Operations Management in Tesco: Interrelationships, Challenges, and Approaches

This report discusses the interrelationship between operations and supporting functions in Tesco, challenges faced by operations management, and different approaches to quality management and continuous improvement. It also evaluates the role of supply chain management in meeting customer needs.

Operations
Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
PART 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Interrelationships between operations nad the core support functions in context to Tesco...1
P2 Examine the impact that operations and processes have on other functions in relation with
Tesco.......................................................................................................................................2
M1 Role of operations and processes, and impact within an organisations...........................2
P3 Challenges faced by operations management of Tesco when meeting customer
requirements...........................................................................................................................2
P4 Compare how different organisations measure operations performance and their
effectiveness...........................................................................................................................2
M2 Importance and effectiveness of operations management enhance organisational
performance............................................................................................................................2
D1 Critically analyse operations and processes and management to improve performance for
achieving objectives...............................................................................................................3
PART 2............................................................................................................................................3
P5 Different approaches to quality management and continuous improvement for improving
and..........................................................................................................................................3
optimising organisational performance.................................................................................3
M3 Compare benefits and limitations of different approaches..............................................3
D2 Justify different approaches of quality management and continuous improvement to
successfully optimise organisational performance and meet business objectives..................3
P6 Role of supply chain management in supporting different organisations to supply products
and services to meet the needs of customers..........................................................................3
M4 Evaluate how different organisations manage their supply chain relationships in order to
ensure and maintain customers’ satisfaction..........................................................................3
D3 Critically evaluate effective supply chain management to make recommendations for
enhancing and exceeding customer satisfaction.....................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................3

REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
Operation management is the process of administering the practices of the business which
facilitates effective direction and control to transform inputs into valuable products and services
with the help of other resources. It consists of planning, organising and managing the overall
operations that help in balancing the revenues and cost so that it can achieve highest possible
operating profits(Yu and et.al., 2022). To employ this management, the company is able to
increase the level of customers satisfactions and reduces wastage during the process of
production. In this report, an organisation that has been taken into consideration is Tesco which
is multinational conglomerate involve in the business of groceries and general merchandise with
headquartered in England, UK. The report will focus upon the interrelationship between the
operations and supporting functions of the company and the impact of it on the other functions. It
will explain the challenges that are faced by the operation management and also show the
comparison of different organisation. Moreover, it will explain the different approaches to the
quality management and the benefits and limitation to the approaches as well. Further, it will
elaborate the role of supply chain management to meet the needs of the customers.
MAIN BODY
PART 1
P1 Interrelationships between operations and the core support functions in context to Tesco.
The relationship of the operational management with the other supporting function plays
an important role in managing the operation of the an organisation. The strategies are made by
the leaders in order to control overall operations such as sales, administrative and distribution
thus, it must match with the mission and vision of the a business concern. The interrelationship
with core functions has been discussed with respect to Tesco, which are as under:
Distribution and logistics: This function helps Tesco in handling the transportation,
warehousing and the activities which are related to the order processing. The inbound logistics of
an organisation manage various goods where the raw materials are processed into finished goods
and keep stored at the warehouse(Guo and et.al., 2021). The outbound logistics facilitates in
delivering the finished of the Tesco to the customers. The company also sell its products directly
to its customers via online mode and having stores as well. It manages the online channel that
consists websites, social media and so on.
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 Sales and Marketing: This function play an important role to reach its product to the
customers to meet their needs. It includes various activities in sales and marketing such as
market research to determining the needs of customers, promotions, sales and other
services. The team of Tesco search about the market and segment it by identifying the
target market segment and develop marketing mix based on this. With the help marketing
mix, the company is able to set price for the products and make promotion and establish
effective distribution channels.
 Finance and accounting: With finance the company can not run the business so it is the
core supporting function of the operations. With reference to Tesco, this function assist
the company in setting budget, provide fund, make supervision, control and financial
reporting to the internal and external users(Wang and et.al., 2021). The finance team
facilitates an organisation to pay suppliers, salaries of employees, taxes and collect
payment from the customers. It also deal with the managerial accounting in order to
provide financial information. Therefore, it prepares the financial statements that is
mandatory to be released to the public for the listed companies.
