Impact of Covid-19 and Brexit on UK's Supply Chain and Business Operations

This article discusses the impact of Covid-19 and Brexit on UK's supply chain and business operations. It covers the business models of ALDI and Tesco, and the importance of marketing in operation management. The article also talks about the ethical practices adopted by Tesco to mitigate the risk involved in the supply chain. The content is relevant for students studying business and management courses.

INTRODUCTION TO
BUSINESS

Table of Contents
TASK-1............................................................................................................................................3
TASK-2............................................................................................................................................4
Question-1....................................................................................................................................4
Question-2....................................................................................................................................4
TASK-3............................................................................................................................................5
TASK-4............................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

TASK-1
The recent Covid-19 crisis is one of the most influential events for the companies,
investors and the market players in UK. The negative impact of the pandemic has affected every
service oriented sectors in the country. The disruptions in the supply chains due to the
natural calamities in the country. It has affected the supply chain and resulted in shortage of food
and consumer products in the market due to the crisis. The various business activities and supply
chains was delayed and suspended due to the restriction of demand and supply and closing of the
food production in the factories (Nezamova, and Olentsova, , 2020). The restrictions resulted
into delay and shortage of the consumer products. The lockdown in the country have restricted or
delayed the supply chain in the country of the food and consumer products in the market. The
emergence of the crisis have forced the consumer to shift to healthy eating habits but the major
issue faced that many consumers preferred to buy food items which sometimes get delayed due
to the strict guidelines of the government (Brunori,and et.al, 2020). The government took
various measures in order to deliver the food and other necessary consumer products on time and
also balance the impact of crisis in the country.
The country was affected after the Post-Brexit as there was delay in the food imports and
agricultural products and resulted into disruption in the supply chain in UK. The term Brexit
refers to the withdrawal process of United Kingdom from the European Union. The economy of
the country was slowed down as compared to the economy before Brexit (Lai, and Pan, , 2021).
It was observed that EU was the UK's largest market and after Brexit, UK faced major issues
related to the supply chains which resulted in the shortage and delayed in the consumer products
which forced the company to shift to the local suppliers which charged higher prices for the
products as there was no other option. It was predicted that many businesses have to face and
suffer damage and delays due to import checks and product labelling. Apart from the Brexit
issues, the economy of the country was badly affected by the emergence of the Covid-19 wave
which forced the owners to shut down there stores due to heavy losses suffered by the company
(Simionescu, 2018). The country suffered various restriction imposed by the government in order
to reduce the spread of the infection which was challenging for the company to overcome their
losses. Both Brexit and pandemic has forced the company to shift to local suppliers which
resulted into increase in their operational costs.

TASK-2
Question-1
ALDI, German supermarket that is a discount groceries chain founded in 1946 is one of the
leasing supermarket because of its successful operational management. The company is currently
having 10,000 stores in 17 countries across Europe, Australia, United States and China. The
company is planning to expand its business operations in Germany. No, the business model used
by the company various from industry to industry (Schmid, and et.al, 2018). Every business
model is framed after considering the various factors in order to sustain and increases the
customer base. The company involve in the efficient inventory management that helps in
forecasting for the products on small scale rather than on large scale which reduces the wastage
of the products and chances of stock outs of the company. The business model used by ALDI
may not be successful in other industries as the requirement of every sector is different. The
company also operates in small area as it is easier to accommodate in smaller area and also as per
the comfort of the customers. But this business model cannot work when the company wants to
expand its business in various countries (Stanton, 2018). The company main purpose is not to
operate in large space but in limited space it aims at fulfilling the requirements of the customers
which helps the company to invite the customers and communicate in order to know the needs
and supply the products in the market. The company business model is based on selling products
at cheap rate and does not focus on competition. The company sells limited number of products
and this type of business model may not be successful in other industries. The demand and
preferences of the customers keep on changing and ALDI offers limited numbers of products
which can be a challenge for the company as the companies operating in same sector offers
variety of products.
Question-2
Customer sacrifice means the gap between the products and services offered by the
company and what the customers want. The customer wants the products and services which are
of reasonable value that they can afford and of good quality. ALDI company is the known as the
discount grocery store which offers the quality products at discount as compared to other
supermarkets in the country (ones, and Comfort, 2019). Aldi is running shorter opening hours
than its competitors, which has helped in optimizing store operating costs. The company is not
located in top locations and does not have customized stores as the space is limited. The

