Contemporary Analysis of Woolworths Group: Strategic Influences and Implications

This report analyzes the strategic influences on Woolworths Group, including technological advancements, increasing demand for healthy products, and changing business cycles. It discusses the practice of strategy in categorizing these influences and identifies strategic implications for the company. The report also suggests a strategic course of action and sets strategic goals for Woolworths Group.

Contemporary
Analysis

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The report is based on Woolworths Group which is leading retail firm in Australia along
with New Zealand. The company is positioned as second largest retailer in the country in terms
of revenues and customer base. The report identifies three strategic influences iwth their impacts
of results of entity. The profound strategic influences are changing business cycle, technological
advancement and increasing demand for better experinces and healthy products. All these
togetherly impacts on efficiency, productivity and profitability on the company. Further, it
includes practices of strategy to categorise the influences into different influential factors.
Statement of strategic objectives that the company should set and its implication are also stated
in the report. At last, certain recommendation such as training and development to employees,
promotion through different channels, offering products through online platform and in
reasonable price are given for business.

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
AIM .................................................................................................................................................2
DISCUSSION..................................................................................................................................2
Three strategic influence which together puts impacts on company...........................................2
Discussion on practice of strategy categorising the factors and identifying strategic
implications for the firm..............................................................................................................3
Strategic course of action which can be adopted by company....................................................4
Statement of strategic goals the company should set along with their implications on company
......................................................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
RECOMMENDATION ..................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Contemporary analysis is said to use of predictive analytics as well as data science for the
purpose of building simple system that assist in working in smart manner. The analysis helps
organisations in improving customer service, strategic planning, sales etc for attaining optimal
performance with minimal efforts. The project assessment is based on Woolworths Group which
is popular Australian company established in 1924 at New South Wales in Australia. It has
extensive interest in retail and have employee size of nearby 205000. The mission of the retailer
is to deliver best in convenience, quality along with value to customers (Woolworths Group,
2020).
The project addresses three strategic influences which together impact on the company. It
also includes discussion on the ways practice of strategy categorises the factors and identification
of strategic implications for the business. Further, it encompasses strategic course of action
which can be adopted by the entity. At last, it include strategic goals that the company should set
and their implications on business.
AIM
The aim of present report is to gain insights about strategic influences impacting business
and the ways practices related to strategy categorise the factors as well as strategic implication of
them for company.
DISCUSSION
Three strategic influence which together puts impacts on company
Strategic influence are said to art of planning as well as establishing influences among
potential customers, public, employees and prospective clients (Greber and Ruhl, 2019).
Woolworths Group is a large retailer in Australia that works to deliver best to its customers and
gain profitability, sustainability and productivity. The strategic influences that imapcts on
outcomes of Woolworths Group are as identified:
Technological advancements: It is generating information as well as discovering
knowledge which advances understanding of technology. Advancement in technology is
significant for business as it makes them feel more secure in all areas of working and delivering
updated and demanded products to customers at far places. In case with Woolworths Group,
technology advance impacts on outcomes of company in many aspects. For instance, In today's
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era, people have limited duration to buy products from stores so they prefers to use technologies
for online shopping (Hickman and Silva, 2018). When the retailer advances it technology or
harness online shopping platform which enhances its investment in multi channel customers
experience and attracts large customers towards its offering. This impacts positively on outcomes
related to increasing convenience for customers as the online pricing is aligned with store pricing
as well as many new click and collect places are opened that involves drive-thru collection points
for enhancing customer convenience.
Increasing demand for healthy commodities and better experiences: Customers are
becoming more conscious towards their health and are expecting better experiences from
companies. It is perceived that healthy and organic food items are costly as compared to other
food products. In order to meet increasing demand of customers, Woolworths Group have
developed new product categories, processing facilities, improvements on fresh meat supply and
build strategic sourcing relationships that impacts positively on its results to meet customer
demand and gain lotalty from them. However, it cost huge to the company that impacts
negatively in improving profits as the company have to sell the product at limited margins.