P2 Impact that operations and processes have on other functions in relation with Tesco.
An organisation uses the operation management to get the goals of the business because
the goods are produced at the higher capacity by considering the reduced cost per unit. There are
many functions of the operation management that impacts the other function of the organisation
which are discussed beneath in relation to Tesco:
 Planning: It is the duty of professional of the operations management to collaborate with
the other manager and the executives so that they can make plan to effectively
accomplish the goals of the business. In relation to Tesco, the plan has been made by the
leaders in order to get the goals of the business by considering the opinion of all
managers(Helmold and Terry, 2021).Therefore, with effective cooperation they
determine the goals and policies for the management of logistics, budget and support
services.
 Direction: The professional of the operation management provides direction to the other
managers in order to carry out planning to achieve the objectives of an organisation. In
context to Tesco, the operation manager ensurs that all the departments such as sales,
marketing, finance and others are performing their functions in accordance with the
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direction provided to them. This help the organisation to reach to goals within a boundary
of budget. When the goals of the business are not met or unattainable so corrective
actions are taken by adopting the policies of the company.
 Coordination: The cooperation of the other departments are necessary in order to make
the strategies for achieving the goals of the business. With reference to Tesco, the other
department provide their full collaboration so that the relationship among them can be
improved. They can be able to increase the sales and profitability with effectual strategies
of achieving goals.
 Resources: The operation manager need resources in order to perform the activities of
the operations department(Xiao and et.al., 2021). As regard with Tesco, the operation
manger can access the resources such as human resources, finance resources and other so
that it get perform the work and able to optimum utilisation of the resources. This will
help in enhancing the profitability of the business with appropriate utilisation of resources
and achieve long term goals of an organisation.
M1 Role of operations and processes, and impact within an organisations
As regard with Tesco, the operations are the day to day activities of the business that
create value for the business and help in achieving the objectives of the business. The role of
operations enable in determining the resources which are required to meet the goals of the
business. The operation management help in identifying the quality and quantity standard and
production capacity of the resources. It can help in making the customers relationships by
providing effective output and increase the sale of the company. The measurement are also done
of the progress that are achieved with the assistance of the strategies.
P3 Challenges faced by operations management of Tesco when meeting customer requirements.
The operation management have to face various challenges while meeting the
requirement of the customers. With reference to Tesco, the challenges that are faced by the
operation department of an organisation are depicted as under:
 Customer satisfaction: This is a big challenge for an organisation because the company
can grow only when the needs of the customers are satisfied(Tortorella, Narayanamurthy
and Cauchick-Miguel, 2021). In relation to Tesco, it provides great quality products to
the customers so that their experiences can be enhanced and they monitor their
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performance continuously so that they can improve it where they lack. The company also
redress the complaint of the customers nad provide immediate response over it.
 Internal conflicts: These are the unavoidable issues that arise in the operation
management among the employees of an organisation. With reference to Tesco, the
issues are addressed by the manager in order to provide strong solution to the employees
and make cooperation among them. Therefore, a manager deescalate the issues when
arise between the team of the departments such as manufacturing team come into conflict
with the marketing team in the organisation.
 Productivity concern: An operation management face such issues when it has to
increase the productivity. Therefore, the operations manager encourage employees for
performing better and motivates them by rewarding their performance and offer various
benefits to them so that they provide effectual outcomes(Dong, 2021). With reference to
Tesco, it motivates its employees and also set the KPIs in order to measure the capacity
and performance and take corrective action where they lack so that they can work faster
and effectively.
 Integration of new technology: The Company also have to face issues related to the
technology as it has to move ahead according to the changing environment. Therefore, a
company adopts new technology especially for the repetitive tasks so that it can be done
easily. In relation to Tesco, it uses the latest technology to gain the competitive
advantage, saving cost and provide various benefits to the organisation.
P4 Compare how different organisations measure operations performance and their effectiveness.
Operation performance are measured with the help of metrics that are used differently by
each organisation(Zhong and et.al., 2021). Therefore, the key performance indicators are set to
measure the success and take corrective action in order to improve where they lack. The common
matrices are included to measure the performance such as customer’s satisfaction, employee
satisfaction revenue generation, productivity and gross profit which help the company in
evaluating its performance. A company with high level of operational efficiency create value in
the eyes of the customers, investors and employees as well.
