focuses on the innovation and the integrity within the process
and such innovative and creative thinking and decision making add towards the value
creation within the industry. M&S has resulted in being the UK’s market leader in the women
wear, by focusing on the customer requirements and providing them with fashionable and
innovative products within the industry. The management at the organisation has effectively
adopted the strategies and policies through which they are able to contribute towards the

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development of the organisation and to ensure that they are able to focus on the competitive
factors within the industry (M&S, 2019).
The retail industry is changing at a fast pace as with the internationalisation of the markets,
the customers within the industry are exposed to multiple options and choice, due to which
the competitors are focused on introducing innovative and creative products so that they can
grab the customer’s attention within the industry. The emerging retail sector is effectively
focused on utilising digitalised technologies so that they can enter into e-commerce and can
provide the customers with quality shopping experience while they are at home. Such
technologies are not reshaping the way the organisation interacts with customers but also the
way in which the internal activities or the process at the organisation is being conducted
(Grewal, et al., 2017).
The retail sector is more focused on the transparency within the organisation in order to
improve the organisations focus on the sustainable and ethical development within the
industry. Supply Chain is the key focus area within the retail industry that the management
focuses on as it ensures the effective transfer of the products and service to the ultimate
customer and ensures that the customer’s needs and requirements are being fulfilled and the
organisational policies and strategies developed as a competitive factor within the industry
(Deloitte, 2020).
Supply Chain and Logistics Management System at
M&S
The success of the business is mostly dependent on the effectiveness of the supply chain
management system adopted by the organisation since it is focused on the multiple
approaches within the organisation it is required that the management effectively conducts
the industry analysis and accordingly develops policies and strategies to ensure the
effectiveness of the supply chain. The supply chain should include the customer needs and
requirements, effective planning, and the inventory and logistics management process. So
that the products that are being provided is as per the requirements and is being provided
when required by the customer (Hugos, 2018).
Marks & Spencer has adopted different supply chain management for different product lines
so that the product can be effectively transported from the place of origin to the ultimate
place of consumption. M&S focuses on the stakeholder’s interest within and outside the

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organisation and provides the customer with quality products, employees with the safe and
secure work environment, and development and support to the society in which the
organisation is dealing in. The brand image created within the industry is due to the product
quality as well as the service satisfaction, therefore the organisation focuses on the products
that have a competitive factor within the industry, and is effectively integrated with the
innovation and the sustainability factors (LSC, 2013).
The food supply chain of M&S includes a contract with more than 400 suppliers who provide
with the quality products and ensure that the standards are being ensured throughout the
process, through continuous monitoring of the production process. The raw materials use in
the production of the food products are directly sourced from the farms to maintain its
originality. M&S renews or bring innovative changes within 30% of its products every year
so that the changing customer requirements within the industry can be met. The management
ensures that the process involved in the supply chain at the organisation effectively complies
with the legal regulations and the standards and the social responsibilities are being fulfilled
(M&S, 2020).
M&S has effectively focused on partnering with the organisations in order to provide useful
insights through which the supply chain can be transformed and the effectiveness can be
improved. As it is required that the organisation focus on the real-time data from the industry
so that the changes and the competitor’s position within the industry can be analysed and
accordingly decisions can be taken to ensure that sustainability of the organisation. M&S is
also focused on spending millions on the transformation of the supply chain process across
the process, operations activities and the infrastructure so that the modern requirements and
the changes can be implemented effectively and the supply chain can be modernised. The
practices by the management at M&S ensures the retention of the strategic position and the
satisfaction of the customers within the industry (Patchett, 2019).
Challenges in SCM in Retail industry
The major challenge within the supply chain management at the retail industry is the
management of the customer’s needs and requirements and accordingly provide them with
the product that is effective and improved from that of the competitor within the industry.
The customers within the industry focus on the availability of the variety and options for the
products and require that the quality products are being delivered to them in less time.