company focuses on understanding the essential needs and demands of the customers and make
plans and strategies to offer those products as it helps in increase in customer base The company
has diversified its business into various countries and have further plans to expand its operation
in near future. The company has its stores which is very small as compared to other
supermarkets in order to provide the customers with limited products but of superior quality. The
customers want the quality and cheap products which is offered by the company but if the
customers want variety of products have to seek to big supermarkets but the disadvantage faced
is of the high prices offered by other company (Geyskens, 2018). Many customers prefer that the
supermarkets should be in the prime location that is easy for the customers to visit. The company
focuses on building small supermarkets in various locations which enable the customers to easily
find the stores. If the customers want to quality products and prices which they can offer have to
sacrifice other things such as large supermarkets. The customer seeks the stores where all the
products are available at one place.
TASK-3
TESCO company is one of the leading British multinational groceries headquartered in
England and is one of the third-largest retailer in the world. The company has its in five countries
across Europe and is ninth-largest retailing company in the world. The company has expanded its
operations in 11 countries in the world. The firm is diversified geographically since the year
1900s in the areas of retailing that includes the books, clothing furniture, software and toys. The
company focuses on delivering quality products in the market and also satisfy the requirements
of the customers (Knowles, 2011). It was observed that the company was following unethical
practices which was harming the environment and local communities, retailer, suppliers and
consumers. This resulted in reducing the demand for the products in the market and forced the
consumer to shift to different brand. In order to maximize its profits, Tesco was paying less to
the suppliers and these parties was directly harming the customer. Due to this the company
started facing various issues that is climatic change, environmental issues, human rights and
worker rights. The positive ethical practises regarding the Human Rights approach which
concentrated on the adopting ethical practices. The company has launched its first ethical
initiative within the internal team and also with the supplier with the motive of buying and
selling the products ethically. The company is focusing on implementing the human rights
breach and the main purpose of this approach is to treat the suppliers fairly and building trust.

The company has introduced the human rights chain programme to deliver quality and
branded products to its customers. The company focused on Risk assessment, mitigating the risk
and monitoring and communication (Blowfield, 1999). The company has adopted various
procedures and techniques in order to identify the risk related to the supply chains. These
techniques help to identify the risk factors and work out on it that include the areas such as
working environment, gender and sustainable livelihood for workers working in the company.
The management has planned to first identify the risk involved and then collaborate with the
suppliers and policy-makers in order to mitigate the risk involved in overcoming it. The
company can focus on framing new and advanced plans and procedures in order to avoid the
unethical practices which can affect the customers and also the profits of the company. The
competitors are increasing rapidly which also supply he products which is offered by the
company. It is the responsibility of the company to adopt ethical practices and rules which are in
the interest of the customers and also maintain the brand image of the company in the
marketplace.

TASK-4
Part-1
Slide-1

Slide-2

Slide-3
Notes:
It gives the detailed analysis of the past performance of the company and helps in building
stronger marketing strategies.

Slide-4
Notes:
Marketing the business have long-term impact on the business as there are many barriers and
competitors in the market.
If the company wants to sell its products directly to its customers, by using various marketing
strategies and methods enable the company to increase its brand awareness
It also helps in making the product visible to large number of audience which will result in
increase in customer base.
If the existing company has to introduce new products in the market and with the help of
effective marketing tools will directly reflect the sales and revenue of the company.
If the existing company has to introduce new products in the market and with the help of
effective marketing tools will directly reflect the sales and revenue of the company.
The customer of the company is classified into two types new and existing customers and it is
important for the company to expand its customer base.
Proper marketing tools will help the company to attract new customers and retain the old ones
which will benefit the overall business management of the company.
It will also help in increasing its sales and profitability of the company.

Slide:5

Slide:6

Part-2 reflection
My presentation was based on the marketing which is defined as the activities undertaken
by the company in order to promote the products and services. My presentation is based on the
impact of marketing on operation management. Marketing is considered as an important part of
the company as by using the effective marketing strategy the company can promote its products
and services through various sources in order to reach maximum number of customers and also
to gain competitive advantage over other companies. Marketing helps the company to understand
the preferences and lifestyle of the customers which helps the operational management to supply
according to the demands of the customers. In my presentation I reflected upon how marketing
affect the overall business management of the company which states that it helps in generating
sales as through the application of various marketing tools and methods the company can market
their products and services worldwide by also helps in resolving the customer issue. I also
realized that through proper use of marketing techniques enable the company to build its brand
awareness about the quality products and services offered by the company that reflects the sales
of the company for long term. In my presentation I did not specify the interrelationship of
marketing with other departments and if considered would have helped me in presenting quality
work. I could have added more information on the various method through which the company
can promote its products in the market and increase its customer base which help to increase its
sales and revenue of the company.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Lai, K.P. and Pan, F., 2021. Brexit and shifting geographies of financial centres in
Asia. Geoforum, 125, pp.201-202.
Simionescu, M., 2018. The impact of Brexit on the UK inwards FDI. Economics, management
and sustainability, 3(1), pp.6-20.
Nezamova, O.A. and Olentsova, J.A., 2020, August. Adaptation problems of the food market to
modern conditions. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol.
548, No. 8, p. 082023). IOP Publishing.
Brunori,and et.al, 2020. Agricultural and Food Economics: the challenge of
sustainability. Agricultural and Food Economics, 8(1), pp.1-2.
Schmid, AND ET.AL, 2018. Aldi and Lidl: from Germany to the rest of the world.
In Internationalization of Business (pp. 81-98). Springer, Cham.
Stanton, J.L., 2018. A brief history of food retail. British Food Journal.
Jones, P. and Comfort, D., 2019. “Better Retail, Better World”: A commentary on British
retailers and the sustainable development goals. Journal of Public Affairs, 19(2),
p.e1910.
Geyskens, I., 2018. Retailer power in the grocery industry. In Handbook of research on retailing.
Edward Elgar Publishing.
Knowles, S., 2011. The commodification of ethics. The Politics of Fair Trade, pp.24-36.
Blowfield, M., 1999. Ethical trade: a review of developments and issues. Third World
Quarterly, 20(4), pp.753-770.