Retail Operations and Supply Chain Management

This assignment delves into various aspects of retail operations and supply chain management, including key performance indicators, production systems, and inter-store stock transfer operations. It also touches on the impact of information technology in total quality management and its role in omnichannel retailing. The analysis provides a thorough understanding of the subject matter, making it an ideal resource for students looking to excel in their studies.

Management and operation

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
b) The functions of a manager according to Fayol using M & S as an example According to
Henri Fayol there are five functions of manager like:................................................................3
c) situational leadership, systems leadership and contingency leadership using various
scenarios in M & S to support your explanation.........................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
1.different approaches to operations management .....................................................................5
2.Role of store manager..............................................................................................................6
3.Importance of operations management in your store...............................................................8
4.Factor affecting operation of ADSA........................................................................................9
5. External factor affecting store management of ADSA-.......................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Operation management is basically an area of management that is linked with designing
and controlling the process of production and re-designing. Present study will focus on ASDA
Stores Ltd company. It is retail online fresh grocery store that has been headquartered in United
Kingdom, London. Task 1 has presented the company Marks and Spencer that is an online retail
store. This helps them in gaining competitive advantage. Organisation is been founded in 1949.
They have unique selling chain that has distributing channels. Firm is engaged in selling
products through their online channels. Report focuses on roles and responsibilities performed by
leaders and managers in the organisation. It highlights upon differences and similarities of
leaders and mangers. Various leadership theories like System leadership, situational leadership,
and contingency leadership has been discussed in the study. Also it lays emphasis on various
channels taken by organisation to increase their efficiency.
TASK 1
a) Differences and similarities between a leader and manager considering their roles and
characteristics.
Differences between a leader and manager are:
Leader Manager
 Leaders focusses on creating a vision and
engage and inspire people to achieve
them in reality.
 Leaders always believe in changes for
innovation(McCleskey, J.A., 2014.).
They understand the fact that changes
can make things better even if they are
working properly before changes.
 Leaders create their own unique style.
They are innovative, transparent and
authentic.
 Leaders always try new things
 Managers Focuses on creating and
achieving goals, as done in M & S.
 Managers try to maintain their status i.e.
they stick with their work but try to make
them better by refining them.
 Managers always copy what they learn
from others, adopt their style rather than
making their own leadership style.
 Managers try to control or minimize risk
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knowingly they may fail or success or
we can say that they are comfortable
taking risks.
 Leaders are not scared of the long pull,
they intentionally do what they say
without receiving any awards.
 Leaders try to learn new things daily, so
that they don't stand still to fall behind.
They curiously seek information on new
topics.
 Leaders always know who their
stakeholders are and always stick with
them to know their visions and deliver
results they want. Like in M&S all the
stakeholders and Leader are known to
each other and know each other They try
to remain loyal to their work.
 Leaders know all the people who work
with them are able to find answers or
have answers. They do not tell them
what to do or what not to do or how that
particular work can be done.
as done in all the organization like M&S.
They never try new things, they always
try to control or rather avoid problems.
 Managers always try to work on short
goals and always seek more appreciation,
acknowledgement and rewards.
 Managers never try innovation, they
always stick to the things, skills and
behaviour which made them successful.
 Managers always try to build system or
structure and process to achieve set
goals. Even they work with individual
but to achieve their goals or objective.
 Managers directs its employees and
assign them tasks, guides them how to
accomplish their task.
Similarities between a leader and manager are:Both leaders and managers try to maintain
discipline and order in the organization. They both work on direct and indirect operations in an
organization so that its system is crystal clear(Mendenhall and et.al., 2017). Both leaders and
managers concentrates on relationship between people so that proper decisions can be taken to
achieve goals and maintain structure. They always work together to inspire people for their
effective performance which can influence the outcomes.