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Therefore, it has become a major challenge within the supply chain to manage with respect to
customer demands and requirements (Fernie & Sparks, 2018).
Another issues faced within the supply chain is the cost reduction or reducing the profit
margin, as to provide the customers with the quality products at a competitive price within
the industry, it is required that the organisation focus on the minimizing the cost incurred
during the supply chain process, and to keep price low the quality of the product or the
service efficiency reduces. Such cost-cutting results in declining the process efficiency and
developing complexes in the managerial activities, also to reduce the cost incurred the
organisations focuses on managing lower inventory level which affects the business
operations in peak seasons (Miami, 2020).
The retail sector faces the shortage of the labour and workforce to utilise in the supply chain
process, the number of the labour that is required to manage the entire process is not available
within the industry, due to which the organisations are not able to expand its business
operations within the industry. Also, the industry faces the disadvantage or the challenge of
predicting the requirements or the changes within the industry, as due to the dynamic feature
of the industry, the needs and demands change rapidly and constantly, due to which the
management faces difficulty in developing policies to meet the predicted demands and
requirements within the industry (SJ, 2015).
The expansion of the retail industry and with the increasing competition within the industry,
the government has established several legal regulations and compliances, which is
mandatory to be followed within the industry. Therefore, such policies force the organisations
to spend on certain process and maintain the quality in the entire process, such compliances
reduce the organisation’s focus on cost-cutting and competing within the industry. The
challenges within the supply chain involve the complexity of the process, as with the
advancements within the process, the supply chain has become more complex than before,
therefore such complex nature results in emerging as a challenge in the management of the
supply chain (Frostenson & Prenkert, 2015).
Role of RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification
Technology)
RFID plays an important role in improving the efficiency of supply chain management within
organisations. RFID makes use of wireless communication between the physical items and

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has several components being utilised to ensure its effectiveness. The use of RFID within the
supply chain management is done to ensure the availability of the inventory level, managing
the industry demands and supply trends, effective data analysis, to minimize the errors in data
or inventory handling, effective promotion of the products depending upon the inventory
available for sale, to analyse the production and sale pattern at the organisation (Azevedo, et
al., 2014).
M&S effectively focuses on utilising the innovative techniques within the organisation so that
the management can retain the organisation’s leading position within the industry. The
management ensures the RFID is being used across different process and is undertaking such
practices since 2000, and has ensured that throughout the organisation the technology is being
utilised effectively in the retail inventory management so that the overall efficiency can be
maintained and improved. As such information systems help in the effective management of
the available inventory with the organisation and manage the industry demand and supply so
that the company can have effective stock when required by the customer s tots stores
(Angeles, 2016).
The Marks and Spencer is effectively utilising the RFID technology across its stores and
ensure that the products supplied from the suppliers to the stores are tagged so that they can
be effectively tracked and managed. The use of RFID at the stores results in improving the
process efficiency as just through a single scan the details related to the product gets recorded
within the system and its movement can be effectively tracked at the stores. Therefore,
implementing such systems resulted in an improvement in sales of products at M&S as the
customer can be deal smoothly and easily and with more choices (RFID, 2019).
The management at M&S reported that through the implementation of the RFID at the stores
resulted in the increase of the ROI by 1.5-5.5%, as such technology is beneficial in inventory
management, by effectively maintaining the industry standards, and developing inventory
accuracy, as it scans the product at each stage, therefore, the accuracy can be improved and
the management can focus on the product availability at its warehouses (Skeldon, 2018).
Sustainable practices in Supply Chain Management
Supply Chain Management at M&S is effectively designed and maintained by the
management to ensure the effectiveness of the process. The organisation has won an award in
2012 for implementing changes and innovative practices within their supply chain process.

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M&S has effectively established a Plan A to ensure the sustainable development of the
supply chain process, along with the development of the organisation. The plan involved
setting up a team that was focused on the goal and objective of the plan developed. The
organisation’s focus towards continuous and constant improvement within the process and
the organisation have resulted in the achievement of success within the industry (Purt, 2013).
The sustainable practice involves that the organisation focuses on the environmental and
social responsibilities and ensure that they are being fulfilled along with achieving the
strategic goals and objectives. As the customers are becoming aware of such changes and
their impact and require that the organisation focus on the achievement of such goals.
Therefore, M&S effectively focuses on the development of the people living within the
society by providing them with employment opportunities and employees with decent and
safe working conditions. The management focuses on procuring the raw materials from the
farmers and small scale suppliers so that they can get a fair price for their products and can
develop within the industry (M&S, 2019).
M&S has effectively established a sustainability framework in order to ensure that the supply
chain process is encouraging efficiency and process development throughout the production
as well as the distribution of products. Also, it has established certain standards and
commitments that they ensure are being met within the operations. From the process of the
procurement of raw materials from the suppliers to the place of distribution the organisation
focuses on the achievement of the sustainability practices, by ensuring the quality of the raw
materials are being received by the suppliers to the quality of the finished products that are
being provided to the customer within the industry (M&S, 2019).
Conclusion
M&S is a market leader within the UK retail industry and deals in the food as well as fashion
retail industry. Therefore, to ensure the effectiveness within the organisation and to improve
the process efficiency the management focuses on the utilisation of the emerging
technologies and the industry changes so that the changing industry requirements can be
fulfilled along with achieving the sustainable business goals. The retail industry also includes
certain challenges, as it is changing at a fast pace, therefore they are required to be addressed
by the management to retain its position within the industry.