With reference to Tesco, it uses the approaches known as corporate steering wheel to set
out the clear strategic objectives. This help the company by providing direction to the business
and supported by the key performance indicators which help in achieving the goals of the
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business. Tesco mainly focus on the employees so that they can provide their best performance
in order to increase the productivity and profits. It has break down it streamlined approach into
various indicators such as sales, profits, operation cash flows, customer’s recommendations,
recommendation of colleagues and trusted partnerships. It enable the company in knowing what
matter the most and should be focused upon(Halim, Ismail and Das, 2021). Thus, Tesco focuses
on the employees most because help an organisation to put the needs of the customers first and
provide their best services to the customers.
In comparison with Tesco, Sainsbury has its own performance indicators to determine the
level of presentation so that it can achieve the objectives of the business which includes
satisfaction if the customers, performing fast operations, achieve the flexibility for the needs of
the customers to make them, loyal for the company. The Sainsbury have strategy to generate
more sales by making the availability of the goods to the customers. Thus, by comparing actual
performance with the standard it measures the performance of the organisation.
M2 Importance and effectiveness of operations management enhance organisational
performance.
An operation management help the organisation by providing durability and reliability of
the products and produce the quality products. It employees the staff so that they can use the
maximum utilisation of resources and enhance the productivity of the organisation. With the help
of this it provides the customers satisfactions to enhance their experience.
D1 Critically analyse operations and processes and management to improve performance for
achieving objectives.
The process of the operation management is considered as collaborative because the
employees have to work together in a team. It helps them in planning, monitoring and achieving
the objectives of the organisation. It analyse the consequences of the poor performance and
endeavour to improve it so that it can provide the positive outcomes.
PART 2
P5 Different approaches to quality management and continuous improvement for improving and
Optimising organisational performance.
In the retail industry, quality management refers to the consistency of product or service
offered by an organization. An organization must ensure good quality of product through
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effective testing, labelling and packaging etc. It includes the components like quality planning,
assurance, control and improvement(Monteiro and et.al., 2021). In the retail industry,
organizations can ensure effective quality management on the basis of different approaches.
Some of them are mentioned below in context with TESCO plc.-
 Consultancy approach – This approach is based on getting consultancy by a consultant
regarding quality management practices. According to this approach, consultants help the
management in creating or delivering the products or services that have consistently good
quality. They define quality assurance, quality control, quality improvement and quality
planning for the organization. Consultants help in quality improvement by evaluating
products standards from international standards organization. This ensures offering of
quality products to the customers and thereby facilitates retention of customers and
develop customer loyalty as well.
 Standardisation approach – This approach focuses on introducing innovation in the
products by referring to the structured methods and reliable data. It involves adding
certain standards for product quality , service delivery or entrance in any particular
market. The companies that operate on a global basis standardize their advertising and
marketing techniques to ensure development of customers worldwide and attain customer
satisfaction(Rice, Hooley and Crebbin, 2022). Standardization can also be done in the
areas like inventory management, supply chain management and design of products and
services etc.
 Quality awards approach – Quality awards models serve as tools to entire quality
management by which the quality of products or operations as the case may be cab be
evaluated and improved. It helps in finding the innovative ways to improve the quality as
well as performance of the organizations. For example, in the operational management,
employees can be awarded for their effective performance and increased productivity.
In context with TESCO plc. , the company follows Standardization approach for quality
management of either the products or operations. The company uses inspection and testing
techniques for ensuring delivery of effective quality products to the customers. Its quality
products pass through the entire supply chain after being tested and inspected. It thus ensures
customer satisfaction. However, these days the company is facing the issues of quality products
and services. So, of is recommended to the company to follow the approach of consultancy for
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quality management and ensure the standardization in operations as well as products by referring
to the standards of International standards organization.
M3 Compare benefits and limitations of different approaches.
