Digital Business: Key Trends, Emerging Models, Collaborative Relationships, and E-commerce Principles for Tesco

This report discusses the key trends and benefits of digital technology, implications of managing virtual business, and critical evaluation of new digital business models in context of cyber security and ethics at Tesco. It also assesses the impact of collaborative relationships and strategic alliances through digital technology and discusses various e-commerce principles that could be used by Tesco to enhance business performance.

Digital Business
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Table of content
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Tasks ...............................................................................................................................................3
1. Provide an overview of the various key trends and advantages of digital technology along
with the implications of managing virtual business in the global environment in context of the
chosen business...........................................................................................................................3
2. Provide a critical evaluation of the new and emerging digital business models in context of
the key business issues in context of cyber security and ethics at Tesco....................................5
3. Assess the impact of new collaborative relationships and strategic alliances through the
digital technology for Tesco........................................................................................................7
4. Discuss the various e commerce principles that could be used by Tesco in order to enhance
the business performance. ..........................................................................................................8
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
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Introduction
Digital business is referred to the process that comprises of application of digital
technology in order to reinvent the business models and further involves transformation of the
product of an organisation along with the customer experiences. The concept of Digital business
involves creation of value in the business models, customer experiences as well as the internal
capabilities. Digital business can be considered as an approach that has been proven successful
with the help of data science, design thinking as well as process knowledge in order to combine
with the deep technology capabilities in order to unite the physical and virtual aspects of the
organisation across various channels (Becker, Schmid and Botzkowski, 2018).
In order to complete the report, Tesco has been considered as the primary organisation
for the Digital Business report. Tesco is a multinational organisation that deals in groceries and
general products. It is the third largest retailer in the world in terms of gross revenues. The
organisation was founded in the year 1919 by Jack Cohen. Tesco also established its digital
platform by the name tesco.com in order to facilitate online shopping that was established in the
year 2000.
Tasks
1. Provide an overview of the various key trends and advantages of digital technology along with
the implications of managing virtual business in the global environment in context of the
chosen business.
There have been various trends and advantages of digital technology along with the
implication of the managing virtual business in the global environment. The trends and benefits
of digital technology have been discussed below ( Beliaeva and et.al., 2019).
Trends
The trends in the digital technology in context of Tesco have been discussed below-
 5G main streaming- The 5G has been the talk of the groups since a long time but the
needs have arisen for 5G networks immensely due to remote work, digital collaborations
as well as video conferencing.
 Customer data explosion- The customer data platforms have seen a rise with a good
intention. The fragmented data from multiple sources can be at times difficult to to
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organise. These data are required by the organisations and usually make huge unvestment
for them. Cyber security- The cyber security has become the need of the hour due to an explosion
towards the digitalisation after the pandemic. There have been rise in the cases of hacking
and thus this has become the need in the present situation.
Benefits
The Benefits of the digital technology in context of Tesco have been discussed below (Cahen
and Borini, 2020)-
 Enhanced data collection- The digital technology has helped the organisation to have an
enhanced data collection in aspect of the customers. The motive or the benefit of the data
collection is to optimise the data for further analysis in order to drive the business
forward. It has helped Tesco in collection of correct business data in order to meet with
the business intelligence at the higher level.
 Greater resource management- Digital technology has helped in consolidating and
managing the information and resources with the help of various tools of the business.
Instead of fragmented databases and software, the digital technology has allowed the
businesses to keep all the resources of the organisation at one place.
 Data driven customer insights- Data has helped in building insights that have helped in
understanding the customer as well as their needs in order to formulate various business
strategies that are customer centric. Various structured data, unstructured data along with
the social media metric have helped in driving business growth.
 Better customer experience- The expectations of the customer are high as they have
been blessed with endless choices for the products along with low price and faster
delivery. The digital businesses have been facing immense competition in order to
achieve the level of customer experience in the industry.
 Encourages digital culture- The digital businesses have allowed the organisation to
encourage digital culture by improving collaborations. The digital business has allowed
Tesco to use various tools in accordance with the environment that have facilitated
transformation at the workplaces to encourage digital culture. It has led to upliftment of
the skills among the employees of the organisation (Geliskhanov Islam, Yudina Tamara
and Babkin Alexander, 2018).
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 Improved productivity- The use of digital technology has helped the organisation to
work with utmost effectiveness and efficiency in order to stream line its work and further
enhance the productivity of the organisation. The digitalisation has helped in minimising
the manual work that has further led to reduction in the errors and further improved the
efficiency.
Implications
The Implications of the digital technology in context of Tesco have been discussed below-
 From 'Bricks and Mortar' to 'Bricks and Clicks' – Tesco has grabbed the opportunity
to establish a business model in order to develop an online grocery channel. This has led
to an increased sales for Tesco as the organisation was able to meet the demands of the
customers in the market. Despite so many benefits, Tesco had to face various obstacles
while expansion of business such as huge investments along with supply chain processes
(Gobble, 2018).