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The major issue faced by the organisation involves meeting the customer demands, predicting
future business conditions, shortage of the labour or the workforce within the industry.
Therefore, M&S effectively focuses on the industry analysis so that the issues, as well as
changes, can be identified and accordingly changes can be made so that the strategic goals
can be met along with mitigating the impact of such issues over the organisation
performance. The management makes effective use of the emerging technologies within the
industry, such as the use of RFID technology in retail inventory management. Therefore, the
practices at M&S are effective to retain its position within the industry and to achieve
success.

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References
Angeles, R., 2016. Marks & Spencer’s RFID Initiative: Laying the Foundation for
Omnichannel Retailing. Digitally Supported Innovation, 1(1), pp. 193-206.
Azevedo, S., Prata, P. & Fazendeiro, P., 2014. 3 - The role of radio frequency identification
(RFID) technologies in improving process management and product tracking in the textiles
and fashion supply chain. Fashion Supply Chain Management Using Radio Frequency
Identification (Rfid) Technologies, 1(1), pp. 42-69.
Britannica, 2020. Marks and Spencers PLC. [Online]
Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Marks-and-Spencer-PLC
[Accessed 12 April 2020].
Deloitte, 2020. Retail Trends. [Online]
Available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/consumer-business/articles/retail-
trends.html
[Accessed 12 April 2020].
Fernie, J. & Sparks, L., 2018. Logistics and Retail Management: Emerging Issues and New
Challenges in the Retail Supply Chain. 5 ed. Lomdon: Kogan Page Publishers.
Frostenson, M. & Prenkert, F., 2015. Sustainable supply chain management when focal firms
are complex: a network perspective. Journal of Cleaner Production, 107(1), pp. 85-94.
Grewal, D., Roggeveen, A. L. & Nordfält, J., 2017. The Future of Retailing. Journal of
Retailing, 93(1), pp. 1-6.
Hugos, M. H., 2018. Essentials of Supply Chain Management. 4 ed. London: John Wiley &
Sons.
LSC, 2013. Marks & Spencer sets out supply chain vision. [Online]
Available at: https://www.logisticsandsupplychain.com/4675-marks-spencer-sets-out-supply-
chain-vision/
[Accessed 12 April 2020].
M&S, 2019. About M&S. [Online]
Available at: https://global.marksandspencer.com/about-ms/
[Accessed 12 April 2020].

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M&S, 2019. Responsible Sourcing. [Online]
Available at: https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/sustainability/business-wide/
responsible-sourcing
[Accessed 12 April 2020].
M&S, 2019. Sustainability Framework. [Online]
Available at: https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/sustainability/food-and-household/
capacity-building-initiatives/sustainability-framework
[Accessed 12 April 2020].
M&S, 2020. Supplier Management. [Online]
Available at: corporate.marksandspencer.com/sustainability/food-and-household/supplier-
management
[Accessed 12 April 2020].
Miami, M., 2020. Top 5 Challenges Facing Retail Supply Chain & Logistics, Right Now.
[Online]
Available at: https://retaildeliveryconnect.wbresearch.com/blog/top-five-challenges-facing-
retail-supply-chain-logistics-industry-strategy
[Accessed 12 April 2020].
Patchett, L., 2019. M&S saves £100m through transformation. [Online]
Available at: https://www.cips.org/supply-management/news/2019/may/ms-saves-100m-
through-transformation/
[Accessed 12 April 2020].
Purt, J., 2013. M&S: supply chain champions of sustainable business. [Online]
Available at: theguardian.com/sustainable-business/marks-and-spencer-supply-chain-
sustainable-business
[Accessed 12 April 2020].
RFID, 2019. M&S. [Online]
Available at: https://rfidworld.ca/marks-spencer-extends-its-use-of-rfid-technology/1344
[Accessed 12 April 2020].
SJ, 2015. Top Five Issues Facing Retail Supply Chains. [Online]
Available at: https://sourcingjournal.com/topics/business-news/top-five-issues-facing-retail-

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supply-chains-cbx-29423/
[Accessed 12 April 2020].
Skeldon, P., 2018. M&S and new report show RFID increases retail sales by up to 5.5%.
[Online]
Available at: https://internetretailing.net/mobile-theme/mobile-theme/mamps-and-new-
report-show-rfid-increases-retail-sales-by-up-to-55-16097
[Accessed 12 April 2020].