Standardization approach provides the benefit to company in terms of greater clarity and
predictability both regarding the operational performance or product design. It also facilitates
flexibility and consistent quality and ensures reduced water of products due to standardized
estimation. But due to compliance with standardization, companies are not able to innovate new
ways of product design or operational performance that leads to loss of uniqueness. It directly
impacts the behaviour of customers and can also be the reason for reduced customer base of the
company. Consultancy approach provides the company with the professional consultants to
discuss quality management with them that ensures reliability o the standards but this technique
includes high expenditure to hire the consultant. Quality awards approach of quality management
has the benefit of increased productivity by motivating the employees or product quality team
with the quality awards but it suffers from lack of standardization. TESCO has been following
the standardization approach of quality management but now is recommended to follow the
consultancy approach as well.
D2 Justify different approaches of quality management and continuous improvement to
successfully optimise organisational performance and meet business objectives.
The approaches of quality management contributes to the organizational prominent in
terms of increased productivity as well as customer satisfaction by effective delivery of quality
products as well as services. Standardization approach help in providing clear vision to the
conduct of operations in a particular manner I.e. inventory management etc. Company sultana
approach provides reliability regarding legal standards for products as well as operations. Quality
awards approach helps in increasing productivity of employees and thereby improves
organizational performance by ensuring long term profitability of the company by getting
competitive advantage through effective quality management.
P6 Role of supply chain management in supporting different organisations to supply products
and services to meet the needs of customers.
Role of supply chain management in supporting different organizations to supply products and
services to meet the needs of customers
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In the retail industry, supply chain management plays a crucial role as it improves the upstream
and downstream processes and thereby provides competitive advantage to the businesses(Sodhi
and Tang, 2021). In context with TESCO plc., the role of supply chain management in meeting
the needs of customers is explained below –
 Improves on time delivery – TESCO has contact with strong suppliers like general Mills,
kelloggs , Mars and prince’s etc. And also the company has more than 20 distribution
stores and warehouses in England and Scotland that manage the supply chain of
company.
 Ensures effective inventory management – TESCO has a strong supplier base on a global
basis such as relationships with livestock, citrus fruit producers that ensures the company
not to fall in out of stock position and maintain sufficient stock and Manage it effectively
throughout the supply chain.
 Logistics – In supply chain management, logistics coordinates different aspects of
planning , purchasing production, warehousing and transportation so as to deliver the
products to the customers without any obstacle. TESCO plc. Uses a Web based system
that facilitates the information exchange between the company and its suppliers. It helps
in timely availability and delivery of goods that enhances customer satisfaction and adds
value to their experience.
Resource Management – Effective supply chain management ensures timely availability of
resources that ensures their allocation to the right activities in an optimised manner(Edwin Cheng
and et.al., 2021). TESCO has more than 2500 suppliers worldwide that it procures its resources
from and leverage on economies of scale thereby.
M4 Evaluate how different organisations manage their supply chain relationships in order to
ensure and maintain customers’ satisfaction.
An organisation manage its supply chain management by eliminating the suppliers and the
customers who are unsuitable and have lack of capabilities to help the organisation. Therefore,
an organisation focuses upon the supply chain members who are willing to contribute in
achieving the goals of to business and create strong relation with the company. Their practices
are improved which help in reducing the waste and enable an organisation to improve its
performance and customers satisfaction as well.
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D3 Critically evaluate effective supply chain management to make recommendations for
enhancing and exceeding customer satisfaction.
An organisation must have effective supply chain so that it can enhance the satisfaction level
of the customers. It builds the loyal customers by providing goods to the customers in time and
use technology to enhance visibility and tracking the inventory. The goods are delivered on the
fulfilment of demand and satisfy the wants of the customers.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it has been concluded that operation management has
significant role in an organisation because it assists in making collaboration with the other
department so that the goals of the business can be achieved easily. It help the company in
gaining the competitive advantage when the quality goods are provided to the people and
enhance their experience as well. It enable a business concern to make their employees more
productive with effective motivation strategies so that they provide quality products in order to
enhance the profitability of the business. The operation manager ensure the compliance the
regulation of the government so that it can protect the company from the fines of the
government. The operation management work with the other departments so it facilitates
teamwork. The report has discussed about the relationship with the other department and its
impact on the other functions. Further, it has discussed the challenges that the operation
management faces and the supply chain management to satisfy the needs of the customers.
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