 Implementation of a digitalized in store experience- In order to improve the efficiency
of Tesco, Tesco has invested upon the in-store initiatives that allows the customers to
scan while shopping and further check out without the help of Tesco employees. This has
led in cost reduction at the business organisation.
 Customer loyalty scheme- Tesco has invested upon the customer loyalty schemes that is
tagged with a unique customer ID with every purchase that has resulted in the
amalgamation of millions of customer in purchasing the data points. This has led to more
than 16.5 million customer subscription for the Club card in the United Kingdom that has
helped the business to gain loyal and long time customers for the business. The scheme
has been linked with the help of digital technology that has facilitated Tesco to rise the
revenue generations in the market in comparison with the competitors.
2. Provide a critical evaluation of the new and emerging digital business models in context of the
key business issues in context of cyber security and ethics at Tesco.
The business model of Tesco has faced various business issues in terms of cyber security
and ethics. Various business issues that have been faced by Tesco have been discussed below
(Gruber, 2019).
 People- It was discovered that one of the supplier of Tesco were found to be caught using
the slave labour. It was investigated that this was the largest ever modern slavery of the
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United Kingdom that was exposed in the modern era. It was found that nearly 400
victims worked and they were paid very less in order to earn a basic living for an
individual. These workers used used to work upon farms, poultry factories, rubbish
recycling centres. This had to led to affecting the brand image of Tesco under unethical
issues.
 Environment- Tesco was found guilty under the business ethics when it was found to be
using toxic chemicals for its electronic products as a public policy was not introduced for
these products. Tesco had taken a pledge that it would not discharge hazardous chemicals
by 2020 but these were not included in the case of electronics, agriculture, leather as well
as textiles. Further, use of Phthalates that is used in plastic in form of plasticisers and
flame retardants are banned in the European Union. But Tesco has not provided details
regarding the use of chemicals like parabens and triclosan that are equally disastrous or
harmful as Phthalates. Due to this, organisation has lost ratings due to the toxics and
pollution (Hanelt and et.al., 2021).
 Animals- Tesco deals in supplying the meat products and eggs as a retailer. Tesco
experienced a downfall in the animal testing rating. The reason behind the downfall was
that Tesco has removed the fixed cut off date for animal testing of their own brands and
products. This has led to decrease in trust of the individuals in the brand and its products.
 Politics- There were concerns that were raised after Tesco had revealed its remuneration
report. It was found that Tesco had been evading taxed through various tax evading
policies. This was considered as an unethical issues that was identified at Tesco. This led
to defamation of the brand image of Tesco in the market as a huge corporation like Tesco
is considered as an example for other businesses and such incidents hinder the goodwill
of the organisation (Tone, 2020).
 Cyber security- The Financial conduct authority of UK had announced that Tesco was
fined with the amount of 16.4 Million pounds as it had faced a cyber attack. The personal
current account of the customers were the targets and it was identified that details of the
personal accounts were compromised from the side of the organisation. It was found that
the cyber attack was highly avoidable and this was caused merely due to the negligence
of the organisation. The cause behind this cyber issues was lack of skill, care as well as
diligence.
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3. Assess the impact of new collaborative relationships and strategic alliances through the digital
technology for Tesco.
Collaborative relationships and strategic alliances are techniques wherein two or more
organisations make efforts towards the accomplishment of common goals. Each have a different
impact over the organisation in terms of digital technology (Lee, Lee and Chou, 2017).
The impact of collaborative relationships through digital technology at Tesco have been
discussed below.
 Enhanced communication- Digital technologies have helped the organisation to have an
effective communication among the employees and also among the organisations. There
are various collaboration digital tools that have eased the organisation with
communication process.
 Enhanced security- The need of the organisation is the security over online platforms so
that they can maintain confidentiality of their documents. Hence there are digital
collaborations that facilitate encryption in order to control visibility of the data of the
organisation.
 Quick editing- During collaborations, the digital technology have helped the
organisation to quickly edit the documents rather than sending the documents back and
forth. It has also helped in proper access of the various documents through digital portals
to various employees of the organisation.
The impact of strategic alliances through digital technology at Tesco have been discussed
below.
 Speeds up entry in a new market- Strategic alliances have facilitated an effective an
easy entry for the organisations in the market. These help the organisation to avoid
hardships of new business by getting into an alliance with an organisation that is already
existing in to the market.
 Enhances sales- Strategic alliances have led to increase in the sales of the business and
can further help in the business expansion (Mhlungu, Chen and Alkema, 2019).
 Enhanced Learning- Strategic alliances have helped the organisations to enhance their
skills with the help of already existing organisations in the market as they are considered
as highly experienced and highly skilled.
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4. Discuss the various e commerce principles that could be used by Tesco in order to enhance the
business performance.
There are various principles that are required or can be followed by Tesco.online in order
to enhance the business performance of Tesco. The various principles that can be used by Tesco
have been discussed below (Schallmo and Daniel, 2018).