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b) The functions of a manager according to Fayol using M & S as an example According to
Henri Fayol there are five functions of manager like:
 Planning: First and the foremost function of a manager is planning. They need to make a
good plan of action which is the hardest part. They need to make each employee of the
company to take active participation to implement it with respect to time. For example in
M&S managers need to do planning of how all the resources will be utilized and revenue
can be increased.
 Organizing: If an organization is well-organized then only it can function perfectly. It is
the function of a manager that an organization should perform nicely(Shafritz and et.al.,
2015). They need to make sure that all the raw materials, staff and capitals are present in
sufficient amount, for smooth running of an organization. If managers perform their
functions properly then an organization will not get affected if an organization expands
both vertically and horizontally by increasing functions in an organization. For example
M&S is thinking of entering in food market, this will increase its function and this is the
job of a manger to organize everything so that the company can perform well in the new
market.
 Commanding: When employees are given clear instructions or orders, they know what
they need to deliver or what is expected form them. Successful managers communicate
clearly, have integrity, and on regular basis take decisions. They motivate team and
encourage them to take initiatives. Like in M&S all the employees are given clear
instructions
 Coordinating: For better functioning of an organization it is important that all the
activities should be organized properly like in M&S each and every function and
activities are well organized. Its really important to influence employees behaviour.
Coordination basically mean to motivate and discipline group of individual working in an
organization. This requires communication skills of a good manager to influence
employees behaviour to coordinate and achieve goals and objective.
 Controlling: Controlling and verification of things that they are going according to plan
is very important. This is a managers' responsibility make sure of everything. They
measure reports on daily basis and actual performance. Based on standards and
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performance they need to compare results. They also need to take preventive and
corrective measures as needed.
c) situational leadership, systems leadership and contingency leadership using various scenarios
in M & S to support your explanation.
 Situational Leadership: According to maturity level of all the subordinates, competence
and skill sets an adoptive leadership style chosen known as Situational leadership. This
strategy make leaders choose leadership style which suits best. This leadership model
does development of people and work-groups, use a common leadership style in all the
units in the organization.
Take an example of M & S, leaders need to take ideas ans suggestion from their juniors to take
decision or to improve their marketing(Dinhand et.al., 2014). In this communication process is
no longer one side. This type of leadership is used where sub ordinates cannot work on their
own, they need guidence from their supervisors and boost their self esteem and improve their
work.
 System Leadership: System leadership is a leadership in which leaders in an
organization are allowed to create conditions for every level people so that they can work
productively and efficiently to their level. This leadership provides tools to leaders, so
that they can predict employee's behaviour in an organisation. But this theory also have
few disadvantages like inter-dependence nature is not defined, this strategy is not
practical always, sometimes because of this leadership there is delay in making decisions.
For example: M & S is also in food and beverages business, so different countries may have
different kind of food but to get food we need to follow the same system as walk in a line, look
for the food in menu card, order meal you want to order and after payment you get your meal.
 Contingency Leadership: When leaders effectiveness depends upon matching style of
leader's to right situation is called contingency leadership. After study of various leaders
in different areas this theory was developed. In other words we can say that way of
managing should depend upon the circumstances. All doesn't fit in one size. But this
theory al so have some con's like any modelled system verification and validation is
important.
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Right individual's can be methods or instruments for an organization success. For example: In M
& S recruitment officer have a vital role in section of sales officer. Selected sales officer should
have tactics needed and knowledge with required qualification which can affect M & S revenue
collection or profit. So the recruitment officer need to be careful about an individuals' assessment
before recruiting them and handing over the sales officer title. The recruitment officer can
implement theory of contingency in the process of sales officer selection.
TASK 2
1.different approaches to operations management
Operation management activities are done for increase efficiencies of production
department. Production department in responsible for convert raw material into finish good so
operations' management done in every level of production to insure quality of output, smooth
supply of required raw material and control time and resource wastage. ADS's operation plan
consist all managerial function like planing for input and output, organising, staffing and
controlling for production process.(Kang and et.al., 2016.)