Changing business cycle: Business cycle is also termed as economic cycle which is
downward addition to upward movement of GDP in its long period growth trend (Setó-Pamies
and Papaoikonomou, 2016). In Australia, companies experiences irregular fluctuation patterns
within economic activity that impacts negatively on their operations. For example, period of
recession declines activity spread across the nation and tightens credit conditions, uncertainty,
slower demand and general fear. This impacts of Woolworths Group in terms of making less
money, cutting costs through switching suppliers, reduction on spending to improve products and
decrease in product sales. However, stage of recovery denotes turning point wherein demand of
products rises which impacts positively on company as it assist in maintaining and improving
operations of it.
All the mentioned strategic influence together impacts on outcomes of company as
changes in business cycle hampers operations to attain organisational profits and other
objectives. At same time, increasing demand for better experiences as well as healthy
commodities motivates managers of Woolworths Group to meet all and gain loyalty from
potential and prospective customer base. Similarly, technological advancement reduces
additional costs of business and enable the firm to reach to far located customers for increasing
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experiences of large customers with for their decision making and making products available to
them promptly (Ranjan and Read, 2016).
Discussion on practice of strategy categorising the factors and identifying strategic implications
for the firm
Strategy plays crucial role in categorising factors that influences of impacts on outcomes
or result (Dodgson, 2018). Woolworths Group have pricing and value strategy whose practice
are to neutralise Coles as well as includes impacts of other companies on sales of the firm. The
main practice of strategy is to lower pricing, improving loyalty system along with improving the
brand. Following are the ways in which practices of strategy categorises the identified strategic
influences in these factors:
Technological factor: The strategic influence of technological advancement is
categorised under technological factor. The influential factor includes variables which are used
to evaluate available options in context to technological capabilities. Pricing and value strategy
assist Woolworths Group to advancing techiques so that human unskilled operations are
replaced with machinery ones and delivering products at far distance places through online
platforms at fair price system. It is identified the technological advancements in Woolworths
Group harness existing strength of firm and assist in initiating the operations for increasing
customer convenience.
Economic factor: The another strategic influence which is categorised in economic
factor is changing business cycle (Dayan, Heisig and Matos, 2017). The managers of
Woolworths Group feels that the main guarantee about the economy is its changes in no timings.
It is always true and many changes in business cycle or trade cycle are witnessed by the
organiational managers. Pricing and value strategy help the company in maintaining prices of
product and creating values for deliverables in all types of economic situations. Because of
economic ups and downs business managers understands the imapcts they have on operations
and prepare working to deal with them in effective manner. Moreover, changing business cycle
impacts profitability, makes situation complex to deal and decreases sales of offerings. For
managing sustainability of business in changing economy, the company offers products are low
prices and also makes various changes as per the requirements that impacts on its productivity
and efficiency.
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Social factor: Strategic influence of increasing demand for healthy commodities and
better experiences is categorised as social factor. The factor highly impacts performance of
Woolworths Group. In this context, pricing and value strategy perfroms beneficial practices for
lower and middle income group of target customers who are more conscious towards their health
and are unable to buy heathy as well as organic products. To meet the increasing demand,
administrators of the firm have reduces product price at some extent which implied that huge
products were sold in great number which improved revenue and sales demand for the business.
This also significantly impacted on strategy of the company to deal with needs and requirements
of large customer group systematically and promptly.
Strategic course of action which can be adopted by company
Strategic course of action is said to the action plan that explains the ways an organisation
will make their strategy into reality. It is overall plan that defines the aspects in which strategies
as well as management actions are intended for attaining objectives. Business model innovation
is the an effective strategic course of action that can be adopted by managers of Woolworths
Group. The model is art to improve benefits and creating values through making mutually
supportive as well as simultaneous changes in operating strategies of business. By using the
model, the entity will innovate its pricing strategy, business process and other working. In order
to deal with impacts of stratgic influences, Woolworths Group can focus of Woolsworths Food
Strategy with principles including imnprovements in platforms through which it offers its core
products, innovating to meet demands of customers and creating customer values thropugh
executing Lean Retail Model. The strategoic action course is innovation of its old stratgy that is
priocing and value strategy and will benefit the company in trusting its customers, improving
technological aspects of shopping, increasing shares of spending by lower prices and managing
operations smoothly in changing business cycle (Burgelman, 2020).