 User friendliness- An online website or web portal must be such that it is easy to operate
and navigate for the customers. If a website is easy to navigate so that the products can be
searched in an optimal manner, this promotes the desire to buy among the individuals. An
ideal website is the one that provides optimum detail and pictures of the products in order
to depict and facilitate better understanding of the products. This is very essential in order
to generate a trust among the individual in the products without seeing or touching them
in actual.
 Design- The website or the web page of Tesco.online must be designed in a way that
reflects the identity of the organisation. The organisation can choose a design or the
colour of the website that is able to sooth the eyes of the customer. The design must be
attractive enough that is capable of impressing the customers. While the website look is
the first impression of the organisation it needs to be eye catchy and must be such that the
consumer visits again and again. The website design must be designed in a way that it is
able to meet and serve the needs of the customers (Soto-Acosta, 2020).
 Emphasis on security- The website and the design must focus upon the security needs
and the security issues at the organisation. The organisation must make sure that the
personal and financial details of the individual are kept safe, secure and confidential.
These details must not be shared with others or any third party. It is the duty of the
organisation or the digital business to make sure that the payment gateway is safe and
secure. In case any discrepancies are found, it will affect the leads and sign up process
that will have a direct impact upon the sales targets of the business of Tesco.
 Responsive technology- The digital businesses must focus over the establishment of a
responsive technology for the website or the online business portal. Most of the
businesses use over sized images with the heavy HTML coding in order to make their
website attractive for the visitors or the customers. But the drawback off these are, that
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the websites slow down and take more time to load. A slow website will lack customer
footfall and can prove as a benefit for the competitors (Sousa, and Rocha, 2019).
 Target audience information- It is important for the organisation to understand their
customers well and then accordingly design the websites according to their needs and
serve them better. The organisation can trace their buying patterns and suggest them
products accordingly that helps in enhancing the experience of the users and it is more
likely to lift up the revenue generation of the digital business organisation.
 Search bar or column- A search bar option or a search column is a tool of e commerce
shopping website portal that proves as a huge benefit for the business organisation. It is
helpful in facilitating the customers to search a product that the customer is willing to
buy. This helps in saving time and efforts of the customer as it protects them from a
tedious task of going through all the products as it takes them directly to webpage
showcasing the products they desire.
 Effective product description- The website of Tesco online must focus upon providing
effective and important details regarding the product that are being offered by the
website. These information play an important role in convincing the customers to buy the
products through their description along with images and reviews. These are essential in
order to make the buyer relate with their buying needs. These are important in order to
gain trust of the customers as the people may feel under confident while shopping from
virtual platforms. These descriptions help in increasing the return on Investments in long
term.
 Minimal layout- The organisation must focus upon having a minimal layout of the
website. This means that website of Tesco must be designed in a way that it eliminates
the repetitive data, information or commands as these can be confusing at times. Minimal
layout will help in having a desirable layout rather than making it a bulky one. A
minimalistic website is easy to load and easy to attract customers towards it due to the
only required elements present on the website (Teichert, 2019).
 Consistent branding- It is very important for the organisation to keep the identity of the
brand consistent that will help in differentiating the brand values and offerings of the
stores from the competitors. The business must ensure that the colour, design, action
buttons, texts and various other elements along with the style and design must be in the
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eccentricity of the brand to seem more attractive (Zaychenko, Smirnova and Borremans,
2018).
Conclusion
It can be concluded that Digital business has played a significant role in upliftment of the
business organisation and its performance. Digital business concept is basically a business that is
operated through the mode of digital technology. The report has highlighted an overview of the
various trends along with the importance of the digital technology along with the various
implication in context of the Digital business. The report has also highlighted various principles
that can be followed by the organisation to enhance the reach of the business. Further, the impact
of collaborations and strategic alliance shave been discussed in the report along with the various
issues that are faced by the organisation in terms of cyber security and ethics.
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REFERENCES
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Gobble, M.M., 2018. Digital strategy and digital transformation. Research-Technology
Management, 61(5), pp.66-71.
Gruber, H., 2019. Proposals for a digital industrial policy for Europe. Telecommunications
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Hanelt, A. and et.al., 2021. A systematic review of the literature on digital transformation:
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Lee, M.X., Lee, Y.C. and Chou, C.J., 2017. Essential implications of the digital transformation in
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Mhlungu, N.S., Chen, J.Y. and Alkema, P., 2019. The underlying factors of a successful
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Schallmo, A. and Daniel, R., 2018. Digital Transformation Now! Guiding the Successful
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Soto-Acosta, P., 2020. COVID-19 pandemic: Shifting digital transformation to a high-speed
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Sousa, M.J. and Rocha, Á., 2019. Skills for disruptive digital business. Journal of Business
Research, 94, pp.257-263.
Teichert, R., 2019. Digital transformation maturity: A systematic review of literature. Acta
universitatis agriculturae et silviculturae mendelianae brunensis.
Tone, K., 2020. A digital e-commerce approach for optimizing economic equality in
Indonesia. International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology, 29(6s), pp.532-
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Zaychenko, I., Smirnova, A. and Borremans, A., 2018. Digital transformation: the case of the
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