Six sigma of ADSA
Six sigma approach focus on maintain quality by identify errors and defect and eliminate
these errors as soon as possible so that it can not hamper the quality for production as well as
save cost and time. Six sigma quality management can be done with help of various meth and
techniques like variation analysis, Pugh matrix, process mapping and measurement system
analysis(MSA). These techniques help manager to identify the variation and error so that he can
take corrective action. ASDA Stores store manager follow the standard six sigma process which
is given below-
 Identify and define the customer need and requirement. For ASDA Stores Ltd manager
identify that customer want smooth shopping experience and quick checkout.
 Define the problem- store manager find long queue in payment section of the store.
 Measure -Store do not have self check out technology like portable POS, contactless
payment options, lack of sensors to count purchased product etc.
 Analyse- store manager analyse the technological lack in his store which is major cause
of customer dissatisfaction. He also finds the solution like different software and
technology will be implement to solve this problem.
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 Improve- store manager of ASDA Stores Ltd acquire the latest technology for his store
like scanning while shopping, mobile payment, RFID tag on product, self check out app
etc.
 Control – manager take customer feedback after implement the technology. If there is
any problem faced by customer in payment and quick checkout ,he takes technical
assistance from IT companies(Evans. and Lindsay, 2014)
Total quality management –
In total quality management all departments of organisation contribute to improve
product, process and service to achieve the long term goal of organisation. ASDA Stores Ltd
TQM have major focus on customer satisfaction. its store manager arrange training and
development programme for store staff so that staff can improve its empathy skill and soft
communication skill. ASDA Stores Ltd use RFID inventory management in warehouse which
provide inventory quantity information to supplier, finance department and marketing
department. RFID machine automatically generate order on the behalf of store manager also
make payment through,it also checks the quality and packing of stock and track logistic. RFID
insure quality and quantity management in store. Manager also communicate with staff about
its . organisation also have cloud customer information software which help Finance department
allot budget on time with having integrated information access and marketing department make
marketing policy after getting the information about customer demand and preference.(Goetsch.
and Davis, 2014)
2.Role of store manager
Store manager has to perform many activities to insure efficient use resources and to
recognise the reason of customer dissatisfaction and fault in store management. ADSA'S retail
store manager focus on following area to insure smooth service can be given to customers.
Inventory management-
ASDA Stores Ltd manager analyse the customer demand and preference, product's self
life, determine optimum inventory requirement in store to avoid overstocking and under
stocking. Manager order the stock and arrange logistic according to customer demand. company
use ERP and RFID for inventory management.(Shin. and Eksioglu, 2015)
Human capital management-
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Store management decide skill and experience required as per his store need and also
help H.R in recruitment and selection by provide information about job role and responsibility,
number of employee required. its manager also communicate about training and development
need of employee in dealing with customer. Performance appraisal standard are also set by store
manager.(Luo, Fan. and Zhang, 2015)
Set targets-
store manager is responsible to set target of sales on periodic basis. ASDA Stores Ltd
manager use sale KIP for sale evaluation. Manager also alien its store activity according to sale
target for instance store manager give discount on product, decorate store according to target
customer, use marketing tactics for increase the sale.
Cost management-
Store has so many operational cost like electricity, telephone, manual accounting,
inventory handling cost, rent, repairing , employee benefit etc. store manager use outsourcing the
technical task, increase automation and AI for cost management. For instance in ASDA Stores
Ltd has robot who take care of any wastage in store. Stores have compact fluorescent lighting,
electronic signage are used to reduce stationary cost.
Set standard for evaluation –
Manager also set the standard for customer satisfaction and profitability. These standard
are used to evaluate current performance with desired outcome. For instance ASDA Stores Ltd
manager set high customer loyal as its customer satisfaction standard. Store staff try to retain
customer satisfaction by their commination and empathy skill. Manager check customer
purchase frequency to check the loyalty with help of CRM.(Khanam, Siddiqui. and Talib, 2016)
Customer satisfaction efforts.