Statement of strategic goals the company should set along with their implications on company
Strategic goals are particular financial addition to non financial objectives that results the
practices of firm to attain over determined time period. Following is statement of strategic goals
that should be set by Woolworths Group along iwth the implications on business:
“To increase earning of company through improving values of all stakeholders and managing
cost as well as ensuring sustainability for longer period”.
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The statement will imply on future success on Woolworths Group and assist it to develop
and expand in competitive business environment. Moreover, the company will win trust of its
customers through placing customers at iniation of all things and providing compelling offers
with greater innovation (Tortorella and Fettermann, 2018). It is clear from the statement that
lower prices are important to achieve true battleground and providing superior freshness, more
appealing range and better convenience to all the stakeholders.
CONCLUSION
From the report it is concluded that contemporary analysis gives opportunities to
company to determine strategic influences and practices of strategy to devise a clear statement of
strategic objectives. The strategic influences which impacts business in many aspects are
technological advancement, changing business cycle, increasing demand of customers for
healthy and better experiences. All these impacts together on business outcomes in context to
profitability, productivity, efficiency and sustainability. The practice of strategy categorises the
strategic influences on influential factors that are social, technological and economical. Strategic
course of action guides the firm to make certain innovation in existing organisational strategy
and achieve set aspects in effective manner. Business model innovation is the strategic action
course that must be adopted by the company in order to deal with complexities of impacts of
strategic influences. Strategic goals are devised for identifying intended accomplishments of
business and its strategy. Through devising strategic gaols, business identify what they perceive
as result of the efforts and operations.
RECOMMENDATION
From the identified strategic influences and their impacts, Woolworths Group is
recommneded to pay more emphasis towards implementing strategic efforts and make effective
use of business innovation model. The company is also recommnded to use distinct promotion or
marketingh channels for the purpose of improving awareness of its offerings among far located
population. The firm should provide adequate training and developmnet sessions to newly and
old hired employees so that they become competent in analysing situation requirements and
managing complexities in easy and systematic ways. The firm is also recommendfed to make
improvement in its offline stores and must update technologies as per customer and employee
convenience. The business must condust market resercah in order to analyse the future trends
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and becoming ready to manage operations in all situations with in business cycle. At last,
Woolworths Group is recommended to offer food and other products through online platform at
reasonable prices.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Billett, S. (2020). Learning in the workplace: Strategies for effective practice. Routledge.
Burgelman, R. A. (2020). Strategy is destiny: How strategy-making shapes a company's future.
Free Press.
Dayan, R., Heisig, P., & Matos, F. (2017). Knowledge management as a factor for the
formulation and implementation of organization strategy. Journal of Knowledge
Management.
Dodgson, M. (2018). Technological collaboration in industry: strategy, policy and
internationalization in innovation (Vol. 11). Routledge.
Greber, N. O., & Ruhl, K. C. (2019). The Hopewell site: a contemporary analysis based on the
work of Charles C. Willoughby. Routledge.
Hickman, C. R., & Silva, M. A. (2018). Creating excellence: Managing corporate culture,
strategy, and change in the new age. Routledge.
Ranjan, K. R., & Read, S. (2016). Value co-creation: concept and measurement. Journal of the
Academy of Marketing Science. 44(3). 290-315.
Setó-Pamies, D., & Papaoikonomou, E. (2016). A multi-level perspective for the integration of
ethics, corporate social responsibility and sustainability (ECSRS) in management
education. Journal of Business Ethics. 136(3). 523-538.
Online:
Woolworths Group. 2020. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/>
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