Maintain equipments- store manager is responsible to maintain and take care of store assets and
equipment like retail shelving and wall display, anti theft machine, payment machine, security
system, shopping bags and basket, employee attendance machine, safety equipments etc. he also
check the cleaning of store and proper ventilation and light arrangements. (Xu and Deo, 2017)
Communication with other departments-
ASDA Stores Ltd manager use integrated information system so that decision regarding
marketing and finance can be take quickly. For instance in company has huge customer arrival
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on new year so store manager communicate with marketing department for pricing and
decoration idea.
Adopt new technology-
ASDA Stores Ltd manager adopt facial expression recognition technology to enhance
store security and accuracy of customer information. Store manager has to keep his eyes on
technological which can be beneficial for his business and staff.
Making financial reports and internal audit.- store manager maintain financial record of store
and provide financial report to higher authority. He also verifies the authenticity of expense
made.
3.Importance of operations management in your store
 Operation management for store help to increase the customer satisfaction, increase bard
loyalty and making brand image. For instance CRM help ASDA PLC to maintain smooth
customer relation, self check out option gives seamless purchasing experience, virtual
mirror, smart shelf, RFID tag on product help customer to save his time.(Gao and Su,
2016.)
 Operation management helps in improve production efficiency by monitoring input and
output ratio and take corrective required actions on time reduce wastage and further error.
 Operation management helps in resource allocation maximise the profitability and
productivity of organisation
 Operation management help ADSA PLC in deciding the training and development
requirement for employee to insure efficiency of business activities.
 It also helps in making product according to customer need with reduced price which
help in getting competitors advantage. For instance ADSA use robot in its manufacturing
department which reduce labour cost for company and eventually it reduces the price for
the customer as well.
 ADSA is able to allgin its all department to achieve its ultimate customer satisfaction
goal by applying TQM.
 Store manager use six sigmas process to fill the gap between customer and organisation.
 TQM also increase morale of employee , by providing customer satisfaction.
 Operation management of ADSA plc insure smooth inventory which do not affect the
production speed.
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 Six sigma help ADSA to achieve its vision and mission by increase customer satisfaction.
 Increase efficiency of Supply chain management
 Integrated information system of ADSA help in quick decision making.
4.Factor affecting operation of ADSA
Environmental and geographical factor –
Supply of raw material, labour availability, infrastructure facility, land, technological
access, energy all are depended on environmental factor. For instance natural disaster hamper
the raw material supply, lack of infrastructure rise difficulty in transportation warehousing and
distribution, frequent technological break down in remote area. Labour cost also depend on
geographical condition like hilly there high labour cost and transportation cost in hilly area.
ADSA first analyse the complete geographical condition before establish manufacture unit in
specific area. (Khanam, Siddiqui and Talib, 2016)
Government policy-
Government policy for land acquisition, regulation of manufacturing unit establishment,
labour law, environment law, recycle and waste management policy, procurement policy, use
sustainable and environment friendly material and process in production are some example
which have direct effect operation management of ASDA Stores Ltd manufacturing and
operation department. ASDA Stores Ltd is committed to conservation of water, use maximum
re-enable energy and less smoke emission in production.
Technological change
Retail industry also force ASDA Stores Ltd to implement the latest technology in its
operation which help ADSA in reduce wastage, time, less human error and cost benefit to
company. Company use RFID, maximum automation, integrated information system, robots and
AI augmented machines so that retail company can get competitor advantage by taking help of
technology in product innovation , to enhance the customer satisfaction. More automation in
production department help ASDA Stores Ltd to deploy its human capital in function which
required more brainstorming and human touch like maintain customer relation.(Anh Tran, 2016)
Competitor-
There are so many strong competitors are available for company who continuously make
product innovation and service enhancement effort to increase their market share. ASDA Stores
Ltd also change its marketing strategy and production practice so that it can take competitor
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advantage. For instance it now uses operational effectiveness strategy, technological based
competitive strategy etc. organisation have more emphasise on social media advertising to
counter its riverlies.(Morimura and Sakagawa, 2018)
Social factor -
Region, race, gender, buying habits, quality expectation, education level all the
department of ASDA Stores Ltd like marketing practice done after considering the value
perception, advertisement preferences, comfort and acceptability of technology. ASDA Stores
Ltd offer healthy food product among health conscious people. Education level in society affect
the standard of life and demand of luxury and organic product.(Evans and Lindsay, 2014)
Economical factor-
Economical factor affect the customer purchasing power as well as production cost of the
business. For instance increase bank rate affect the borrowing power of business , interest rate
increase or decrease the disposable income. ADSA use cost cutting effort when economy is in
serious condition because customer are not able to pay high price for certain product , so
company try to reduce its marketing expenses, so that product can be purchase by customer even
in down phase.
5. External factor affecting store management of ADSA-
ASDA Stores Ltd give its best to manage its production. Store manager also use the latest
technology to avoid the wastage and errors which can lead to decrease the customer satisfaction
and market share, but there are some external factors which affect the store management of
organisation. These external factor can not be avoid but if manager is able to anticipate about
these factor he can minimise the risk cause by these factor. These factor are given below-
 Natural disaster like flood, earthquake, landslide, wildfires, hurricanes can hamper the
speed of production. For instance ASDA Stores Ltd face problem in getting supply of
raw material, problem in logistic and transportation, technological equipments get shut
down, electricity hamper are the most common problem face by the retail organisation.
(Kang and et.al., 2016.)
 Government policy regarding raw material, labour, supplier, technology ,land ,packaging
regulation, environmental policy also affect the operation management. For instance
ASDA Stores Ltd now has to earn carbon credit. This permit allow ADSA to limited
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emission of carbon in production, after reaching the limit, ADSA can not emit carbon in
environment.
 Infrastructure plays a critical role in ASDA Stores Ltd store operation management.
Transport and road facility help its in logistic. Power supply affect the store lighting and
machine operation . store established location near housing development.(Khanam,
Siddiqui. and Talib, 2016)
 ASDA Stores Ltd has customer satisfaction in its vision statement and it deals with
customer product like cloths, food, grocery, beauty product. So customer preference and
trend has huge impact on production and store management. For instance ADSA change
its clothing and beauty stock with change in trend.
 Economy condition like inflation, labour cost, interest rate, bank affect ADSA's store like
when economy has in inflation phase store manager try to reduce its expense on
marketing and decoration so that customer can get product on fair price. Employments
rate affect the selling of company.
 Sainsbury, Tesco Aldi and Lidl's marketing stretgy force store manager of ASDA Stores
Ltd to use more advertisement tool in store, creative display to attract customer, take care
of entertainment need of customer in store, weekend discount, social media
advertisement and plan event in store. These all effort are done to grab the attention of
customer from competitors. (Evans and Lindsay, 2014)
 Social factor help store manager to arrange the store accordion to social norms in
country. ASDA Stores Ltd store manager give space to those products which are accepted
by socially. Manager consider education level, acceptance of technology among people,
health awareness, quality expectation and value perception while arranging of store.
 Bargain power of supplier like logistic supplier, vendor, distributor, product manufacture
affect the cost and profit margin of store.
CONCLUSION
From the above study it has been summarised that leaders and managers helps in
increasing the competitive advantage of the ASDA Stores Ltd and Marks and Spencer as well.
They with their traits has raised their efficiency and also has helped to gain competitive
advantage. This has made firm self efficient. Also, company has laid emphasis on their
distribution channel and they have also increased quality of their services by offering good and
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better product. Firm has also laid emphasis on their operational efficiency and productivity. This
has supported them in overcoming the barriers that firm has faced. Also, by making use of
effective communication channel they had survived and adapt to the changing environment.
They have also made use of marketing mix elements. It has helped them in gaining competitive
advantage. Also it has made them more self efficient Competitive advantage has also been
gained by them. It increases efficiency.
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